Rating: 
Summary: John Irving's Garage Sale
Review: Take "Trying to Save Piggy Sneed" for what it is, a mismatched collection of "memoirs", short stories, and "homages" to Charles Dickens and Gunter Grass. Unless you like to read about wrestling, the memoirs provide very little true insight into Irving. Do not waste your time buying "The Imaginary Girlfriend" as that comes from this book and is mostly dedicated to Irving's lackluster wrestling career. I think I learned more about Irving in the notes after the short stories than I did by reading the memoirs.The short stories range in quality. "Weary Kingdom" was Irving's first published work and is a long, dull story (not even the author really likes it). "Interior Space" is my favorite, but even it is not as good as some of Irving's novels. The homages to Dickens and Grass are somewhat interesting. I decided to give "Great Expectations" a try since Irving said that's the book that really made him want to write. I doubt it will have the same effect on me. The biggest flaw in my opinion was that the publisher put the notes AFTER the various pieces of writing. I always read those first just to get the background of the story before I read it. For example, it helped me tolerate "Weary Kingdom" when I saw that it was really Irving's first piece of published writing. At any rate, I recommend skipping this garage sale and sticking with Irving's novels. If you read this in the hope of understanding the author better, you will be disappointed as I was.
Rating: 
Summary: An enlightening look at the life of the author
Review: This compilation of short stories gives an insightful look into the life of John Irving. Any reader who is familiar with Irving's work will find that Trying To Save Piggy Sneed relates to all of his earlier work. The writing style is consistently unique in each of the pieces found in Piggy Sneed. Irving's technique and insight are powerful tools which place the reader in the midst of each new conflict. Would be writers will find this autobiographical sketch interesting informative. Irving states just what it is that makes a good writer. He also honors those authors whom he thinks have made an impact on the literary community. My favorite piece in this collection was "Interior Space" which dealt with one girl's vengeance on a boy who has caused her a major embarrassment. The creativity used in describing in detail the great lengths that the young Margaret has gone to in order to clear her name are extremely entertaining. The bold steps taken by this young girl, as well as the community's support in Maggie's campaign, are awe inspiring. Irving includes a piece in which he writes from the viewpoint of a woman. This ability to effectively create the feel of a female perspective adds to the story in a tremendous way. Truly, Irving is a talented writer. The concentration on family and wrestling that shine through in all of Irving's books, is explained in Piggy Sneed. Irving has only the highest regard for his own family, and wrestling has shaped the man he is today. All in all this was a very entertaining as well as informative read. It held my attention every minute.
Rating: 
Summary: Irving's first - and only - book of stories
Review: This is a fine collection of short stories, the only problem being that most people don't like short stories.
This is a particular problem for Irving since readers associate him with huge, emotional roller-coaster novels such as A Prayer for Owen Meany or The World According to Garp.
Also the selection here is a little odd: a mixture of the kind of fiction you might find in The New Yorker plus some non-fiction: autobiographical essays of childhood plus an introduction to a Dickens novel. Since I always thought Irving was more of a Hardy fan, I found this a little bemusing.
Overall, fans of Irving's longer work will tend to a little disappointed with this outing, though this is perhaps no fault of the author.
Rating:
Summary: Irving can do a lot better than this
Review: `Trying to Save Piggy Sneed' is a short story collection that brings together seven stories written between 1973 and 1993. In the title story, for example, Irving explains how he became a writer. `The Pension Grillparzer', previously only to be found inside `The World According to Garp', has been given an independent airing. The collection ends with a homage to Charles Dickens. The saddest thing about this collection is that it is in no way a showcase of the enormous talent of John Irving. Nevertheless, this is exactly what the cover promises. A few of the stories like `Interior Space', `Weary Kingdom' and `The Pension Grillparzer' are quite entertaining, but still miss the true spirit of his novels. Most of these stories finish without even reaching some kind of clue. The book ends with some kind of non-fiction essay on Charles Dickens: a boring addition which no one was waiting for. The conclusion is clear: Irving should keep to writing full-featured novels, so he can develop his characters in his own personal way and make the most bizarre story lines that fascinate the reader from cover to cover. The stories in this collection are: Almost in Iowa, Brennbar's Rant, Interior Space, Other People's Dreams, The King of the Novel, The Pension Grillparzer, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed and Weary Kingdom.
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