Piglet

Hazell debuts with the delicious narrative of a disastrous wedding. The bride is a London cookbook editor known by her childhood nickname, Piglet. Thirteen days before the ceremony, her fiancé, Kit, confesses that he’s cheated on her, and the ensuing stress leads her to relapse into binge-eating, something she’s struggled with since childhood. She’s also fallen out with her pregnant best friend Margot over the decision to move ahead with the wedding despite Kit’s unfaithfulness, and she becomes obsessed with making the wedding cake, an elaborate croquem bouche. Margot, before their falling out, warned Piglet that “counting down to events in days makes you sound like a serial killer,” and though there’s no violence, Margot’s words echo unsettlingly as Piglet withdraws emotionally from Kit and begins dodging her coworkers to arrange sessions of binge-eating. Hazell occasionally slips into stereotypes, as when she describes Piglet’s family members trying to stuff her into her wedding dress, but she also offers unflinching depictions of disordered eating, including a scene in which Piglet devours a pile of burgers in a chain restaurant and her fingers fuse together from the mess, causing her hand to look more like a hoof. When the big date finally arrives, Piglet finally resists the old-fashioned notions of the perfect bride. It’s an appealing cautionary tale. (Feb.)