They're Cows, We're Pigs

A dark, thought-provoking adventure that "e;artfully evokes the blood-soaked reality of 17th-century pirates"e; (Entertainment Weekly).This "e;wryly humorous, satiric, and often macabre novel"e; (Library Journal) follows Jean Smeeks, a Flemish thirteen-year-old who signs up as an indentured servant with the French West Indies Company, but instead winds up a slave on the notorious island of Tortuga. Over time, he learns the arts of herbal medicine and surgery-a skill that allows him to join a band of Caribbean pirates. Contrasting Jean's romantic pull toward the "e;Brethren of the Coast"e;-an all-male society pursuing socialist, anti-colonialist ideals-with the brutal reality of their lawless existence, They're Cows, We're Pigs is a "e;unique and memorable"e; novel whose "e;pirate world leaves you as a good book should: thinking"e; (The Boston Herald).