Pigs In Heaven

Pigs In Heaven is a 1993 novel by Barbara Kingsolver, and a sequel to her first novel, The Bean Trees.

The novel opens in rural Kentucky, where Alice Greer has woken up in the middle of the night with a feeling of extreme loneliness. Her husband is captivated by the television, offering her little comfort or companionship. She walks outside in the moonlight in her nightgown, imagining that she is the queen of her own humble garden. Her mind wanders to thoughts of her cousin, Sugar, her childhood companion. Sugar now lives out in Oklahoma, on the Cherokee Nation, but just thinking about her makes Alice feel less alone in the world.

Meanwhile, Alice’s daughter Taylor and Taylor’s adopted daughter, six-year-old Turtle Greer, are on an Easter vacation trip together touring the Grand Canyon when Turtle is witness to a freak accident at the Hoover Dam. Turtle sees a man, Lucky Buster, fall off the edge of the dam, and immediately alerts her mother. The two get the attention of a rescue team, which catapults them into the media spotlight. Turtle and Taylor drive Buster home and then return to Tucson before departing for Chicago as they are invited to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show alongside other children who have saved lives.



After Taylor and Turtle return home to Tucson from their trip to Chicago and their fifteen minutes of fame, it seems as though their lives will go back to normal. They live on the outskirts of Tucson with Jax, Taylor’s boyfriend, in a collection of humble stone dwellings occupied mainly by artists and a few academics. Jax is clearly head over heels for Taylor, but Taylor is not sure that she feels the same about him.

Before she has a chance to sort out her feelings and settle into her home life again, a lawyer from the Cherokee Nation Annawake Fourkiller shows up at their home to question Taylor about Turtle’s adoption. Having seen Turtle on Oprah, Annawake instantly recognized her as a Cherokee girl. While on the show, Taylor had explained the peculiar circumstances of Turtle’s adoption, how she was approached by a woman in a bar in Oklahoma who handed her the baby. Annawake quotes The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which states that no one can adopt a Cherokee child without tribal permission.

Enraged at the accusation, Taylor tells Annawake that she never asked for a child and that motherhood was thrust upon her. She felt she had been left no other option than to care for the baby girl, who was already half dead after having been sexually abused. A few years later, Taylor has raised Turtle into a healthy, happy young girl.



Taylor and Turtle flee to Arizona to escape the threat posed by Annawake. Taylor worries that Turtle will be taken away from her. They hear rumors that Annawake is not far off, and so they flee once again, this time to Las Vegas. Turtle begins to have flashbacks of her abusive past, which seem to be triggered by any threat of separation from her mother. After Turtle and Taylor arrive in Las Vegas, they gamble away what little money they have. Alice arrives to support her daughter and granddaughter and escape her husband.

Back in Tucson, Jax starts up an affair with his landlady, Gundi, and that same night receives a letter from Annawake. In the letter, Annawake explains how she lost her twin brother, Gabe, who was adopted by a white family in Texas when they were only ten years old. She explains that she is pursuing Turtle for the girl’s own good, as children who grow up outside the reserve usually suffer greatly and become disconnected from their Cherokee heritage.

Jax calls Taylor and reads her the letter over the phone. While this causes Taylor to panic even further, her mother, Alice, realizes that at some point they will have to deal with Annawake. Alice calls her cousin Sugar at the Cherokee Nation and makes plans to discuss Turtle’s case. Taylor wants to go home, having forgiven Jax for his affair, but Alice informs her that she and Turtle have to go to the Nation, having been subpoenaed by Annawake.



When they arrive at the Cherokee Nation, Turtle recognizes her grandfather Cash right away, which causes him to become very emotional. Neither party is ready to give up Turtle. Annawake announces that after having meetings with the tribe social worker, they have agreed to grant joint custody to Taylor and Cash. Turtle will spend a minimum of three months of the year on the Nation. After this ruling, Cash asks Alice to marry him, figuring that Turtle will be able to spend time with her grandmother and grandfather during those months.