A dark comedy written in rollicking prose, "Hog to Hog" deals with excessive development in a relatively pristine Midwestern rural area. The spoils of misadventure go to the top polluters, like Dick Columbus, who makes money for the state's coffers with his Wheeleroo , an ATV mega event that runs roughshod over the local nature sanctuary. Columbus wins a seat in the state Senate. Bernie Sapp, the novel's protagonist, lacks political savvy and power and ends up in one of Columbus's pet projects, the newly constructed prison. With a culture based on plunder and socio-economic injustice, the...