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Angelo Pignati, whom John aptly dubs “the Pigman,” lends his name to the title of the novel. Mr. Pignati is a retired electrician who lives alone in his unkempt house. The novel makes clear the closeness of his relationship with his deceased wife, Conchetta. He still holds on to her, even in death, as symbolized by the pig figurines they collected, which he keeps in a room like a shrine.

Mr. Pignati attempts to avoid the death of his wife by pretending that she is visiting relatives. Before meeting John and Lorraine, he sublimates his loneliness with his animal friends at the zoo, particularly Bobo, a rancorous baboon. His loneliness partially explains why he is so open to Lorraine’s prank phone call and why he develops a friendship with two significantly younger people, even after he finds out they are high schoolers.

Mr. Pignati’s eagerness to establish a connection with other people is obvious from when John and Lorraine first “meet” him on the phone during the prank call. He chats with Lorraine as if they are friends and is happy to have strangers come to his house to pick up a check. Once they start socializing, he spends money on John and Lorraine and treats them to whatever they want. At times, he seems to consider them as substitutes for the children he and Conchetta never had. While in the hospital, he is pleased that Lorraine pretends to be his relative. Mr. Pignati always has a smile on his face, which is why when he returns home from the hospital to the party, his silence and lack of expression are so disturbing to the kids. Mr. Pignati, whom John early on describes as having a beer belly, is revealed to have health issues, suffering a minor heart attack and then a fatal heart attack.

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