An American novelist, short story writer, educator, and author of children's books, Gerber was one of the judges on the committee that awarded Kingsolver the 1993 Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction. In the following essay, she offers a stylistic and thematic analysis of Pigs in Heaven.

Talk shows have recently made their way to the center of our culture: the media has declared the media its subject—we hear and read impassioned debate about talk show hosts, their guests, their content. These shows are not just a reflection of our times but have become a major force—a public forum, a judge, a hanging jury. While there used to be a respectful separation between subjects and categories, we now see presidential candidates and heads of state on the same couch and in the same setting where only the day before sat cross-dressers and male exotic dancers...