Under the Frog: A Black Comedy Novel - International Fiction Series by New Press | Perfect for Book Clubs & Dark Humor Lovers

Read Gannon's review, which has received a well-deserved helpful rating. All I want to add is that this book is a literary gem. Its overt subject matter is male hormones, with humor to match, along of course with the strong political undertones. But Fischer applies to this truly raw material a lean narrative style, which I for one found brilliant. The book is short and consists of vignettes from different eras and under differing circumstances. The style is accordingly "brief" ... and yet with Fischer's craft can convey so much. For example, in addition to the many moments or observations of spot-on hilarity (or "black comedy" as the subtitle accurately informs us), the reader will come across a marvelous depiction of the very instant love blooms in the bosom of a young man.Nevertheless, I have to say that I did not find the book to contain terribly much substance, since its manner is definitely on-the-surface. But all is forgiven in the encounter with so much wit, such as a phrase like "quoting from imagination." And, insofar as I can trust the "testimony" of an author who was born after the final events of the novel took place (but who presumably took it all in with his mother's milk), I feel I have been given striking insights into a society I previously knew little about.