book data
151 ratings, 3.92 average rating, 18 reviews
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published
November 3rd 2001
by Picador
binding
Paperback, 256 pages
literary awards
1993 Booker Prize Nominee
isbn
0312278713
(isbn13: 9780312278717)
description
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Under the Frog follows the adventures of two young Hungarian basketball players through the turbulent years b...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 195)
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Guys who like crude humor and Magyar history
I read this book in small chunks and considered giving up several times. Tibor Fischer sets his novel in Soviet era Hungary, the story culminating with the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The protagonist, Gyuri Fischer (ahem, cough cough, did Jonathan Safran Foer read this book? The character-named-for-the-author is only one reason I pose the question . . . more on that later if I feel up to it), is stumbling through life, his biggest goal avoiding more compulsory army service. He's on a bas...more
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3 comments
Read in July, 2008
So I'm convinced that the poor title choice and even worse cover design are the reason this book has received so little attention. Probably one of the best I've read this year--I found it more or less at random because I was taking a trip to Budapest and wanted to get a picture of the culture and history before I went. The book follows the lives of two friends in Budapest from just after the second world war until the 1956 revolution when thousands of Hungarians fought communist power and succ...more
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Read in January, 2002
One of the few books I've read more than 3 times. I've called people up just to read them sentences out of this book. Reading this will make you sympathetic towards Hungarians and basketball players. All of TF's other fiction is rotten, so don't bother with his subsequent books.
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Maria gave this book a long time ago, before he pissed off Martin Amis. It was really funny, so I looked for more of his stuff(after he pissed off Martin Amis). His short story collection was disappointing- nowhere near as good as this.
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Read in January, 1996
One of the funniest and heartbreaking books I've ever read. If you're up on your mid-century mid-euro history you'll be enthralled. The brutal suppression of the '56 Hungarian uprising has never been told in a more humorous vein.
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Read in March, 2007
Funny and tragic. Communism and the Soviet repression of the 1956 revolt in Hungary through the cynical eyes of a basketball player (and some of his teammates). Worth a read, even though the style is gauche.
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Read in January, 2002
Read this book!
You'll laugh, you'll cry, just like life! So funny and heartbreaking. The most creative, vivid language I've read in a good long while. His best book by far. (Not a paid endorsement.)
You'll laugh, you'll cry, just like life! So funny and heartbreaking. The most creative, vivid language I've read in a good long while. His best book by far. (Not a paid endorsement.)
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TB's first book. Not as laugh-out-loud funny as his others but it's not meant to be. This story is tragic, majestic, moving and fully involving. What a writer - he's one of my favourites.
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Not quite as much fun as "The Thought Gang", but Tibor Fischer's debut novel is still a good read and a good fictional portrayal of the Czech uprising of '68.
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I think this was his first book, and if so it should make all aspiring novelists quit, because it reaches levels they'd look stupid trying to attain.
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Read in January, 2007
I remember really liking this, but being a little confused by all of the Hungarian names. I made notes and felt better. Links to basketball, oddly.
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Read in January, 1992
recommended to BillyBlog by:
Jill
My friend Jill recommended this. Superbly sick and twisted. If not for the genius of The Thought Gang, this would be my favorite Fischer title.
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Surreal, weird. wonderful. and hungarian? go figure. Read it because i liked his later book but this was better.
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A very different perspective to me... I enjoyed it immensely.
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Read in October, 2006
Quirky but enjoyable, and a challenging read.
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