Reviews

The Frog King: A Love Story by Adam Davies

tstuppy's review against another edition

3.0

Davies' first book is a lot like his second. The narrator is really unlikable and writing has the aura of trying too hard. But I read the whole book, so I guess it's not so bad.

jsisco's review

3.0

I found this book endlessly frustrating. Besides Davies trying so hard for people to like his writing and to make his plot and style hip, cutting edge, and daring, he just falls flat. Much like his main character, Harry Driscoll, Davies' writing is inherently infuriating because it just doesn't get it - it never actually succeeds in realizing its own flaws and correcting them. The tragically late climax in the novel does address Harry's faults and highlights his attempts to transform his own behavior, but for all the wrong reasons. You wish throughout the entire book for him to just wake up and realize how much he's screwing up his own life and the lives of everyone around him, but it takes forever.

And maybe that's part of the appeal. I didn't love this book, but I found myself intrigued by the characters. I wanted Harry to understand just how much he sucked at life and while I found him wholly unappealing in every way, I couldn't stop reading. I always wanted to know what happened, despite its various and blatant missteps. Is the climax too late and glaringly disingenuous? Yes. Are the characters, as a whole and particularly the "hero," unforgivably despicable? Yes. Are you still annoyingly desperate to reach some sort of conclusion to the mess that snowballs from basic laziness on the part of Harry? Of course. Read the book, but don't expect to fall in love with much of anyone; all of the characters are obnoxious in their own hateful way.

lbb00ks's review

The male protagonist of this chick lit novel could be the cumulative punchline of every internet joke I've ever had forwarded to me by women about clueless, useless men. Although there are some sharp and droll moments in the writing, overall I didn't care if he redeemed himself or not.

snowbenton's review against another edition

4.0

I won't lie, many of the pages of this book made me grit my teeth. But setting aside Harry's over-the-top word usage and his absolute disaster of a personality, he manages to be a character that you can root for, even if you don't like him (which is pretty impressive). I loved that he was desperately worried at 28 about all of the same things I, at 28, am worrying about, and I love that

Spoiler

he doesn't get the girl in the end, because he didn't deserve her, and he had to learn that lesson and grow

.

I'm also so glad I don't live in New York City.

stadoza's review against another edition

3.0

At times, the humor and wit of this book seemed a bit forced. But if you don't take this book too seriously, it's laugh-out-loud funny. I liked it (especially the ending) and read it in 3 days.

agagyei's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

authorannafaundez's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Full Disclaimer! This author was my professor in college and there are no frogs. 
 

Since I’ve read Davies’ The Frog King, here’s what I remembered about it before I began reading. Answer: almost nothing. It’s been about four years since I last read this book, and I read it pretty fast the first time on top of so much college shoved into my head that some details simply got squeegeed out. I couldn’t even remember the narrator’s name. This is why we take notes, people! Onwards!
 

Harry Driscoll, our main character and mental gymnast, is dead sick of his going-nowhere, underpaid job. It’s obvious from page three. Harry Driscoll also hates himself. I also hate Harry Driscoll. This is a one-way street with no U-turns in sight. Which brings me to my dilemma with The Frog King. The characters are amazingly well-written. No, seriously, I don’t just say that to make my former professor remember me fondly. Harry is so good at being the woe-is-me, head-in-the-sand, know-it-all jerk that you’ll probably spend most of the book in hopes something terrible happens to him. (Don’t worry.) 

Evie is a doll in all meanings of the word. She’s a great woman character with her own problems and strengths and weaknesses, and she’s probably the only reason I didn’t toss the book a few different times. Yes, Harry Driscoll will make you that mad. He’s the worst type of jerk for a big chunk of the novel: the kind of sleazeball you pray to god you don’t have to work a shift with because a) they get nothing done except complaining about their job and believing the work is beneath them, b) think they’re god’s gift to womankind, and c) they somehow manage to make you feel bad about yourself while being ironic/sarcastic/condescending towards themselves in the “Haha, isn’t life just a peach” way. Your problems and feelings will never amount to theirs. Harry is all this and more with an unhealthy dose of alcohol and self-hatred to boot. This is a man so emotionally constipated you’ll want to lace his coffee with a strong laxative. Fun! 
 

Okay, okay. He’s not all pig all the time—even dirtbags can have a few good qualities—but it’s frequent enough to be lethal in large quantities. Kind of like nuclear radiation. As I said before, don’t worry! Harry gets what’s coming to him. This isn’t some “jerks finish first” story, but boy, oh boy, get ready to feel patronized by a fictional character. 

Harry certainly stirs the emotions, but not the right ones for the majority of the novel. Well-crafted character? A+. Likable character? Eh. Maybe a motivational template for how not to conduct yourself. 

I try and keep this blog series as spoiler free as I can while also giving myself free reign to talk about the books I read, so I’ll move on to one other aspect. 

Readers beware! 

The Frog King is going to make you learn many new vocabulary words whether you want to or not. That’s just the way the narrator—you guessed it—Harry is. It’s how he thinks and roughly communicates. A facsimile of communication, but a point or two for trying, I guess. So accept that before reading, maybe even look forward to it, and grab a dictionary. 

Now the vocabulary, while impressive, does actually take away from scenes sometimes. The writing kind of jumps back and forth from enjoyable, witty, and smooth into wording that’s meant to show character but really your eyes just trip over. It will happen. No way around it. And it does knock off some enjoyability of the book. 

The writing style is actually pretty different to what I’m used to. Davies is raw and eclectic in the way that even if you are bumbling along with—or mentally throwing knives at—the narrator, you still have a good sense of location and emotional intelligence in the scene. You certainly aren’t going to be bored with his descriptions or dialogue. 

Typically, The Frog King isn’t my kind of book. I like my fiction with a bit more, well, fiction. This book tackles it all in the real world: alcoholism, narcissism, infidelity, and even gaslighting to some extent. I know the subtitle says “a love story,” but take that with a gulp of sea water.  

Overall thoughts on The Frog King? I think I still dislike Harry Driscoll enough to leave this book on the shelf until some other victim wanders by and hears the Jumanji drums, but I like Adam Davies enough as a writer to see what else he comes up with. Maybe next time I’ll ingest his words with a glass of wine? 

~Anna 

Read more great book reviews at: https://annafaundez.com/blog

acdom's review against another edition

4.0

I found this book on the brand new fiction table at Borders and I immediately fell in love with the self-centered, horrible main character. I so often read books with a female main character or from a female point of view, that I loved hearing what Harry had to said about life and love.

sarahsparklenose's review against another edition

1.0

Eh. I gave it 50 pages to see if I could get into it. At that point I didn't want to read the rest of it, but was curious about the characters so I skipped to the end and read the last chapter.

rtimmorris's review

4.0

Man, I love this book. It's what really got me into both reading and writing. Sure, there's parts now that induce some eye-rolling, but when those great moments there's nothing sweeter.
Davies is an underrated master of the humorous dialogue, and when you expect something predictable to happen, it's usually the opposite. Harry Driscoll is not a hero by any stretch of the imagination, and many reviewers find it hard to cheer for the guy, but that is definitely NOT the point here. Harry is unique in his own cliche-laden way, and this is a journey I've taken many times now, and will probably enjoy it many more times.
Viva la viva la Frog King.