by John Hawkes
First published 1997
A young French boy falls asleep beside a lily pond in the years before World War I. When he wakes, he has swallowed a frog that remains alive inside his body. The creature becomes more than an unwelcome guest. It shares every sensation the boy experiences, from physical injuries to emotional wounds. The frog also grants him an unusual ability to influence other people in ways he cannot fully understand or control. As the boy grows up with this secret companion, he must navigate a world where his inner life contains another consciousness entirely. The relationship between boy and frog evolves from accident to symbiosis, creating a bond that defies explanation. This strange partnership shapes how he moves through life and relates to others around him.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: France
Period: Pre-World War I
208 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: body-horror