luce (cry baby)'s Reviews > Green Frog: Stories
Green Frog: Stories
by
by
luce (cry baby)'s review
bookshelves: short-stories-and-novellas, disappointing-reads, 6-not-my-cup-of-tea, reviewed-in-2024
Mar 19, 2024
bookshelves: short-stories-and-novellas, disappointing-reads, 6-not-my-cup-of-tea, reviewed-in-2024
In recent years, there has been a surge in the publication of 'weird' short story collections, and unfortunately, Chung's Green Frog is a lacklustre addition to this trend. The ‘quirky’ tone and the use of absurdist and surreal elements felt almost formulaic as if Chung was following a checklist or creative writing prompts rather than genuine narrative experiences rather than genuinely experimenting with her storytelling.
The choice of the opening story was particularly baffling; it’s basically a series of instructions, not a story at all. To place this as your ‘opener’...it’s an odd choice. It was almost off-putting in a way. Usually collections like these open with a banger (and then fizzle out). But still, I moved past it hoping that the following stories would at least deliver on the themes promised by its summary. Sadly, they didn’t. Not only did they lack substance, but the style they prioritized felt derivative and not particularly compelling. Characters fail to register their presence on the page, and the story’s ‘quirks’ were entirely gimmicky. The only truly memorable one was the story about an amorphic praying mantis, but this story is really cut short and doesn’t really do anything (thematically or stylistically). They just washed over me. Neither bad, nor good, but certainly surface-level and forgettable. This is a pity as they promised to blend real-life struggles, specifically of Korean American women, with fantastical elements. However, I found the author’s exploration of bodies, desires, and memories to be tedious.
While I didn't love Chung's debut, it had an earnestness that I couldn't help but admire. In comparison, Green Frog feels rather contrived. Maybe if you have just started reading weird short stories you might find yourself able to appreciate Green Frog in ways that I was unable to.
The choice of the opening story was particularly baffling; it’s basically a series of instructions, not a story at all. To place this as your ‘opener’...it’s an odd choice. It was almost off-putting in a way. Usually collections like these open with a banger (and then fizzle out). But still, I moved past it hoping that the following stories would at least deliver on the themes promised by its summary. Sadly, they didn’t. Not only did they lack substance, but the style they prioritized felt derivative and not particularly compelling. Characters fail to register their presence on the page, and the story’s ‘quirks’ were entirely gimmicky. The only truly memorable one was the story about an amorphic praying mantis, but this story is really cut short and doesn’t really do anything (thematically or stylistically). They just washed over me. Neither bad, nor good, but certainly surface-level and forgettable. This is a pity as they promised to blend real-life struggles, specifically of Korean American women, with fantastical elements. However, I found the author’s exploration of bodies, desires, and memories to be tedious.
While I didn't love Chung's debut, it had an earnestness that I couldn't help but admire. In comparison, Green Frog feels rather contrived. Maybe if you have just started reading weird short stories you might find yourself able to appreciate Green Frog in ways that I was unable to.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Green Frog.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
September 13, 2023
– Shelved
September 13, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
September 13, 2023
– Shelved as:
short-stories-and-novellas
February 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
tbr-arcs
March 14, 2024
–
Started Reading
March 18, 2024
–
Finished Reading
March 19, 2024
– Shelved as:
disappointing-reads
March 19, 2024
– Shelved as:
6-not-my-cup-of-tea
April 7, 2024
– Shelved as:
reviewed-in-2024
Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)
date
newest »
message 1:
by
s.penkevich
(new)
Mar 19, 2024 11:21AM
Ah bummer, been curious about this one but yea...I think I'll pass. Theres been such a huge push of just...weird and wacky short stories lately but a lot just feel weird for weird's sake and...yea, uninspired is a good word for it.
reply
|
flag