Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music might sound like a crazy creation stemming from the imagination but it is a novel steeped in reality, littered with cultural references and based on a murder that actually happened.
Set in San Francisco in 1876, the author paints a society which thrives on sexual promiscuity and is threatened by illness. She creates such a vivid picture of the cluttered streets and ailing people that you almost feel smothered from just reading the words.
But this isn’t a story just about the city. It’s a story of two women; Blanche Beunon who quite happily sells her body to keep her other half Arthur and his friend Ernest fed, watered and amused; and Jenny Bonnet whose cross-dressing ways and inability to bite her tongue get her into trouble at almost every corner.
Their wayward paths cross quite literally by accident, leading to a somewhat intriguing friendship and Jenny’s premature death. It also leads to a self-realisation of sorts for Blanche and reveals the true colours of those around her.
Within the first few pages, you are thrown into the thick of the action as Jenny is murdered. From there the story progresses, altering between the present journey of Blanche who is trying to bring her friend’s killer to justice and the past development of their somewhat peculiar bond.
As her relationship with Jenny grows, the other parts of Blanche’s life slowly unravel and she, in both narrative timelines, soon starts to question the choices both of them have made.
Neither heroine is particularly favourable but it is hard not to become wrapped up in this murder mystery which twists and turns until the very end. The supporting characters are just as complex and corrupt as the women they revolve around making it an interesting although not entirely enjoyable read.
Donoghue expertly explores the intertwined themes of love, truth and friendship using characters which are sympathetic yet provocative and language which is evocative yet demanding. To say that her protagonists are flawed would be a gross understatement but even still, it's hard not to feel strongly about them.
Rating… 3 stars.
Read if… you don’t mind sinking your teeth into a book that can be hard to read at times or you like old-fashioned murder mysteries.
Don’t read if… you like reading about characters that you can relate to and are rooting for because you won’t find that here.
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