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Frog Music Emma Donoghue Books

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Frog Music Emma Donoghue Books

On the whole, Frog Music is a fun, sexy romp through life in San Francisco in the 1870s. It is a wonderfully researched historical novel, with many details that bring that time and place alive for the reader, including life in Chinatown. The characters are interesting, though sometimes inconsistently drawn -- (Blanche just didn't sound French to me most of the time.) The author's re-imagining of the true-life murder of Jenny Bonnet -- a cross-dressing, gun-slinging, but apparently beloved incorrigible -- provides a great focus for the story.

That said, this is not what one would call "great literature." Sarah Waters is far more accomplished in this genre. The author employs a "flashback" structure to the storytelling, instead of a straight line chronological approach. Although this seems to be a common practice to build suspense, I found it confusing in this book. My actual review would probably be 3 and 1/2 stars, but I gave this book an extra bump because of the careful research that underlies the story.


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Frog Music Emma Donoghue Books Reviews

Though I appreciate what Donoghue did here (taking real characters and putting them into a story), it just wasn't fun for me to read. As someone who speaks a bit of French, I found her lack of translations in some areas, and not-quite-right translations in other areas annoying. I also found the switching back and forth in time excessive and confusing. It didn't add to the mystery as much as act as a distraction to the story line. I was more focused on trying to remember who and what had happened (too many characters with not much development) when everything changed. Then after a few pages, it changed again.

I wanted more depth - more emotion. The main character's moral dilemma seemed glossed over, and the excessive sexual situations were repetitive and lacking in detail and sensuality. I found it unrealistic, even though it was based on fact.

Oh well.
This is basically a mystery and I guessed the ending very early so that was disappointing. I just thought about who would be the most unlikely suspect, that, with one clue and mystery solved.
This is a historically set mystery and I did enjoy the historical narrative. It was interesting to follow the early development of San Francisco. Navigating the streets and alleyways in long skirts - the noise, odors and international mix of people made for a crazy place to be for sure. That said, this is the craziest mix of people and events thrown together - and not in a good way. There aren't any characters that I would call sympathetic - they are all corrupt in some way or just plain unlikable.
If you like books with a lot of sex - the author throws a hefty dose of that in when things start to drag.
I forced my self to read the book to the end - just so I could confirm the culprit. My recommendation is save yourself the pain.
Frog Music is a well-developed although sometimes confusing novel. It goes back and forth from the past to the present, and I felt lost in the story on more than one occasion. That being said, most of the characters are very well developed. I would have liked a little more insight into Blanche's cohorts, including Jenny. Her history was brought to light only at the very end. It was very cool to get a glimpse at what it might have been like living in San Francisco at that time in history- especially for those involved in the seedier aspects of the city. If you like historical fiction and aren't put off by a little eroticism, you will enjoy reading this novel.
Emma Donoghue brings to life the seductive sinophobic world of 1870's San Francisco. Jenny an intriguing "cross dresser" who has been arrested for wearing trousers collides with Blanche a dancer and courtesan in a high end bordello. These two women really existed and their meeting ended in a violent death which fed the tabloid fodder. Emma Donoghue slowly reveals hidden details about these women's lives in the most tantalizing prose. Reading this book is akin to lifting the lid on Russian dolls to discover another smaller doll inside until there is only one chewy nugget inside and you'll gobble it up in one sitting. Frog Music is also a tour of the music that made our Country tick over a century ago and some the lyrics call up a time that was politically incorrect, anything goes and even as bawdy as a contemporary night club.

Fortunately for the reader, Emma Donoghue sets a high bar to reach with her next novel. I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with.
Donoghue gives us a gritty, authentic look at the life of women in San Francisco during the 1875-1890 period. Impressively researched, the novel is taken from real life characters who made the local papers and includes the horrific baby farms and reformatory schools where children are systematically brutalized to the bordellos and alleys of Chinatown where "soiled doves" and Chinese workers were fighting for survival. We see this world through the eyes of a dancer and soiled dove as she struggles to take charge of her life, a move inspired by a transgender free spirit. The entertainments, songs, books being read are all interwoven in this story. You will recognize parts of the city as it existed back then and will never see them quite the same again. What Donoghue did to our understanding of a single room, she now does for our understanding of this snapshot of the evolution of San Francisco.
On the whole, Frog Music is a fun, sexy romp through life in San Francisco in the 1870s. It is a wonderfully researched historical novel, with many details that bring that time and place alive for the reader, including life in Chinatown. The characters are interesting, though sometimes inconsistently drawn -- (Blanche just didn't sound French to me most of the time.) The author's re-imagining of the true-life murder of Jenny Bonnet -- a cross-dressing, gun-slinging, but apparently beloved incorrigible -- provides a great focus for the story.

That said, this is not what one would call "great literature." Sarah Waters is far more accomplished in this genre. The author employs a "flashback" structure to the storytelling, instead of a straight line chronological approach. Although this seems to be a common practice to build suspense, I found it confusing in this book. My actual review would probably be 3 and 1/2 stars, but I gave this book an extra bump because of the careful research that underlies the story.