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Book Summary and Reviews of Frog by Anne Fadiman

Frog by Anne Fadiman

Frog

And Other Essays

by Anne Fadiman

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2026, 192 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A new collection of evocative personal essays from one of America's most beloved nonfiction writers, Anne Fadiman.

In Frog, Anne Fadiman returns to her favorite genre, the essay, of which she is one of our most celebrated practitioners. Ranging in subject matter from her deceased frog, to archaic printer technology, to the fraught relationship between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his son Hartley, these essays unlock a whole world―one overflowing with mundanity and oddity―through sly observation and brilliant wit.

The diverse subjects of Frog are bound together by the quality of Fadiman's attention, and subtly, they come to form a slantwise portrait of the artist, a writer dedicated to chronicling the world as it changes around her, in ways small and large, as time passes.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Affecting and often humorous...Fadiman has a knack for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, using everyday objects to explore such profound themes as grief, loss, and personal growth...Readers will be captivated." —Publishers Weekly

"Witty, sometimes wistful, always sharply observed pieces...Deft [and] graceful...A delightful gathering." —Kirkus Reviews

"Fadiman is a joy to read for the etched-glass precision of her language and the warmth of her candor and wit. In each dynamic and sharp-as-a-pin essay, Fadiman turns curious facts into provocative and enlightening thoughts and feelings." —Booklist

"In Frog, Anne Fadiman writes, with equal insight and clarity, about subjects that range from an unfortunate family pet to a doomed expedition to the South Pole. I'd be hard-pressed to name another writer whose work is so humane, penetrating, and gorgeously wrought. There are lines in this book I'd consider having tattooed onto my chest." ―Michael Cunningham, author of Day

This information about Frog was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Anne Fadiman

Anne Fadiman is the author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (FSG, 1997), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Salon Book Award. She is also the author of two essay collections, At Large and At Small and Ex Libris, and the memoir The Wine Lover's Daughter, and she is the editor of Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love (all published by FSG). Her essays and articles have appeared in Harper's Magazine, The New Yorker, and the New York Times, among other publications. She is the Francis Writer in Residence at Yale.

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Read-Alikes

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