Frog City Updike / Arthur Graham

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Humor

Approximate word count: 30-35,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

You won’t find out much about Arthur Graham from his official bio on Amazon, his website, or the normal places, without reading between the lines. He has a wife. He has a cat (or maybe his wife has a cat). He self-publishes his books (besides this one, he offers the novel Editorial, and a book called Non/Fictions, that may or may not be true). He currently lives in Salt Lake City, yet has been known to attend the Burning Man Festival, which clearly indicates he isn’t a normal Salt Laker. You might also recognize Graham as an occasional reviewer for BigAl’s Books and Pals. To see what other tidbits you're able to uncover about the author, visit his blog.

Description:

A collection of short stories and flash fiction, most set in the fictional town of Frog City Updike.

Appraisal:

Frog City Updike (the town, not the book) is an imaginary small town (population 7,996) and the setting for most of these stories. Named for the frogs, relatively small in number and found only near a small pond in Frog City Updike Park, Frog City Updike is populated by a variety of people, some normal and some eccentric.

Like the people of Frog City Updike, their stories are eccentric, offbeat, and sometimes a little absurd. At times the author becomes a character in the guise of “Frog City Updike Arthur Graham” (you’ll find many characters and places have the moniker Frog City Updike Something). One of my favorite stories is one called No One Drinks Tea Anymore, which is related to Frog City Updike only because it was written by Frog City Updike Arthur Graham when he was “a young idealistic college student and not the old curmudgeon his is today.” This is a sentimental love story between a teacup and a spoon. Yes, in Frog City Updike inanimate objects sometimes animate, and do have feelings.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues. 


Rating: **** Four stars