Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? cover art

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

A Novel

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Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

By: Lorrie Moore
Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
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In this moving, poignant novel by the best-selling author of Birds of America, we share a grown woman's bittersweet nostalgia for the wildness of her youth.

The summer Berie was 15, she and her best friend, Sils, had jobs at Storyland in upstate New York where Berie sold tickets to see the beautiful Sils portray Cinderella in a strapless evening gown. They spent their breaks smoking, joking, and gossiping. After work they followed their own reckless rules, teasing the fun out of small-town life, sleeping in the family station wagon, and drinking borrowed liquor from old mayonnaise jars. But no matter how wild, they always managed to escape any real danger - until the adoring Berie sees that Sils really does need her help - and then everything changes.

©2019 Lorrie Moore (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Fiction Romance Women's Fiction
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All stars
Most relevant
Exquisite overall. Brilliant writing and a great reading slightly let down by the production who didn’t pick up on some editorial glitches

Just wonderful! A few glitches in the recording but the performance and novel were ex

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I’d listened to some of Lorrie Moore’s short stories but this was the first novel I’d read and I found it more satisfying. I loved the way she recreated both the malaise of adolescence and the intense feelings within female friendships.

Gorgeous

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Beautifully written, lyrical story. Beautifuly read. No blockbuster plot, zany characters, or gimmicks. Woven carefully with compassion, the story captures what it feels like to grow up. I don't usually like this kind of relationship-based, not much happens, highly descriptive book, but this is so perceptive, light touch and beautifully done.

Beautiful

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A raw and intimate story about an intense teenage friendship formed between two girls as they transition into adulthood. The story follows the protagonist Berie at two key phases in her life; as a discontented, middle aged woman, who wishes she had a child, and as a melancholic and naive adolescent who cares about nothing but her best friend Sils, and their happy days together. Until Sils asks Berie to help her get an abortion.

With each jump in time, the juxtaposition between the child and adult versions of Berie, becomes more complex. There is an identity crisis between the younger Berie who views pregnancy as a disaster and the older Berie whose ultimate life goal is to have a baby.

Despite Berie’s honesty as the narrator of the tale, the reader is misled. You only hear the story from Berie’s perspective, so start off on her side, sympathising with her opinions and comprehending the lustful awe with which she regards Sils. As the story unfolds you begin to understand who Berie really is, and that perhaps your empathy was a little misplaced. By the end of the book, adult Berie is revealed to be a disdainful snob, capable of surprising cruelty, and the reader realises that she may have always had those characteristics but that she is also the product of her upbringing and life experiences.

The detail is mesmerising. Lorrie Moore’s vivid imagery and beautiful metaphors make the writing tangible. One of my favourite quotes is, “It comes to her in a stroke of genius or perhaps just a stroke”.

It’s a poignant book about friendship, women, nostalgia, and how events of the past shape your life. It’s a strange and very subtle book that left me with an uneasy sense of having eavesdropped on something private.

Much, much better than the title suggests!

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A delicate, small, but spiritual story about growing, and changing, and evolving. The reader is wonderful.

Wonderful

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