Gina Chung has a way of pairing the extraordinary weirdness of the natural world with devastating emotional gravitas—not the most intuitive link, but this interweaving results in outstanding narratives. It’s what I loved about her debut SEA CHANGE, and I was excited to see that she continued to build upon this in her dynamic short story collection GREEN FROG. Each story is handled with care, even as the modality shifts between surrealism and folklore, and I was comforted to have the chance to breathe alongside her characters as they were on the precipice of life-altering moments or reeling from the aftermath of one. This collection is centered around the Korean-American experience, with stories spanning a wide range of genres, but their baseline remains consistent: complicated relationships often tinged by the supernatural.

GREEN FROG is slice-of-life with a melancholy lens, and I ate it up and wanted seconds. It’s a “no-skip” collection that wasn’t afraid to excavate and hit several nerves, while remaining playful and fresh. As with SEA CHANGE, I read GREEN FROG feeling as if I’d gotten turned inside-out, as if my memories and anxieties had been put into a funhouse mirror and projected in a movie theater. When reviewing short story collections, I try to summarize my favorites, but I can’t do that here because the whole damn thing is a standout, and I think you should read it with as little context as possible. It is peak Asian-American millennial ennui featuring a healthy dose of semi-processed parental trauma, which is precisely my taste in books, and it’s cinematic in its smallness and grand in its applicability. After two books from Gina Chung, I can rely on her to end a story or chapter with a mic drop paragraph that makes me cry.

Thank you @vintageanchorbooks for the e-galley, which I didn’t end up using because I wanted my own copy after reading the first 5 pages. But let this prove to you that I’ve been looking forward to this collection for MONTHS.

Unfortunately, this was a dnf for me. I adore short stories, and Chung certainly can write - I found her style engaging and that the stories flowed ....until they didn't. After the third stories that (I may just be too dumb to appreciate) just ended with no sense of purpose, I decided I just want the right audience for this one.

Gina Chung is BRILLIANT and so is this collection of short stories. I think what felt very striking to me about Green Frog was how full each story felt - complete and satisfying in their own individual ways, though they vary greatly in length. Chung blends surrealism and the quirky seamlessly into relatable themes of complicated mother-daughter relationships, love, grief, and Korean-American womanhood. Her writing style feels vaguely reminiscent of Bora Chung or Katherine Min's "The Fetishist". Particular favorites included: Mantis, Honey and Sun, the Fruits of Sin, You'll Never Know How Much I Love You, and The Sound of Water.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of literary short story collections or Korean-translated works, as well as those that like explorations of complicated motherhood dynamics and examinations of womanhood. 4 Stars for me.

Green Frog is a collection of short stories. Most (not all) have the theme of new motherhood (and often of solo motherhood). All of the short stories have Korean influences.

In my opinion, the writing was "edgier" than I expected ... and I really liked that about this short story collection.

Gina Chung's debut novel was Sea Change, published March 2023. I really enjoyed that novel as well. I'm definitely looking forward to future publications by Gina.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to this young author. Thank you to Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for approving my request to read the advance read copy of Green Frog in exchange for an honest review. Publication date was March 12, 2024 (yesterday). Approximately 240 pages.

Are you a Green Frog? I would say that I am; although I'm trying to be less and less of one. In particular the Green Frog story will stick with me.

Green Frog is a collection of short stories by Gina Chung, some of which are quite weird, with many examining womanhood and how we must transform ourselves. As with many story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. This is a pretty short book with a fair amount of stories- some of which I thought could have used some more length. A favorite was "Presence", where a woman works for a tech company that erases memories, but issues are found with the technology and she loses her job and her boyfriend in the process. She used the device to remove negative memories she had of her mother's decline in health, but in the process now has a presence next to her at all times. In "Human Hearts", a fox/human is instructed to avenge her sister. This is an example of a thread across multiple stories of challenging mother/daughter relationships and expectations. In other stories we get a recipe for cooking your own heart, a praying mantis falling in love, an AI robot of a deceased child, and sisters spreading their wings.

I enjoyed Chung's writing, and as I enjoyed most of these stories, I would like to go back (have on hold at library!) and read Sea Change and see what her novel-length writing is like. I anticipate I'll enjoy it as much or more than this.

Thank you to Vintage Anchor via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Vintage, and Gina Chung for the eARC!

Wow, I burned through this book! I loved all the stories in this book, and really can't pick my favorite. Gina's storytelling is superb and pulls you right in. The way Gina magically weaves in surreal elements while telling very relatable stories is magnificent. I can't wait to read more of Gina's work. I am a Gina Chung fan!

A gorgeous and weird set of stories with a Korean influence, Green Frog will sit with you for a long time.
I especially enjoyed the last story and its examination of father-child dynamics.

Fantastic collection, I really loved all of these stories. I was struck by the cover but the contents are equally as stunning. I found the prose beautiful and can't want to tell people about this one

I was blown away by Gina Chung’s debut novel, Sea Change. Chung’s writing is so warm and charming, and this continues in her wonderful story collection, Green Frog.

The opening, titular story is a wonderful snapshot of a character and a life. It’s a sweet tale about a young lady who has lost her mother, dropped out of art school, and is trying to figure things out while working at her father's restaurant. A wonderful snapshot of a character and a life.

There are a couple of striking, dystopian stories that really stand out. Presence involves a woman dealing with the downfall of a company that allows people to erase memories. Attachment Processes sees a couple creating a lifelike replica of their dead child; a sad but strangely hopeful story.

A strong theme throughout the stories is family, and how we deal with those we are raised to love. From the unconventional Human Hearts, where a lesser daughter is sent to avenge her sister’s death, to The Arrow, where a pregnancy brings together an estranged mother and daughter.

The Fruits of Sin is possibly my favorite of the collection, in which a group of judgemental church-going ladies are transformed by the vicar’s daughter’s unexpected pregnancy. A really moving story about the power of community and motherhood.

The quality of all these stories is staggering. Chung is a natural storyteller. Her prose is simple, and often moving. She focuses on creating female characters with real depth and substance. I cannot recommend this collection highly enough.

I am so thankful to PRH Audio for the #free audiobook and Vintage Books and Gina Chung for the physical and digital access to this gem before it hits shelves on March 12, 2024. Each story is so craftily written to celebrate women and love them for their rights and wrongs.

From murderous praying mantises lusting and slicing their lovers like clockwork to a young girl having a child with a town's pastor to a duo of sisters who are up to causing mayhem for their uncle's prized possessions -- there's a story for every angle. I ate them all up and digested them with glee. There are supernatural themes, ones of magical realism, and even some more contemporary lights. This is best on audio and even more fun to follow up with in physical format to get the full effect.

So, let's dive into this collection. It kicks off with a guide on how to handle your own heart, which is pretty clever. Then in "Green Frog," a mom uses a Korean fairy tale to connect with her daughter, dealing with grief and maybe avoiding her own life. It's all about family ties and the different ways they play out across cultures.

In "After the Party," Mia faces some awkward moments with her husband's colleague, while her mom navigates her own marital issues. There's this line from Mia's mom that really hits home about being obedient and the price you pay for it.

The stories really touch on some heavy stuff, but my favorite has to be "Rabbit Heart." It's about a chubby girl finding love and acceptance with her grandma in Seoul, learning life lessons through rich stories.

Then there's "Precence," which dives into losing yourself and ignoring the past. "Human Hearts" gets fantastical with revenge-seeking mythical creatures, and "Mantis" explores insect emotions and regrets.

"Dollhouse and Sun" is haunting, with dolls wanting freedom like their owners. "Attachment Process" is another standout, blending modern grief with Korean folklore in a thought-provoking way.

Overall, these tales are original and impactful, drawing from Korean mythology to explore modern themes. They'd make great novels too! If you're into stories infused with folklore from around the world, this collection is a must-read.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.

This collection begins with steps for eating your own heart; the human organ that breaks against the world and requires rejuvenation often. It’s a clever piece. In 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑔 a mother uses a Korean fairy tale to express how well she knows her daughter. Grief drives the story as the narrator dropped out of college to care for her dying mother, and maybe to hide from her own life. Is she truly like the fictional green frog? Will the similarities be enough to convince her to change her ways, to stop doing things in life the hard way? The stories go straight for the heart and show the many faces of family bonds, playing out differently depending on one’s culture. In this collection it is Korean Americans giving voice to challenges of expectations in love relationships, career and self. In 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦, Mia Chang and her Mathematician husband Peter are throwing a dinner party for his colleagues when the head of the department gets a little too friendly with her. Should she just ‘be reasonable’ and let it go to help Peter? At the same time, her mother is dealing with her own failing marriage. What stood out is the line Mia Chang’s mother uses when she tells her daughter that her husband moved out, “𝐼’𝑚 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛’𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒.” Makes me think about what it means to be an obedient daughter, the cost. It is a heavier feeling when Mia explains how hard her mother tried to be what her husband needed, sweating over their faculty parties. Her mother, a split woman. Is Mia much different?

The stories are touching, but the one I love best is 𝑅𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡. A young, clumsy, overweight little girl travels to Seoul to visit her grandmother for the first time and feels seen, beautiful and loved for a whole summer. Through her grandma’s rich stories of rabbits, snails, and animals who become human, she learns important lessons. She is a rich root that nurtures her granddaughter, be it on the telephone or through dreams, to the very end. 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 is about losing oneself and what happens when we refuse to bear witness to the past. The most fantastical tale is 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 about kumiho, a mythological Korean creature that can transform into the human form of a beautiful woman. Here, there is a taste for revenge. Even creatures of folktales wrestle with obeying their difficult mother. An insect has feelings and regrets about her purpose, in 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑠. Dolls can speak and want nothing more than to live and be free, the same as the twin sisters that they belong too, all suffocating in their uncle’s glass house in 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑢𝑛.

𝐴𝑡𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 is another favorite of mine, it’s about a couple’s attempt at revising their parenting past as well as easing their grief using technology. It’s eerie, moving and provocative. Gina Chung uses Korean folklore and mythology for modern wounds, it’s original and affecting. Many of the tales would make great novels too. I always enjoy reading stories that are blended with mythology/folklore from around the world, wonderful to pass on generation after generation. I’m a sucker for it, especially when it’s weaved into modern tales with ease. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: March 12, 2024

Vintage