Estar "bajo el culo del sapo" equivale para los húngaros a nuestro vulgar "estar jodidos". Y jodidos van a estar los húngaros Gyuri y Pataki en vísperas del año 1956. Hasta entonces, las cosas no les habían ido del todo mal. Amigos inseparables desde 1944, cuando, aún jóvenes soldados, se dedicaban a saquear lo que los nazis no se habían llevado, viajan por toda la nación formando parte de un equipo de baloncesto con tres únicos objetivos: los placeres del sexo, la holgazanería y la subversión de las normas del estado comunista. En su desaforada picaresca, conoceremos a una galería de personajes pintorescos, como Ladányo, el jesuita de apetito pantagruélico; el obrero Tamás, que duerme en la fábrica o en casa de sus conquistas; o Makkai, profesor de inglés y su maloliente inquilino. Pero, un buen día, las calles se llenan de gente alborotada: ¿será porque Hungría ha perdido un partido de fútbol o porque los tanques soviéticos van a volver a ocupar la ciudad?

Life in Hungary under the Communists was like living under the frog, in a shithole, according to Gyuri and his friends. Gyuri's foremost goals are dodging the Army and getting out of Hungary. He is class-x which is a political handicap so things are more difficult for him, but joining the Army's basketball team gave him small privileges, as well as freeing him from becoming cannon fodder. From 1944 when the Germans occupied Hungary, to October 1956 during the Revolution, we get acquainted with the rather banal life of this young man whose preoccupations were centered around his libido, but who seems to be rather less charming than his playing colleagues, failing to make a conquest every time. Between basketball practice and chasing girls, he hatches absurd childish plans of getting out of the country. Slowly, however, he begins to be confronted with reality, and he even gets an idea of how the system works, how the hated secret police operated, not through any effort or interest on his part, but of simply being in the right place at the right time. The book culminates in the heady days of the revolution, and we see Gyuri grow up at last, albeit in a painful way.

The book is meant to be funny and serious at the same time, and there are a number of laugh out loud scenes, especially concerning the antics of the basketball buddies who behaved like young men everywhere. This recipe, however, quickly becomes monotonous -- there is nothing so offputting as young men in their mid to late-20s still behaving as if they were 13. The number of words that this book drove me to consult the dictionary was staggering for the number of pages it has. It was interesting to encounter words unfamiliar to me the first few times, but this kept on until the very last line. I found this rather brattish display by the author, not unlike the story's main character, quite irritating. To have cassandraing, sesquipedalian, collops, aposiopesis appear within 4 pages of each other was too much acrobatics, in my opinion. The story starts on a high note, drops significantly for most of the narrative, then picks up again when the revolution begins. It's a feeble attempt, however, at a comic approach to the subject of growing up in a Communist East Europe. It all seems to ring a false note. The book reminded me of Joseph Sckvorecky's The Swell Season which, however, is a far worthwhile read, the author's own experience lending it authenticity and pathos. ( )

A mad romp with a serious message, Under the Frog is the story of the education, in one way or another, of young Hungarian basketballer Gyuri in the years between the end of the Second World War and the 1956 Uprising.
One of my top five desert island books, this is funny and clever but wears its intellegence lightly. The characters are engaging and read like young men anywhere, which makes it all the more brutal when the state intrudes into their lives. Fischer handles the climate of paranoia deftly without the overwhelming seriousness that might kill the narrative, and handles love, learning and employment for the main focus characters with a skill that he has struggled to reproduce since. ( )

A marvellous read; full of witty remarks and asides, a fast paced tale of Hungary 1944-1956 and one young man, Gyuri and his friends. This is an intelligent and well thought through novel; it made me laugh out loud and then sob. Because of the subject matter the humour is often black and involve awful situations, but Tibor Fischer writes sympathetically about Hungary and so is not offensive. ( )

O livro conta a história do jovem húngaro Gyuri Fischer, dos 14 aos 25 anos. Como pano de fundo, a Hungria pós Segunda Guerra Mundial, um país pobre que se tornou comunista depois que a extinta União Soviética o libertou dos nazistas alemães. Gyuri é um rapaz como qualquer outro - cheio de amigos, fã dos esportes e ansioso pela primeira experiência sexual. Aos 20 anos, não consegue entender por que é tão difícil arrumar uma namorada, já que a população tornou-se predominantemente feminina depois da aniquilação do Segundo Exército Húngaro, em 1944. Ele leva uma vida pacata como jogador de basquete e ferroviário, procurando não pensar no aterrador cenário político e econômico em que está inserido. Mas a burocracia estatal, o paternalismo soviético, a censura, a ineficiência dos serviços públicos, o clima de terror e até os cadáveres dos soldados fazem parte de sua rotina, a ponto de tornarem-se banais.