Under the Frog

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Under the Frog is set in Hungary in the years immediately following the end of World War II, culminating in the 1956 uprising.

Tibor Fischer's hilarious first novel follows the adventures of two young Hungarian basketball players through the turbulent years between the end of World War II and the revolution of 1956. In this spirited indictment of totalitarianism, the two improbable heroes, Pataki and Gyuri, travel the length and breadth of Hungary in an epic quest for food, lodging, and female companionship.

"I began Under the Frog on a crowded double decker in a London traffic jam... and soon found myself laughing like an idiot... It is a triumph... painfully moving, it is also uproariously funny." GUARDIAN