Frogg Pond: A Third World Adventure
Reviewed by Kevin R. Tipple
Frogg Pond: A Third World Adventure
By Steve Cason
ISBN 0-75962-952-8
www.froggpond.com
Rating: ****

This novel is a wonderfully weird mix of social commentary and satire, adventure, and a blurring of the lines between reality and illusion. Kafkaesque like, it draws the reader onward with one illusionary meaning only to possibly reveal another. This is one of those intriguing works where it simply won't mean the same thing to each reader.

Amos Frogg is a cartoonist living in Costa Rica. His cynical attitude towards the world and in particular the United States is heard by anyone within earshot as well as the readers of 73 alternative weekly's across the country. He is the unhappy expatriate with an opinion on everything. He has a legion of loyal fans back in the States that follow his strips and call themselves Frogg Heads.

He meets in a bar a man who is writing a book. The narrator is looking for real life characters to spice up his novel but Amos really isn't interested. He wanders off, not really interested in being written about or having a character based on him. He half-heartedly says a final thought to the narrator who takes it as a challenge.

The point of view then shifts to the third person as the reader starts Chapter One. Soon, Amos Frogg is under arrest for an unspecified charge and is transported to the nearest Prison. He shares a cell with Kenny, a poet, Bob Vesper, the international financier and fugitive, and Hay-Soos, or Jesus if you prefer the English version. Kenny and the group help Amos adjust to the realities of prison life in Central America.

On the outside, Amos' wife, Gypsy, begins to see what she can do to get him released. She visits the United States Ambassador, who is less that helpful due to the political commentary Amos has provided via his cartoons over the years. He also is your typical petty uncivil servant who wants to do nothing that could tarnish his career. A local lawyer is slightly more helpful, explaining that she will need to bribe Amos' freedom but his abilities are limited.

The days pass slowly until there is a hearing where Amos discovers exactly what the charge is against him. The charge is simply impossible to deal with and he will remain in Prison until the trial months away. The only option is a rescue mission to break Amos out of prison and Gypsy seeks help from loyal readers. So, an ad is placed and an eccentric group of readers and would be rescuers is brought together.

To reveal more would spoil this often funny book full of social commentary and adventure. The characters are real; the writing crisp and dynamic, and the whole thing is just a pleasure to read. This is Steve Cason's debut novel and one hopes that this is not his last. A pleasure to read, at the same time, it will leave you thinking about what you read, or what you thought you read.