Title: The Frog Chauffeur
Author: Garry Kilworth
In: Silver Birch, Blood Moon (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 1999

This was an interesting twist on the Princess and the Frog, but on a more original version when the frog was transformed due to trauma, not a kiss. I kind of like this intense and violent version more. And then, there’s the whole idea that what genetic legacy did the Frog leave behind? Did he leave a whole heap of little, twisted tadpoles who could also be transformed at any given moment?

The Frog Chauffeur had a bit of a sad ending, one that definitely echoed the feeling of fairy tales, but a bittersweet one all the same. I thought the entire time throughout this story that there would be a lot of darkness at some point that would make me slightly uncomfortable and horrified. Instead, it was a sad ending, one that plucked at the heart strings and made me feel kind of… nostalgic for lack of a better term.

I love that driving has that same eerie and enjoyable feeling of swimming – and that missing the water makes the Frog enjoy driving through the trees. I can just picture the dappled green coming through the windshield on a nice, spring afternoon. And it brings peace.

Image source: Wikipedia