Mrs Caliban
Vivid
Deep
Erratic

Mrs Caliban

The amphibious cult classic: a magical tale of a suburban housewife's affair with a frogman ... 'Still outpaces, out-weirds, and out-romances anything today.' Marlon James ''Genius ... A broadcast from a stranger and more dazzling dimension.' Patricia Lockwood 'So curiously right, so romantically obverse, that it creates its own terrible, brilliant reality.' Sarah Hall 'A feminist masterpiece: tender, erotic, singular.' Carmen Maria Machado 'A devastating fable of mythic proportions ... Wondrously peculiar.' Irenosen Okojie (foreword) Dorothy is a grieving housewife in the Californian suburbs; her husband is unfaithful, but they are too unhappy to get a divorce. One day, she is doing chores when she hears strange voices on the radio announcing that a green-skinned sea monster has escaped from the Institute for Oceanographic Research - but little does she expect him to arrive in her kitchen. Muscular, vegetarian, sexually magnetic, Larry the frogman is a revelation - and their passionate affair takes them on a journey beyond their wildest dreams ... Rachel Ingalls's Mrs Caliban is a bittersweet fable, a subversive fairy tale, as magical today as it was four decades ago 'A miracle . A perfect novel.' New Yorker 'Every one of its 125 pages is perfect ... Clear a Saturday, please, and read it in a single sitting.' Harper's What Readers Are Saying: 'Maybe the most gorgeous, lyrical book ever written'***** 'A fantastic wee novel, strange and brilliant, and absolutely the inspiration for The Shape of Water.'***** 'Wonderful, sharp minimal prose offers big truths. Superb - brilliant, in fact.'***** 'Absolutely incredible. It's weird, funny, and heartbreaking, like a Richard Yates novel except with lizardman sex.'***** 'One of the best tongue-in-cheek social satires that I've ever read. It delves into gender politics. It takes a long, hard look at mental health. It addresses female sexual freedom and agency. It asks the reader to examine what it means to be human ... Genius.'***** 'Really brilliant: a deconstruction of suburbia by way of monster movies that examines sad realities with hilarious verve ... Sometimes you need a sexy frog person to break you out of the ties that bind. '***** 'Hooked me so deeply I picked it up and finished it the same night ... Beautiful ... Will stay with me.'***** 'What the hell just happened?'*****
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Reviews

Photo of Essence
Essence@iridessence
4 stars
Mar 4, 2025
This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Sarah Sammis
Sarah Sammis@pussreboots
4 stars
Apr 4, 2024
Photo of Andrew John Kinney
Andrew John Kinney@numidica
2 stars
Aug 18, 2023
Photo of Chris Poore
Chris Poore@thepoorehouse
5 stars
Jan 16, 2022
Photo of Lucía RG
Lucía RG@awwsunshine
3 stars
Dec 29, 2021
Photo of Moray Lyle McIntosh
Moray Lyle McIntosh@bookish_arcadia
4 stars
Dec 5, 2021
Photo of Michael Chen
Michael Chen@docmc03
4 stars
Nov 7, 2021
Photo of Marisa clarke
Marisa clarke@mclarke
3.5 stars
Mar 7, 2025
Deep
Vivid
Unique
Erratic
Magnetic
Fast paced
Page turning
Unforgettable
Photo of M M
M M@expandingbookshelves
3.5 stars
Feb 18, 2025
Photo of Grace M
Grace M@thecoupdegrace
4.5 stars
Jan 17, 2025
Photo of Roger Amundsen
Roger Amundsen@gododger
3.5 stars
Nov 30, 2022
Photo of carissa r
carissa r@cariss_a
4 stars
Apr 3, 2024
Photo of Yasmin
Yasmin@yasamarante
5 stars
Jan 12, 2024
Photo of camille peiffer
camille peiffer@camillepeiffer
2 stars
Jan 8, 2024
Photo of N.C
N.C@quince
4 stars
Dec 28, 2023
Photo of Will Vunderink
Will Vunderink@willvunderink
3 stars
Dec 18, 2023
Photo of Kyle Curry
Kyle Curry@kcurry24
3 stars
Nov 22, 2023
Photo of Kaycee
Kaycee@kaycee
4 stars
Oct 12, 2023
Photo of Shreya Punj
Shreya Punj@theeditorrecommends
4 stars
Jan 24, 2023
Photo of Em💫
Em💫@epdye
4 stars
Jan 20, 2023
Photo of Lincy
Lincy@lincy
4 stars
Feb 16, 2022
Photo of K. Qua
K. Qua@stepfordknives
3 stars
Jan 22, 2022
Photo of Jennifer Dieter
Jennifer Dieter@jdeets03
4 stars
Dec 30, 2021
Photo of Dilara Alemdar
Dilara Alemdar@dilaraalemdar
5 stars
Nov 24, 2021

Highlights

Photo of jillian tenner
jillian tenner@jilliantenner
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