Underdog

Rating:
Summary: The invisible society around us.
Review: I came to this book with no expectations and it turned out to be a wonderful gem. It is a different book, the language and the writing style are lean and pacy, just like the central character Jan Moro. You can't call him a hero. He reminds me of a healthier version of Ratzo Rizzo from the Movie Midnight Cowboy, as played by Dustin Hoffman. He is to all intents and purposes a little weasel, a man who exists upon the fringes of society. He is an idealist, a dreamer and represents the underculture of the homeless society around us.

There is a pathetic sub-theme to this character, that of someone with no resources, not even a home. He has no friends, only underworld aquaintences who are entirely untrustworthy. Moro has no access into our world and this struck me with a cold and frightening realization of the impotence of people like him.

However, this is not a book trying to make us examine our conciences. It is a fast and very funny read. There is something of the style of the gangster novel about it, the sparse and punchy wit (a car pulled up with a jerk. The jerk got out). Hard to get your hands on this book now, but well worth a read. Not great literature and it will never win a nobel prize, but then what would Jan Moro do with a nobel prize? Pawn it probably, for his next grand scheme.

Rating:
Summary: The invisible society around us.
Review: I came to this book with no expectations and it turned out to be a wonderful gem. It is a different book, the language and the writing style are lean and pacy, just like the central character Jan Moro. You can't call him a hero. He reminds me of a healthier version of Ratzo Rizzo from the Movie Midnight Cowboy, as played by Dustin Hoffman. He is to all intents and purposes a little weasel, a man who exists upon the fringes of society. He is an idealist, a dreamer and represents the underculture of the homeless society around us.

There is a pathetic sub-theme to this character, that of someone with no resources, not even a home. He has no friends, only underworld aquaintences who are entirely untrustworthy. Moro has no access into our world and this struck me with a cold and frightening realization of the impotence of people like him.

However, this is not a book trying to make us examine our conciences. It is a fast and very funny read. There is something of the style of the gangster novel about it, the sparse and punchy wit (a car pulled up with a jerk. The jerk got out). Hard to get your hands on this book now, but well worth a read. Not great literature and it will never win a nobel prize, but then what would Jan Moro do with a nobel prize? Pawn it probably, for his next grand scheme.