Underdog [Hardcover]

Michael Z. Lewin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

After a chance encounter with a seven-toed stranger, Jan Moro, a down-on-his-luck businessman, finds that his life is in danger, and when the cops become involved, they only make things worse for Moro. 10,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Midway through this hilarious tale, the narrator, a short, inventive homeless man named Jan Moro, tells how two men chased him from his hut at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis: "One of them only has seven toes and he works for a guy who microwaves puppies to death and trains dogs to fight pigs." Although he has no street address, Jan considers himself an entrepreneur, as distinguished from "homeless riffraff." He keeps himself presentable, hangs out in hotel lobbies, believes loitering in bus stations to be great spectator sport and has hidey-holes all around town, one with a gun and three bullets that he won in a poker game. The appealing and unusual hero has a steady stream of "great ideas" like a "slow-release deodorant" for clothes instead of the body. How Jan, aka Clarence Starch Jr., gets tangled up in the dog-and-hog business, how he strikes up an acquaintance with Billy Cigar, the desperado who owns the Linger Longer Lounge, and how he attempts to con the police who pay him to be a snitch add up to a story that will keep readers in stitches. This could (should) be the title that brings Lewin ( Called by a Panther ) a long-deserved larger audence.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Although he calls himself a small businessman, Jan Moro really has no occupation. As a homeless person in Indianapolis, he wanders, scavenges, and sells "ideas." Chancing upon illegal activity at the shuttered fairgrounds, he offers his knowledge first to a brooding nightclub owner, then to the police. Moro's stint as a police informant begins well but mixes him with double-dealers and fancy women. Moro as narrator and story collector certainly provides a novel perspective on events and a kicked-back approach to investigation that should attract readers.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892964405
• ISBN-13: 978-0892964406
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,917,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The invisible society around us., July 20, 2000

By 

Sailoil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underdog (Paperback)

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.