Ponder: The Underdog

I thoroughly enjoyed and chuckled my way through The Underdog ©2005 by Joshua Davis. Yes, this book is almost 20 years old, but I was surprised and pleased to learn, after I completed it, that its author is now quite accomplished per a Wikipedia entry that cites Joshua Davis as "an American writer, film producer and co-founder of Epic Magazine".

In order to spark interest in reading this book, rather than giving away any spoilers, I reveal that competitions were in arm wrestling, bullfighting, sumo wrestling, retro-running, and sauna. These sports are all challenging choices for a tall, thin, wiry, vegetarian young man in his thirties seeking fame in life.

An excerpt from Chapter One reads

"Grip up!" the ref shouts at me. I am about to face Rabadanov Rebadan – a.k.a the Russian Ripper – at the World Armwrestling Federation World Championship in Gdynia, Poland. ... Rumor on the floor of this cavernous, Soviet style gym has it that the Ripper has broken more arms than any other wrestler. ... Rebadan snaps his head to the side. I hear his neck crack despite the roar from the thirteen hundred people in the crowd and the jostling of a half dozen photographers. My plan is working. I can tell Rebadan is worried. Or at least confused. 

His eyes crisscross my body looking for weak points. All he sees are weak points. I've got bony arms, glasses, and strange spiky red hair that I point menacingly in his direction. It doesn't make sense to him. He's never heard of me. Nobody has. I'm a five-foot-nine-inch 129-pound data entry clerk from San Francisco named Joshua Davis.

In the book I learn about Joshua's family growing up, his relationship with his ever patient wife, Tara, who lives with him in a 90-square-foot San Francisco apartment, aspiring only that they can soon afford to move to somewhere with natural light, a bathtub, and room for a dining room table. The Underdog is an amusing and fun romp with a plucky young man determined to be famous in something. In the process I also gain knowledge about the rudimentary elements as well as the intricacies of several off-the-beaten-path sports. Retro-running? Really? Joshua enters the Golden Shrimp retro-race in Italy so named because the shrimp is the only animal that consistently moves backward. From the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 

Unlike fish, shrimp do not have fins that enable them to swim, but they can certainly move around in the water. A shrimp "swims" by quickly pulling its abdomen in toward its carapace (body). This motion shoots them through the water. However, because of body configuration, it also means that shrimp swim backward.

From Joshua's participation in bullfighting and sumo wrestling I learned some of the maneuvers, as well as costuming, of both. This book was an eclectic and comedic view into another side of the wide, wide, world of sports. The book rated well on Amazon with reviewers (all 34 of them) commenting on the quality of the humor. 

To quote a sample Amazon review:

The writing is, in my opinion, very good, perhaps excellent. First and foremost: I laughed, for the humor is constant and clever (and, generally, doesn't come at others' expense, as to contrast much of modern popular comedy -- how refreshing).

For more background of Joshua Davis check his website www.joshuadavis.net. I guess he did eventually become famous. I recommend The Underdog as an entertaining light read. It may not appeal to everyone and for this reason only I gave it four stars instead of five.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience