The Underdog

Review by Philip Blazdell

Plagued by insecurities and an over-powering mother, Joshua Davis sets out to find something that he is good at. After finishing fourth in the American Arm Wrestling Championship, which leads to a spot at the world championship, the beguiling, yet ultimately pathetic Davis sets out on a quest of epic lunacy to find both his place in life and impress both his wife and mother. His global adventures include becoming a professional bull-fighter, a 128 pound sumo wrestler, taking part in the world Sauna Championship and taking part in the World Running Backwards Championship. Nothing is too bizarre or outlandish for Davis and his quest to satisfy his desires for greatness.

Although this is a fairly insubstantial read Davis does raise some interesting points about what it means to be a man in society today and how our race for technology has allowed us to out-strip the opportunities today. However, much of his characterization and descriptions are so light and undeveloped that its hard to become emotionally involved with the story. The exception being his sojourn in India where he meets the world record holder for running backwards and learns that the corner stone of life is having a good wife. Had the author developed the Indian stories to a deeper emotional depth this book would have been ultimately more rewarding. This is a tragic omission by the author as the love for his wife is clearly a driving force in his life but his misses the opportunities to tie the threads of his life in San Francisco and his trip to India together.

However, there is much to enjoy in this book and there can be no doubt that the author has considerable spirit. This is beautifully captured in the sumo section of the book in which a young boy asks the author for his autograph (despite loosing all his sumo bouts) because he fought with the most spirit. Undoubtedly, this book will not change the world or become a literary classic but it is still a fun read and could just inspire you to get off the sofa and go and do something different.

• The Underdog by Joshua Davis