The Underdog

Cameron Wolfe knows what he is. He is a boy, young and dirty, and happy to just accept his place in life. He and his brother Ruben make trouble, planning crimes they never commit and playing one-handed boxing games in their backyard. When Cam begins to work for his father, he meets Rebecca Conlon. He would do anything for her; she doesn’t care for him. He realizes then that he doesn’t want to accept his life for what is it. And it’s then that he vows that if he ever got a girl, he would treat her right. He wants to change--but how?

The first thing I noticed about The Underdog by Markus Zusak was how difficult it is to find. It wasn’t even mentioned when I tried to look for book reviews, and nothing about the sequel says anything about a previous book. To people in the United States, it appears that this book does not exist. The only place, it seems, to find copies is in Germany and Australia--even then it’s still difficult to find.

Granted, I did have trouble getting into it. The books starts off humorously enough, but I didn’t feel that it was carried well by the characters. I got the feeling that everything was two-dimensional and flat, even Cam’s feelings for Rebecca. It almost seemed as if the eldest brother and sister, Steve and Sarah, were characterized the most. Cam isn’t too strong a narrator, and all he does is follow Rube around, at least until near the end, when he learns to think for himself.

And that, I think, is the novel’s greatest strength. Cameron Wolfe learns to think for himself, and in doing so he becomes a stronger narrator. There exists conflict in his actions and thoughts; he wants to change. Maybe the book seems a bit dull at first because he doesn’t know how to really think for himself, the way Steve does, and the way Sarah later learns. That fits itself very nicely into the theme of identity, as the self-discovery Cam puts himself through is mirrored by his brother Rube. Blemishes appear in their identical images, and while they are still friends, they are actually different people, with different feelings and noticeably different styles.

Another thing that struck me was the fact that no scene contributes nothing to the story. Every dream, every action, holds some sort of symbolism relating to the overarching theme. Everything he does relates in some way to his search for what he really is. In some places, this fact leaves a very strong sense of identity behind. In others, it leads to the sense of disillusionment. Much of the book consists of the latter tendency, though that is changed as Cam learns more about himself.

I would say that this book is worth the read just for the message it sends. The Underdog sets up Cam and Rube’s sense of self for the rest of the next book, and provides the back story for the rest of the series. Granted, the broken-narrative style taken in certain scenes can be difficult to get used to, but it doesn’t overpower the rest of the book.

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The Underdog was Markus Zusak's first book, and the first in the Wolfe trilogy. It was first published in 1999 by Omnibus Books, an imprint of Scholastic Australia. I found it here. The version I read was paperback, published in 2007 by Omnibus Books.

Young adult fiction (though some places have it marked as Children’s fiction), 140 pages, first person point of view

Topics: Identity, coming of age

Publisher’s age recommendation: Unavailable (though some reviews I’ve seen have placed it anywhere between 12+ and 14+)

Warnings: Some brief innuendo, and a non-detailed, non-involved description of kissing. Some violence (boxing), though it is not condoned. Possible descriptions of depression. Talk of drugs and possible innuendo of substance abuse. Talk of thievery and similar illegal acts, though these are never carried out. Minor swearing and prevalent coarse language.

My opinion: = I liked it, but there were certain elements that seemed lacking.