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57th out of 162 books
—
62 voters
Underdog (Wolfe Brothers #1)
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
Boys are like dogs - ready to bite, bark and beg to be given a chance to show their value.. "I vowed that if I ever got a girl I would treat her right and never be bad or dirty to her or hurt her, ever." Cameron Wolfe is a dirty boy. He knows it. His brother Rube knows it, because he's one too. they could change - but what would it take?
Published
May 1st 1999
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Like others, I also chose to read this primarily as it is Markus Zusak's first novel. It's written in his trademark existentialist, charmingly goofy and self-degrading style. The book revolves around Cameron Wolfe and the entire Wolfe 'clan'. Highly autobiographical I suspect (spray jacket wearing Cameron, reminds me of spray jacket wearing Markus) and loose in structure and plot, but Zusak's characterisation and thematic adhesion carries this one through to the end for me.
I enjoyed it. I love...more
I enjoyed it. I love...more
"Estávamos vendo tevê quando decidimos assaltar o dentista
-O Dentista? - perguntei para o meu irmão.
-Claro, por que não? - Foi a resposta que ouvi - Você sabe quanto dinheiro entra numa clínica dessas durante o dia?Chega a ser obsceno.Se o primeiro-ministro fosse dentista, o país não estaria do jeito que está agora, sério.Não haveria desemprego, nem racismo, nem machismo.Só dinheiro."
Oi gente, tudo bom?A resenha de hoje é o novo lançamento da Bertrand e o segundo livro do autor de A Menina que...more
-O Dentista? - perguntei para o meu irmão.
-Claro, por que não? - Foi a resposta que ouvi - Você sabe quanto dinheiro entra numa clínica dessas durante o dia?Chega a ser obsceno.Se o primeiro-ministro fosse dentista, o país não estaria do jeito que está agora, sério.Não haveria desemprego, nem racismo, nem machismo.Só dinheiro."
Oi gente, tudo bom?A resenha de hoje é o novo lançamento da Bertrand e o segundo livro do autor de A Menina que...more
Sep 17, 2012
Marianne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
borrowed-copy-returned
The Underdog is the first in the Wolfe Brothers series by Australian author, Markus Zusak. Cameron Wolfe, aged fifteen, knows he is a dirty boy. After all, “….. all young boys are pretty disgusting, like beasts. Maybe the challenge was to somehow rise above it…..” Cameron is a bit of a loner: he and his brother Ruben keep getting themselves into trouble, Cameron has a bit of sense (but not a lot), he doesn’t have a girl (his hair is thick any furry and sticks up every which way). When he meets R...more
This book is a joke. It has no plot and no point. As with 'The Book Theif', I WANTED to like it because Markus Zusak is not only a young Australian writer of YA fiction but ALSO (I discovered) quite cute. But I couldn't do it. The writing is clearly supposed to be very deep and meaningful and writerly but instead was deeply annoying and pretentious.
"Had the years defeated us?
Had they worn us down?
Had they passed like big white clouds, disintegrating very slowly so that we couldn't notice?"
I m...more
"Had the years defeated us?
Had they worn us down?
Had they passed like big white clouds, disintegrating very slowly so that we couldn't notice?"
I m...more
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Underdog was Markus Zusak's debut book. Although it is lacking in the beautiful delicacy and the well thought out plots of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, it shows that even for a debut book, Zusak had undeniable talent for writing.
The writing, was beautiful. The word choice spoke to my heart and really touched me.
His mixing of poetry and prose was also superb.
The characters were relatable, and so SO real.
Where was he a bit lacking?
The plot.
It wasn't that there was no plot. It was just...more
The writing, was beautiful. The word choice spoke to my heart and really touched me.
His mixing of poetry and prose was also superb.
The characters were relatable, and so SO real.
Where was he a bit lacking?
The plot.
It wasn't that there was no plot. It was just...more
Before Zusak gained fame for writing the beloved novel The Book Thief, he wrote a trilogy of books about a young man named Cameron Wolfe: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl.
This is his first book and the beginning of that trilogy. It tells the story of the Wolfe brothers from Cameron’s point-of-view. He and his older brother Reuben live in Australia and spend their time getting in trouble and annoying their family members.
The novel feels immature in some ways. The style f...more
This is his first book and the beginning of that trilogy. It tells the story of the Wolfe brothers from Cameron’s point-of-view. He and his older brother Reuben live in Australia and spend their time getting in trouble and annoying their family members.
The novel feels immature in some ways. The style f...more
So.
This is neither the book to start with Zusak nor the one to continue with him after you read one of his later works and were blown away by it.
It's his first novel and it's not too bad, but it's not really good either.
Nevertheless it's great to see how much he developed as an author - compare this book to "I am the Messenger" or "The Book Thief" and you'll see a whole lot of improvement there.
I even got the feeling that this ones gets better the closer you come to the end of it... still it's n...more
This is neither the book to start with Zusak nor the one to continue with him after you read one of his later works and were blown away by it.
It's his first novel and it's not too bad, but it's not really good either.
Nevertheless it's great to see how much he developed as an author - compare this book to "I am the Messenger" or "The Book Thief" and you'll see a whole lot of improvement there.
I even got the feeling that this ones gets better the closer you come to the end of it... still it's n...more
I was instroduced to Mark Zusak through The Book Thief which I absolutely adored. Later on, I read The Messenger, hoping it would be equally as enjoyable. I was not disappointed, however it just wasn't quite as good as The Book Thief. Seeing The Underdog at my local library, I was excited to read that as well. This book confused me in it's lack of plot. I really had a hard time staying interested. I, personally, always make my decision on if I liked a book based on: whether or not I think about...more
Markus Zusak says in the introduction to the American edition that he doesn't like the series that much and would change a lot if he could redo it. And to a point, it isn't really nearly as good as The Book Thief or The Messenger. It lacks the sense of direction and the subtextual deepness that he other books have.
That being said, it's still a Zusak novel, so it's still very definitely worth reading. His unique voice definitely still comes out and his stylistic choices are still superior to many...more
That being said, it's still a Zusak novel, so it's still very definitely worth reading. His unique voice definitely still comes out and his stylistic choices are still superior to many...more
![Yue [Wonder of living]](http://d.gr-assets.com/users/1366500319p2/3916115.jpg)
So I read Underdogs, the collection of his three Cameron Wolfe novels. Out of all of them, this one was meh-- mainly because it was his first. We see the young Markus Zusak in this novel before the Book Thief. And that's what I love about Markus Zusak; he has his own style of writing. If anyone threw down a piece of Markus Zusak's manuscript, I can guarantee I would be able to know who that is. And I think Underdog was the beginning of finding his voice before The Book Thief. His writing gradual...more
Markus Zusak's first book. Bloody excellent. I want to climb inside his fiction.
So I'm marking this as a book read, since it's the one Markus Zusak I've never read, even though in this new book it is just the first part. Make sense? Oh, well if it doesn't. Anyway, this is the book that introduces us to Cameron and Ruben Wolfe, who go on to have more adventures in the other two books. I can tell this was his first book... let's just say he got better, much MUCH better! While I enjoyed the book and these crazy boys, there really wasn't much story to it. Just Cameron moping ab...more
Nov 17, 2011
Bradley
added it
The order that I read Markus Zusak books:
I am the Messenger
The Book Thief (multiple times)
Getting the Girl
Underdog
The first book is exactly that, his first book, it's clear he is still finding his voice and developing his style at that point - he says more or less in the forward at the beginning of the newly released trilogy. In that sense, I enjoyed it. Having read everything I did before Underdog it's great to be able to see how he has grown as a writer, which is evident even in the short span...more
I am the Messenger
The Book Thief (multiple times)
Getting the Girl
Underdog
The first book is exactly that, his first book, it's clear he is still finding his voice and developing his style at that point - he says more or less in the forward at the beginning of the newly released trilogy. In that sense, I enjoyed it. Having read everything I did before Underdog it's great to be able to see how he has grown as a writer, which is evident even in the short span...more
I chose this because I’ve enjoyed Zusak’s later books, and this is the first of a reissued semiautobiographical trilogy that were his first works. The characters and setting are very vivid: Cameron and Ruben Wolfe, teenage brothers who do stupid things together because they don’t have money or much common sense, though Cameron’s burgeoning sense of the world – and his understanding that they could do more in life - colors their escapades. Interspersed are Cameron’s dreams, which offer shorthand...more
I am very disappointed. I never thought that I would be giving a Markus Zusak book anything less than five stars, but I guess there's a first time for everything. There wasn't a lot to this book....it mostly consisted of an obsessive, annoying protagonist trying to find a "place in this world." there were a few quotes here and there that were good, but for the most part it was pretty blah....not very engrossing. Towards the end it got better, but that's when you wished that it wasnt the end so...more
Ordinarily, if someone said “Hey, would you like to spend a few days in the mind of a 15 year old boy?” I’d emphatically say: “No thanks,” or at a stretch, “Maybe, can I take hand sanitiser?”
However, if someone said “Hey, would you like to spend a few days in the mind of a 15 year old boy via Markus Zusak?” I’d say: “Yes! Give it to me now!”
No one actually said that, but have acquired all three books in Zusak’s Underdog series, and thus this week I spent some time in the mind of Cameron Wolfe: d...more
However, if someone said “Hey, would you like to spend a few days in the mind of a 15 year old boy via Markus Zusak?” I’d say: “Yes! Give it to me now!”
No one actually said that, but have acquired all three books in Zusak’s Underdog series, and thus this week I spent some time in the mind of Cameron Wolfe: d...more
17 likes · like · see review
(Review originally posted on my livejournal account: http://intoyourlungs.livejournal.com/...)
Why I Read It: It's Markus Zusak. In 2009, I read and fell in love with The Book Thief and to this day I consider it one of my all-time favourite books. In 2010, I read I Am The Messenger and I *also* consider that book an all-time favourite.
Underdog was Zusak's debut novel, and it definitely reads like one (as in, I believe it's Zusak's weakest novel in his body of work), but it's not wholly unenjoyab...more
Why I Read It: It's Markus Zusak. In 2009, I read and fell in love with The Book Thief and to this day I consider it one of my all-time favourite books. In 2010, I read I Am The Messenger and I *also* consider that book an all-time favourite.
Underdog was Zusak's debut novel, and it definitely reads like one (as in, I believe it's Zusak's weakest novel in his body of work), but it's not wholly unenjoyab...more
Ruben Wolf is always thinking of ridiculous schemes that he and his brother, Cameron, never actually carry out. And setting out to rob the dentist is no exception. Cameron is fifteen and usually just goes along with whatever Ruben dreams up. The Underdog is about the things that happen to Cameron that winter: how he fell in love, got into fights, dreamt and survived. Cameron feels pathetic and hopeless, and just wants to find a girl that he will never hurt. As Cameron tries to stop disappointing...more
”I don’t really know that this story has a whole lot of things happen in it. It doesn’t really. It’s just a record of how things were in my life last winter. I guess things happened, but nothing out of the ordinary.” p.11
And that’s right.
This is Markus Zusak’s first novel...for that reason alone I wanted to read it. Ostensibly for young adults, this chronicle may be coined as a succinct, but subtle, peek into the mind of a growing boy, condensed within a very small chapter of his life - an hones...more
And that’s right.
This is Markus Zusak’s first novel...for that reason alone I wanted to read it. Ostensibly for young adults, this chronicle may be coined as a succinct, but subtle, peek into the mind of a growing boy, condensed within a very small chapter of his life - an hones...more
This is Zusek's very first novel, the first of three semi-autobiographical novels about growing up in a working class family and struggling to find your voice in the world. There's a lot that's really clumsily down here, but I can't deny how endearing Cameron (read: Zusak) is. It's clear even from these rough beginnings that Zusak is talented, although it's a little awkward and even embarrassing to see just how overdone and angst-y this attempt is. Still, there's something appealing about Camero...more
This book was good. I love Markus Zusak and read it with pretty low expectations, knowing that it was his first novel. Markus Zusak's writing is very distinctive and I love that about his books. All the characters were likable. However, I generally don't like dream sequences (though I loved the one about the underdog) and there was one every other chapter. I also didn't particularly like Cameron's habit of mentioning something and then saying "you'll find out about that later..." But overall, I'...more
I read this book for what it was. An early story written by a developing artist for the late teens/young adult market. I like the author's style...he is a fav. of mine and it was nice to get more of an insight into how his talent developed. The book was a light-hearted, easy read a 'day in the life of' type of story. Being a mum with a teenage son it was nice to see things from Cameron's (main character) perspective...made me think.
adoro os livros todos do markus suzak! ele tem um jeito de escrever que me cativa, e as histórias que ele conta são sempre legais! este é o primeiro livro publicado por ele, e só não li antes porque foi muuuuito difícil de achar! adorei o livrinho, mas confesso que os outros são melhores :-) o legal deste violume é perceber os irmãos wolfe numa época anterior aos outros livros!
I don't know what it is about Markus Zusak but I love his voice. It helps that I picture all of his characters with that sexy ausie accent! This was a short quick read probably better suited for a 15 year old boy than a 41 year old woman but as I said, I find myself drawn to the Zusak style even if this story line was a bit less relatable for me.
Amusing but not great: This book tells about a few weeks in the life of fifteen-year-old self-confessed 'dirty boy' Cameron Wolfe. Nothing of extraordinary importance seems tonhappen in these weeks, but the narrator is charmingly clumsy and surprisingly existentialist, which makes this story worth a read.
I stopped reading this one in the first chapter. The back of the book talks about how the character is a dirty boy and I was thinking it meant mud and grime kind of dirty. But it meant smut kind of dirty so I'm not interested in finishing it. I need to find another Markus Zusak book that I like.
I worked my way through Markus Zusak's books backwards, starting with the Book Thief back in 2007. Underdog was only just released in the US, which is odd, because it is the first in a trilogy of books following the character Cameron and Ruben Wolfe. Of the three Wolf brother books, this was definitely the weakest - but it was also his first published book. I could have done without the cliched dream sequences.
Audiobook. Gorgeous coming of age story of an average Australian family. Very strong voice of the narrator. It's nice reading a story about people who are very normal, doing very normal things, that makes you laugh and has a happy ending and isn't contrived. I liked it.
I'm a big Markus Zusak fan & was thrilled when his early work was released in digital format since it's tough to find in print in the US. The first book in the Wolfe Brothers series isn't strong on plot, but you definitely get a sense of where Zusak's writing style is heading. Is it a great read? No, but the writing is good & the characters are interesting enough to keep reading.
Loved it. As in his other books, Zusak's choice of language transcends a common theme -- growing up and figuring out one's place in the family and then the world -- into a masterpiece of imagery and emotion.
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Markus Zusak is the author of five books, including the international bestseller, The Book Thief, which has topped bestseller lists ranging from the New York Times in America, the Sunday Times in the UK, as well as countries in Europe, South America and Asia.
His first three books, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and When Dogs Cry, released between 1999 and 2001, were all published international...more
More about Markus Zusak...
His first three books, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and When Dogs Cry, released between 1999 and 2001, were all published international...more
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“I had to decide what I was going to do, and what I was going to be.
I was standing there, waiting for someone to do something , till I realised the person I was waiting for was myself.”
—
28 people liked it
I was standing there, waiting for someone to do something , till I realised the person I was waiting for was myself.”
“It is early, early morning. It's that time when it's still dark but you know the day is coming. Blue is bleeding through black. Stars are dying.”
—
11 people liked it
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