The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter): The Story of a Diminutive Soldier in the Rear with the Gear by Joseph Perry Grassi is a fun read that readers who enjoy military yarns and adventure will love. Corrado Giordano is a very small American-Italian man who works as a magazine editor in New York. He wants to be loved, but can’t find love. So, teased by members of his family who are war veterans and who pay no attention to his opinions, he joins the army and is deployed to Afghanistan. Things don’t turn out to be as easy as he’d thought when he hits the battlefield as a supply guy in the rear with the gear. While others are enlisted and well-trained infantrymen, Giordano learns the hard way as he is embroiled in the chaos. Can he survive the mayhem and get back home safely to America?

While this is a great story for military fans, it is an adventure filled with humor and features a protagonist that I adored. The stature of the man is, in itself, the biggest concern of the story. His diminutive size is one of the reasons that he isn’t noticed by women, but getting ridiculed also pushes him to prove himself — somehow. But is joining the army the best thing for him? The descriptions are terrific, from the personality of the protagonist to his size and how he sees himself to the heated scenes that capture the reality of war. The prose is simply delightful and the plot is intelligently written, and I loved the way the author writes the protagonist's motivation. Joseph Perry Grassi keeps the story real and fun; it is a page-turner with great characters and the humor kept me going.

The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter) by Joseph Perry Grassi is a remarkable ride through the incredibly difficult process of being trained for the United States Army and ultimately serving in a war zone, seen through the eyes of 28-year-old English Literature graduate Corrado Giordano (Corey). We pick up Corey’s story around the time the Twin Towers came down in New York, when he was working for a publishing company and made the life-altering decision to join the Army to serve his country. Being relatively small in stature, Corey’s life has always carried an additional societal expectation; the perception that he needed to prove his mettle. How he copes with these ill-founded beliefs and pushes through every insurmountable barrier thrown in his path shines a light on one irrefutable truth; the worth of a man is not measured by his height, but by the impact his heart has on those he meets in life.

Joseph Perry Grassi’s The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter) is a book you will find hard to put down. It literally takes you into Fort Knox, Fort Lee, and Fort Polk to experience what day to day life is all about in these environments. So much of what Corey experiences elicits a strong emotional and empathetic connection with you; at times you will be howling at the unfairness of it all and at other times you will be celebrating the sweet victories that come his way. There is also a surprising amount of interesting information revealed throughout the story, revealing conditions and equipment that became part of the soldier’s world in both training and war zones within Afghanistan. If you are seeking an interesting adventure that never fails to grab your attention, The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter) is the book for you.

The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter) by Joseph Perry Grassi has the precise operational definition of the military novel infused with biting humor. Welcome to the world of Corrado Giordano, a modestly-statured magazine editor with Italian heritage who is unlucky in love yet persists in looking for the right one. When New York is attacked, he enlists in the army despite the ridicule of his family, who denigrates his education and doubts if he has the moxie to make it in military service. But Corrado has his own resolve. Deployed in Afghanistan under unit supply, where he is referred to as “the supply bitch,” he encounters fellow men in uniform with diverse backgrounds and characters. Corrado will come to the realization that his stint in the US military is a representation of the unfavorable structures in America.

Joseph Perry Grassi’s talent for storytelling is impressive and disciplined. He doesn’t burden readers with a boring narrative. As the prologue suggests that Corrado’s adventure is viewed through the eyes of his war veteran godfather, the novel does not appear repetitive and monotonous. Considering that this can be an allegorical condition of America as represented by military life, The Little Guy is charged with psychological realism that speaks to us in a bitter and funny way. The themes of war and humor do not mix easily both in life and fiction, yet the story has managed to create in this combination a powerful expression of cause and effect that makes this novel enjoyable. If the TV series M*A*S*H and Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 had a child, The Little Guy would be the offspring.

The Little Guy (or The Motor Scooter) - The Story of a Diminutive Soldier in The Rear with The Gear by Joseph Perry Grassi is a military fiction a la Captain America but better. Corrado Giordano is an Italian-American with big dreams and he does not let his lack of height get in the way. However, when tragedy strikes New York City, Corrado decides to enlist in the US Army. He thinks things will get better now that he has a purpose. He becomes the supply guy, the person who stays in the back with the gear. He thinks that as long as he does his job and keeps his integrity intact, he will be good. But he is still in the thick of things along with the other soldiers and war is not gentle on anyone. Has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Corrado’s journey is real, gritty, and exceptionally well-written. Joseph Perry Grassi gives very detailed descriptions of active duty, the hardships, the emotional upheavals, and the mental trauma that war leaves on the minds of soldiers. I am surprised at how quickly I lost myself in The Little Guy and how easy it is to read. I think it all boils down to Corrado and his development. He is the kind of character that everyone loves. He is not particularly the underdog, but he is someone you root for because you can feel his potential. The chapters are short, they flow beautifully and give a sense of finality to the action. I love how the pace slows down or picks up with Corrado’s development. There isn’t a single thing that I wish the author to change in The Little Guy because it is perfect until the last word. It is perhaps the best novel I have read this year.