by Jim Lehrer
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Product Description
Veteran newsman and acclaimed novelist Jim Lehrer exposes worlds both intimate and universal, builds suspense with an accomplished hand, and reveals a savvy understanding of the modern social landscape. With The Phony Marine, Lehrer dives into a highly controversial topic–and delivers his most compelling character portrait to date.
Hugo Marder is about as unremarkable as they come. On the floor of the Washington, D.C., branch of Nash Brothers, one of the country’s most respected men’s stores, Hugo is a wise, reserved salesman. At home, he is a solitary, divorced fifty-year-old with few friends and an eBay addiction. But he has always wanted to make more of his life, dreaming of becoming an artist or a cartoonist. When he was younger, he’d always wanted to be a marine.
Late one night, Hugo stumbles upon an online auction for a Silver Star, the medal awarded for bravery in battle. He bids and wins. But it is only after he places the lapel pin on his jacket that he realizes the enormity of his actions. Suddenly, ordinary people begin to treat him differently, with dignity and respect. Is he really going to pretend the honor is his own?
As Hugo wrestles with his conscience, a transformation begins to take place. He studies the life of a marine, learns the military terminology, body-builds at the gym, even gets a crew cut. When he is reborn as a former marine, his life immediately changes. Is it possible that his deception has unlocked the man he always wanted to be? Through numerous challenges and more than one terrifying ordeal, Hugo Marder must prove his worth. And in the end, he must ask himself: What is a hero?
Alive with detail, emotional depth, and unexpected twists of plot, The Phony Marine is a tense, revelatory work of fiction that will cause every reader to consider his or her own stance on what truly makes someone great.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Just plain awful, 2008-09-16
I wish I could unread this novel. Jim Lehrer's characters are one-dimensional and pathetic.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 mwoah..., 2008-05-14
Having read novels by Jim Lehrer before, this reader expected something better than this novel offers. It is a bit bland and void of imagination: the clothing salesman who impersonates an American hero in order to become a better man at the end of the day. Truly fictitious and possibly ridiculous is the transformation of the salesman's ex-wife who has revived carnal interest when our salesman is at the peak of his impersonated life.
If you have nothing better to do during a lazy day on the beach, consider reading this, otherwise I suggest you don't bother.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
So much potential but this one is average at best, 2007-09-01
This has all the makings of a great book -- great idea, decent characters, solid plot and very good writing. The guy buys a Silver Star Medal on ebay and tries to live out a fantasy of being something he isn't. The first half of the book is most enjoyable. Then all of a sudden the second half was rushed to an ending that was most predictable. I almost put this book down twice but I kept on going because it is a short read. Lehrer could have done so much more this idea but didn't. If you can get a used copy for a couple of bucks, then buy it. Otherwise, save your money.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 The Phony Marine, 2007-08-12
It's a Must Read for every former Marine and all those men and women -- who would have liked to be a Marine.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
An Identity Theft And It's Interesting Developments, 2007-05-28
In "The Phony Marine" author Jim Lehrer tells the story of a Walter Mitty type character who had settled into a mundane life as a 50-year old divorced clothing salesman in Washington, D. C. His hobby is collecting cuff links and other interesting old clothing accessories on EBay.
On a whim one day, he bids and wins a Silver Star which had been won by a Marine Corps officer in Viet Nam. From here, the author gives a quick study of the sickness some people have in getting the false respect from the heroic actions of others. But the main character, Hugo Marder, soon realizes that he must build a support story for the award he wears in his lapel, and goes on an aggressive program of learning everything about marines and the history of the winner's unit in Viet Nam. Further, he must look the part which leads to a trimming down physically and changing his entire bearing.
A co-worker and friend knows about the fraud, and makes the valid point that there are many heroes in society but only rarely does the opportunity present itself to display it. Opportunity is everything, and one just never knows how they will react until actually faced with the challenge.
As events would have it, this new persona has an opportunity to become a real hero in a page-turning adventure at a court house where he had simply shown up for jury duty. Even with his new-found fame as a real hero, he still struggles with the fear of exposure of his Silver Star lie, and his own sense of honor, and he sets about to do something about it.
Author Jim Lehrer is an award-winning TV personality, a former Marine Corps officer as was this father and brother. Former 'Corps vets will get some inside chuckles (Marder suddenly realizes he doesn't know was "S.O.S." is) but the narrative will be enjoyed by all. This is a short book and a real quick read, but a solid 4-Star effort.
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