Unlike Reilly, whose pomp and bluster create chaos, Murph is a go-with-the-flow philosopher (comparisons to The Dude in The Big Lebowski seem somewhat inevitable), a man who wants to avoid people and will do almost anything to avoid confrontation, but whose internal monologue makes him a fascinating companion. Every few pages readers will find an unexpected turn of phrase, a running gag, or, for lack of a better way to put it, a funny way of looking at things.
Read Keir Graff’s full review of The Asphalt Warrior on Booklist