Montezuma's Ferrari: And Other Adventures

Levy's adventures in the publishing world have been unusual, to say the least. His first novel, The Last Open Road, was self-published and so successful that St. Martin's Press subsequently picked it up. But for his second novel, a sequel, Levy is taking the self-publishing route again, financing the book partly by way of 32 in-text automobile advertisements. Telling the story of an exhilarating and funny road trip set against the backdrop of the 1950s racing scene is Buddy Palumbo, a good-hearted 19-year-old from Passaic, N.J. Eager to immerse himself in the racing lifestyle, much to the chagrin of his disapproving family, Palumbo--along with his buddies, scrap dealer and financier Big Ed Baumstein and daredevil driver Cal Carrington--weaves his way through the 1952 racing season. With Palumbo handling the pit crew, the team competes in races as glamorous as the 2000-mile Carrera Panamericana in Mexico and as second-rate as those held on abandoned air force landing strips. Back at home, Palumbo struggles with his personal life, complicated by a huge, dysfunctional extended family, a demanding but fiercely devoted fianc e and one problem after another at the gas station where he works. In Palumbo, Levy has created a salt-of-the-earth character whose simple approach to life and folk wisdom make him an unassuming yet engaging hero. Levy, himself a semi-pro racer in the 1970s and 1980s, also provides vivid and authentic descriptions of racing, often tossing in real-life characters and events that will delight fans of the sport. Moreover, Levy is a marvelous storyteller, as adept at explaining the intricacies of a Jaguar's engine as he is at recounting the bewildering family dynamics at a Thanksgiving dinner. The writer's second dark horse just may take the race again. (Nov.) FYI: Montezuma's Ferrari has been selected as Book of the Month by Classic & Sports Car, the first time a work of fiction has been chosen by the magazine.