41-Love

July 1, 2021

Liberated of both job and relationship, journalist Lasley moved from London to Aberdeen and, as she relates in Sea State, worked on an oil rig--the better to understand how men behave with no women around and to witness masculine culture suddenly in crisis (50,000-copy first printing). In Cokie, Roberts recalls distinguished journalist Cokie Roberts, his wife of 53 years (150,000-copy first printing). A two-time All Pro Linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Shazier suffered a spinal-cord injury during a game and had to learn to walk again before he could finally dance with his wife at their wedding--a Walking Miracle that required the perseverance and strength he now applies to his post-game life (50,000-copy first printing). Having immigrated to the United States as a toddler, been paralyzed owing to gunshot as a gang member, and become an English professor after earning a master's degree in medieval literature, Silva addresses The Death of My Father the Pope, recalling a man who was an abusive alcoholic (originally scheduled for August; 30,000-copy first printing). As beloved British novelist Thomas relates in 41-Love, at age 41 she was healthier than ever and happily ensconced with a partner yet faced painful obstacles--the death of loved ones, the realization that she would never have children--that compelled her to return to an early love of her life: tennis. In A Calm Chaos, Walker, the psychiatrist on Bravo's Married to Medicine series and one of Essence's "Woke 100," relates life with a distant, addicted father, her own struggles with depression, and the later-in-life realization that her immigrant grandmother was bipolar, all contributing to her commitment to work with people who are mentally ill in inner cities (40,000-copy first printing).

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September 27, 2021
Novelist Thomas (Oligarchy) serves an ace of a memoir with this trenchant account about the pains of getting older. When she gave herself a tennis lesson for her 41st birthday, she saw it as “my last chance to do the thing I love, the thing that I was always best at, as well as I can.” She spiritedly recounts dedicating her sabbatical year to tennis and the matches she played against lithe younger women (“tall, slim, pert, slightly sulky young people”), the politics of coach-switching, and her fixation on optimizing her diet, exercise, and meditation routines. The obsessive present is informed by Thomas’s past, which includes a rotating cast of father figures and a traumatic abortion in her young adulthood. As Thomas rose through the ranks of over-40 ladies’ singles tournaments, her mental and physical health fractured, eventually causing her to step back from tennis entirely, but not before making it to Seniors’ Wimbledon. Though her wit is entrancing, the most striking characteristic of Thomas’s narrative is its refusal to end with “what I learned” enlightenment. Instead, she writes, “I have now pretty much made peace with the fact that I was a bit of an idiot in 2014.” This window into midlife desire is cathartic, amusing reading for anyone who’s wanted desperately to win. Agent: Daniel Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc.

October 15, 2021
The British novelist tells of how a midlife return to competitive tennis turned into a "cursed dance" that unexpectedly derailed her life. At 41, Thomas had solid career prospects at her university, a stable relationship, and a just-finished new novel. Yet all she really wanted was "another trophy" to affirm that she was still the "prodigy, sort of," who walked away from tennis at age 14. "Tennis was my first love," writes the author. "Every other sport I ever played was with my eyes closed and the duvet stuffed in my mouth so I didn't shout out its name, the name of my real passion, my soulmate." When her wealthy paternal grandmother deemed the author "common, as well as uncouth and unsophisticated and weird," Thomas was sent away to a posh private school. Soon, her intense desire to prove her tennis skills transformed winning games into losing ones. When she finally returned to the game again in the summer of 2013, Thomas discovered that tennis was more than just a social and athletic hobby; it soon controlled her life and thoughts. For the next year, the author pursued the sport relentlessly, winning trophies and local recognition. Yet her wins felt meaningless; she only wanted more. Her own harshest critic, Thomas eventually reached the semifinals at Seniors' Wimbledon, then learned she was ranked "131 in the world for over-40 women." Soon after, she suffered from burnout, "like a moth sizzling in the plastic tray of a fluorescent light, because I could not keep away from the brightness and the flames." With its obsessive attention to such details as tennis equipment, attire, and events on the court during matches, much of the story is tedious and often overshadows the more compelling emotional and socio-economic aspects underlying the author's brutal need to win. Ultimately, Thomas hints at rather than consciously explores the reasons behind her fall from tennis grace, and the book's appeal may be limited to those who share the author's love of tennis. An interesting but flawed narrative experiment.

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November 1, 2021
Novelist Thomas (Oligarchy, 2019) delivers a memoir about competitively taking up a sport at an age when most players would be considered in their twilight years. While somewhat of a tennis novice as a girl, Thomas dismissed the sport for years until, suddenly, at age 41, she's convinced that she can find that same level. She can't. But that doesn't stop her from shelling out lots of money for private lessons and high-end gear while she abandons family and work in favor of tennis. Her obsession with her ranking, nutrition, and fitness leads her down a path filled with body pains, self-doubt and lots of tears. Readers should be prepared for pages detailing tennis matches--a basic understanding of the game and scoring is a prequisite--as well as irritation with Thomas in moments of bold self-absorption. At the same time, the author's honesty is also what makes this memoir appealing, and Thomas' insights into the world of amateur tennis are compelling. A capable memoir for those who love tennis and competition.

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November 19, 2021

Tennis, anyone? Thomas's (Oligarchy; The Seed Collectors)) new work, a memoir about finding tennis again in mid-life and the accompanying rush of competitive spirit, may be a bit of a departure for fans of her fiction. However, her own coming-of-age story is written in the style of her novels, and the author's characteristic acerbic wit shines through. The memoir will thus be a joy to Thomas's fans but might be off-putting to those uninterested in her upper-middle-class lifestyle and her indulgence in jealousy, complaints, and criticism of self and others. But will this same string of negative thinking challenge the author to reconsider her priorities? Thomas's writing is darkly funny at times, and she brings readers along as she navigates the death of her beloved dog and caring for her aging parents. VERDICT Most readers will need to have a keen interest in playing tennis to appreciate this memoir's focus but they might be rewarded with a meditation on the psychology behind a tennis obsession.--Kelly Karst, California Inst. of Integral Studies, San Francisco

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.