Tennis and the Meaning of Life

Everyone who thrills to a good match and delights in good writing will love this dazzling anthology of the best tennis ever played in literature. If any sport is a metaphor for our complicated human existence, tennis is. The cumulative effect of these stories is to see life through tennis, and to see tennis itself portrayed more beautifully than ever before.

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The only book of its kind, Tennis and the Meaning of Life is a resplendent collection of the best fiction (and poetry!) written about this extraordinary sport/obsession. The stories are hilarious and sad, whimsical and philosophical, lyrical and profane - and thoroughly saturated with the art of the game. Fathers play against sons. Business partners attempt mutual destruction by tennis. An amateur challenges the local pro. Humbert Humbert rhapsodizes about Lolita's heartbreakingly beautiful game. Tennis is played by telegraph. Tennis saves a life or two. The metaphysics of tennis balls is debated. Lovers cavort in a commingling of tennis and desire.