41-Love
by
18/99
Critics' Rating Index
6/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
51/99
Volume of Reviews
13/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
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About This Book
A darkly funny sports memoir about a mid-life crisis, exercise addiction, tennis, and how to grow up when you really, really don't want to. At forty-one, Scarlett Thomas was a successful novelist and a senior academic. She'd quit smoking, gotten healthier, settled down in a lovely house with a wonderful partner. She'd had all the therapy. Then her beloved dog died. Of her three fathers (she'd acquired a stepfather at ten), one died of a heroin overdose and the other two were diagnosed with cancer. Her sister-in-law became pregnant at the same time that she realized that she really was never going to become a mother. For the first time in her life, maintaining her ideal weight had become nearly impossible. She was supposed to grow up, but she didn't know how. So instead, she decided to regress: to go back to the thing she'd loved best as a child but had inexplicably abandoned: tennis. Thomas knows she's not the only person to have wondered if you throw enough money and time and passion at something, whether you can make your dream come true. 41-Love is heartbreaking but frequently darkly funny as Scarlett finds she'll do anything to win--almost anything.
Reviews
"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 ..."
"Though her wit is entrancing, the most striking characteristic of Thomas's narrative is its refusal to end with 'what I learned' enlightenment."
"Readers—especially the competitively inclined—will root for Thomas to go the distance and emerge a victor both on and off the court ..."
"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 ..."
"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."
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