‘The Last Days of Roger Federer’ with Geoff Dyer

We are delighted to welcome Geoff Dyer, award-winning author of four novels, and ten non-fiction books including Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It, and White Sands, to Bath to talk to us about his spectacular new book The Last Days of Roger Federer; an unusual blend of criticism, memoir and repartee forming something entirely new…

Much attention has been paid to so-called late style – but what about last style? When does last begin? How early is late? When does the end set in? In this endlessly stimulating investigation, Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last achievements of writers, painters, athletes and musicians who’ve mattered to him throughout his life. With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence, he examines Friedrich Nietzsche’s breakdown in Turin, Bob Dylan’s reinventions of old songs, J.M.W. Turner’s paintings of abstracted light, John Coltrane’s cosmic melodies, Jean Rhys’s return from the dead (while still alive) and Beethoven’s final quartets – and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight.

Oh, and there’s stuff about Roger Federer and tennis too. This book on last things – written while life as we know it seemed to be coming to an end – is also about how to go on living with art and beauty, on the entrancing effect and sudden illumination that an Art Pepper solo or an Annie Dillard reflection can engender in even the most jaded sensibilities.

Perfect for fans of Olivia Laing, Rebecca Solnit and David Sedaris, The Last Days of Roger Federer is the perfect introduction to Geoff Dyer’s sly and joyous work.

‘Quite possibly the best living writer in Britain’ Daily Telegraph

“Tennis, jazz, Dylan, movies, TV, drugs, Nietzsche, Beethoven. So, why am I laughing? Because Geoff Dyer once again melds commentary and observation with intellect and wit. Bouncing between criticism and memoir, Dyer is one of the few writers whose paragraphs I can immediately reread and get more from. The twists, turns, and delights abound, and when you finally put the book down you think, “Oh, yes, I’ve always been this smart, haven’t I?”” — STEVE MARTIN

“Most authors use language to write about things. Dyer uses things to write about language. He’s a clever clogs but he’s one of us at the same time. Genius” — SIMON ARMITAGE

“More than its title would suggest, The Last Days of Roger Federer is an engaging series of meditations on mental and physical sunsets in the lives of painters, musicians, philosophers, poets, boxers, and of course tennis players. Dyer the stylist is at the top of his game here, serving up conundrums, paradoxes, logical binds, and other cerebral delights. Even his syntax is witty. This generous offering of Dyer’s insightful, often hilarious, take on art, life and sports is a feast for his readers” — BILLY COLLINS