Description

An exhilarating, disturbing and darkly comic spiral into a sad dad’s increasingly unhinged obsession with tennis.

Since losing his job, Ned’s sole responsibility has been to look after his six-year-old son while his wife works. When he one day finds his old tennis racquet buried in the garage, he also unearths a part of his former self. On a whim, and without his wife’s knowledge, Ned rejoins his former tennis club – and finds life outside the realm of domesticity. He becomes the captain of a local men’s team, reconnects with his old partner, former tennis-prodigy Roland, and commits himself body and soul to building a winning team. But when Roland disappears, Ned’s search for his friend threatens not only the path to glory, but his relationship with his son, his marriage, and his mind.

A meditation on fathers and sons, male friendship, and the all-consuming thrill of competing and winning, Dad Had a Bad Day is wincingly funny and addictive – and, ultimately, poignant and quietly heartbreaking.

Praise:

‘An excellent tennis book that embodies the agony of the sport itself. Obsessive, competitive, psychologically damaged . . . Dad Had a Bad Day is deranged and also a really good time.’ Kevin Nguyen, author of My Documents

‘Call it tennis court noir. Politanoff . . . applies maximum spin to every sentence of this nervy, funny, heartbreaking novel.’ Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams

‘At turns hilarious, acrid, haunted, and sweet – yet none of those notes landed where I expected. This novel wrong-footed me. It left me stumbling on the hard court, and I can’t stop thinking about it.’ Giri Nathan, author of Changeover

‘A funny, moving, often disturbing portrait of men – alone and in groups, as sons and fathers – filled with strange detail, bold swerves, and the idiosyncratic language of sport.’ Kathryn Scanlan, author of Kick the Latch

‘A triumph . . . Impeccably, propulsively, and hilariously rendered, Politanoff writes about tennis like Barry Hannah wrote about alcohol – something swift, additive, fun, life-giving and also totally filthy. I gulped this book whole in a single sitting. Nobody writes like Ashton Politanoff.’ Rita Bullwinkel, author of Headshot

‘No one writes about masculinity and community like Ashton Politanoff . . . Authenticity is evident beneath the dark comedy of the team dynamics, sharply observed dialogue, and exploration of one man’s intoxication with his own potential.’ Lucie Elven