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:
‘I empathized with [Dad Had a Bad Day’s] unraveling protagonist, a man defenseless against his repetition compulsion. I delighted in its chiseled prose, and the suspense and surprise of its plot.’ Racquet Magazine
‘Ferociously compelling . . . I’ve been thinking about Dad Had a Bad Day nonstop. Politanoff has delivered a reading experience I won’t soon forget, about a character I kinda wish I could.’ The Second Serve
