I'm working on a novel set in a tennis club at the moment, so it seemed appropriate to read Lionel Shriver's Double Fault. Shriver is a big tennis fan; she once said she doesn't so much love to play matches as simply to whack a ball about a court, really hard.

Double Fault by Lionel Shriver

And I agree with her. Double Fault is also in many ways the perfect novel for me, combining my twin passions of tennis and fine writing.

It didn’t disappoint.

Shriver’s prose is typically taut and spare throughout, pared back so far that sometimes you have to re-read the sentence several times before you understand what is going on. She doesn’t lead the reader by the hand, which I admire.

There are also some fabulous descriptions of tennis matches which bounce off the page.

In short, it is a fantastic exploration of whether a marriage can sustain two careers (in this case, both ferociously competitive professional tennis players). I was simply gripped by the plot and was, as ever, in awe of Shriver’s writing.

Top quote:

I’d rather play tennis then have sex.

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