The comeback of a tennis legend.

Genre: Sports / Drama

Pages: 364

First published: 2023

Original language: English

The plot: Carrie Soto is the greatest female tennis player the world has ever seen. She’s broken records and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. But when, following her retirement, her record is broken by a young British player, Nicki Chan, she decides to make a comeback.

Carrie has earned her records. She has sacrificed everything for her sport – love, family, friendships. And now she wants that record back.

For one final season, Carrie Soto is back, determined to win at least one Grand Slam and reclaim her title as the Greatest of All Time. Her body and game aren’t what they once were, but that doesn’t matter. Does it?

What did I think of this book?

Confession time: I am a fully paid up member of the cult of Taylor Jenkins Reid. There’s just something about her books, isn’t there? No, they’re not hard-hitting works of literary fiction. But they are very readable, with relatable plots, twists and turns galore. They are the literary equivalent of those singers who aren’t the most technically gifted, or the best dancer, but they have something: you cannot take your eyes off them.

What TJR does really well is write flawed characters. The likes of Carrie Soto, Daisy Jones (from Daisy Jones and the Six) and Evelyn Hugo (from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) are each flawed in their own way, to the point that we should dislike them. But we don’t, because we see ourselves in these characters, and recognise our own flaws in them. Carrie Soto is one such example. She’s a iron bar of a woman – laser focused on tennis and tennis alone. Everything else – her father (who happens to be her coach), her on-off lover Bowe Huntley (also a tennis player), and her life off the court, comes second. There is no room in her life, or heart, for anything else. She is at times, deeply unpleasant.

But I found myself rooting for her. This is a woman who has been through so much to get where she is, and we find ourselves wanting her to reclaim her title. We want her to win. What’s interesting is that Nicki Chan is never presented as a villain – more a friendly rival. The ending of the book (no spoilers!), when it comes, doesn’t come as a surprise.

What was most intriguing about this book?

What I liked about CSIB was the realisation that, despite her intended reliance on no one but herself, Carrie Soto is in fact deeply dependant upon others – she just doesn’t realise it. Her mother is dead, and so her father – also her coach – is essentially both parents to her, offering guidance and support, but also tough love when she needs it. Bowe is a confidant, at times more a friend than a lover.

I learnt a lot from this book about the life of an athlete. Not being an athlete myself (I would probably pass out if I attempted even one of Carrie Soto’s preferred training methods). It is an all-encompassing, brutal world. It is easy to see how Carrie has become so hardened over time – if you want to be a success within the world of competitive tennis, then you have to really want it, more than anything else. There is no room for anything other than tennis. It’s easy to see why only a tiny proportion of people choose that life.

What am I going to take away from this book?

That I could not be a professional sportsperson! I value my non-work pursuits, and I care for those I love too much to put everything else aside as Carrie does. It is a lonely life that she leads, and when that is gone (as it is at the beginning of the novel) there is very little else left.

Will I enjoy this book?

If you too are a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, you will enjoy this one. It contains her usual mix of flawed female characters, romance and characters we root for. I really enjoyed this one – it’s an interesting, diverting read, if a bit long.

Rating: 4/5