2006-12-16
The Tournament
Author: John Clarke
The Tournament: A Novel of the 20th Century sounded just goofy enough that I put it on my wish list last year for fun, and someone thought it sounded goofy enough that it was my sort of thing so I got it. The premise is that around 500 famous people from the last century gather in Paris for a tennis tournament. They're all championship-caliber tennis players, people who lived decades apart can gather together, and the television ratings break all records as the entire world is full of rabid tennis fans. No feeble explanation for this wastes our time.
This a social studies test in the form of a novel. I got the feeling that any passage I wasn't laughing at just meant I didn't recognize the historical figure being sent up. If there's any real plot or significance to who's winning in the tournament I didn't see it. It's just a non-stop series of jokes poking fun at famous personality flaws, and as such, it's well done. A recommended quick read for someone who will recognize enough of the characters to get something out of it all.
The Tournament: A Novel of the 20th Century sounded just goofy enough that I put it on my wish list last year for fun, and someone thought it sounded goofy enough that it was my sort of thing so I got it. The premise is that around 500 famous people from the last century gather in Paris for a tennis tournament. They're all championship-caliber tennis players, people who lived decades apart can gather together, and the television ratings break all records as the entire world is full of rabid tennis fans. No feeble explanation for this wastes our time.
This a social studies test in the form of a novel. I got the feeling that any passage I wasn't laughing at just meant I didn't recognize the historical figure being sent up. If there's any real plot or significance to who's winning in the tournament I didn't see it. It's just a non-stop series of jokes poking fun at famous personality flaws, and as such, it's well done. A recommended quick read for someone who will recognize enough of the characters to get something out of it all.
