Customer Reviews

Henrietta

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The beginning gets off to a slow start, but once you catch the pace this story is one you won't forget. Obviously a Roman a clef in the French style where famous people are written about with their names changed, this is a peek into the lives of the tennis greats of the last century, Bobby Riggs to be specific. Ever wonder what he was like off the court?

But the main thrust of the story is about how love can both create and destroy. The prose is literary in the best sense, meaning clear, well crafted and vital. The emotion is strong, too.

In an alternate universe A Confederacy Of Dunces was left in its deserved obscurity and this novel was read by millions. If only I lived in that universe.

This story will move you. It will make you laugh. It will make you love... the author, the characters, the story itself.

When was the last time you read a story about a decent, moral man with faults?

Henrietta is a roman a clef about world-class tennis.
It is a frankly erotic love story and an intimate look into a flawed but decent man's soul.
It is that rare novel, which is both literary quality and an entertaining read.
But it is more.
The protagonist's iconoclastic vision ebbs and flows beneath the text like surf.
If the degree to which a book is unforgettable is a fair yardstick by which to measure its enduring worth, Henrietta measures high.
It is so true, so sad and so honest that I set it down smiling through the tears. Is there higher praise?