The Tennis Partner Paperback – September 22, 1999

"With writerly grace, Verghese introduces us to the disciplines he holds sacred: tennis, internal medicine, fatherhood, male friendship. Everywhere he is a diagnostician, a teacher, a lover of physical presence. But finally as he walks the back alleys of El Paso searching for his drug-abusing colleague, we understand who Verghese is at his core, a man of honor who goes down mean streets and remains himself good enough for any world. This is an extraordinary book."-- Peter D. Kramer, author of "Listening to Prozac""Abraham Verghese has show us once again that he is an old fashioned physician of the soul. Most extraordinarily, he finds metaphors for the blessings of humanity in the arts of tennis as healing. He recounts the living abundance of friendship and the dissolution of a brilliant friend and doctor. Dr. Verghese writes in a miraculous style-courageous yet tender. The Tennis Partner supersedes any memoir I've ever read. It is wonderful examination of what it means to be alive."-- Kaye Gibbons, author of "On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon" "Hit[s] even closer to home than the AIDS epidemic of which he wrote previously . . . this is a compulsively readable and painful book, a work of compassion and intelligence." -- "Kirkus Reviews""This is a knockout book. Beautifully written, it broke my heart and made me happy all at the same time. I loved Verghese's My Own Country and this even ups the ante--more intense, even closer to the edge."-- Natalie Goldberg, author of "Writing Down the Bones""The Tennis Partner, by Abraham Verghese, is a tale of luminescent humanity. Set in El Paso, Texas, backyard to a shifting Frontera world of great beauty, turmoil and transformation, it goesdeeper than any book I have ever read to put its finger on the pulse of what friendship truly means. It is a book for everyone of us who has deeply loved and mourned the fragile, ever-changing nature of caring, with its inherent need to ultimately let go. A brave and honest book, The Tennis Partner, haunts and empowers with each volley."-- Denise Chavez, author of "Face of an Angel""Abraham Verghese is a wonderful storyteller. The language is irresistible, clear as springwater, sharp as the ring of fine crystal. I enjoyed every word."-- W. P. Kinsella, author of "Shoeless Joe" and "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy""Verghese is a fine writer, lyrical and controlled, and he captures the attachment between the two men--its motives, its allure--with both precision and charm. . . . Wise and compassionate."-- 'New York Times Book Review"Verghese writes with such searching lucidity and is so attentive and engaging a figure that he could hold us just by describing his drives around town. . . . At its core his is a brave and heart-baring story about how even a teacher of internal medicine could not see inside the person closest to him. . . . It will speak to anyone who has looked with his heart instead of his eyes." -- Time"Heartbreaking. . . . Indelible and haunting, [The Tennis Partner] is an elegy to friendship found, and ode to a good friend lost."-- The Boston Globe"Despite the poignancy of the subject matter . . . Verghese's telling of it never gets heavy-handed. Instead, he uses his bedside voice: caring, but also slightly detached and startlingly frank."-- New York"Elegantly written."-- Sunday Times (London)"Moving and insightful"-- Publishers Weekly"A melancholy and powerful readingexperience."-- Booklist"With an economy of words, Verghese has produced a haunting book of high literary merit that is certain to be a success."--Library Journal "Excellent. . . . penetrating. . . . [The Tennis Partner] is no small literary achievement."-- Sports Illustrated"Gripping. . . . moving. . . . Verghese shows himself to be a thoughtful and honest navigator through life. His pain . . . is impossible not to share."-- Detroit Free Press"[Verghese] displays perfect pitch in this emotionally charged tale. . . . Readers . . . . will be enthralled by his sleuthing into the human heart."-- Entertainment Weekly"Eloquent. .. . . a beautifully wrought memoir. . . . This is a terribly sad story, gorgeously expressed."-- Newsday"A compassionate book. . . .Verghese once again opens his heart to the reader."-- San Antonio Express News"Remarkable. It's a terrific read, even if you're not a tennis fan."-- Star Tribune (Minneapolis)"The Tennis Partner is beautifully written, an outstanding example of nonfiction writing that conveys facts about a subject without being pedantic. . . . Verghese's sincerity makes an indelible impression on his readers while his revelations enlighten us."-- Chattanooga Free Press"Poignant. . . . The metaphors that underlie tennis permeate the book and give 'The Tennis Partner' some wonderfully mythic moments. Such moments . . . give the book a power that resonates well beyond its topical interest."-- Chicago Tribune

A practicing physician and a professor of medicine at Stanford University, Abraham Verghese is the author of My Own Country and Cutting for Stone. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, and other publications. He lives in Palo Alto, California.