Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Softcover

Hawks, Tony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312305184 ISBN 13: 9780312305185

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2002

Synopsis

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis It doesn't take much - "100 is usually sufficient" - to persuade Tony Hawks to take off on notoriously bizarre and hilarious adventures in response to a bet. And so it is, a pointless argument with a friend concludes in a bet - that Tony can't beat all eleven members of the Moldovan soccer team at tennis. And with the loser of the bet agreeing to strip naked on Balham High Road and sing the Moldov... Full description

About this title

Review:

Tony Hawks' debut book, The Round Ireland with a Fridge, was an irreverent satire. The topic of the sequel is even more absurd. Like Round Ireland, it supposedly originates from an obscure bet. This time, Hawks bets he can't track-down the Moldovan football team and beat them all at tennis. The loser must perform the Moldovan national anthem naked on Balham High Road. However, knowledge of tennis and/or football isn't required to enjoy the book.

Hawks' Irish trip was characterised by willing accomplices who joined in the fun. In Moldova, Hawks also expects a good laugh. Despite the rarity of visitors, he receives an apathetic welcome as his mission provokes little more than weak smiles. Tracking down the footballers and persuading them to play turns becomes almost impossible.

The book treads a fine line between brilliant and juvenile, between Jeremy Beadle and the genuinely witty. Hawks' sixth-form joke of presenting a round table to Moldova's new King Arthur is especially cringe-worthy. His experience as a second-division stand-up leads to innumerable trite quips. Still, overall Playing The Moldovans At Tennis is an entertaining, easy read that will make you chuckle. It provides an interesting view of Eastern Europe's post-Communist life, while keeping you in suspense: Will he? Won't he? Suffice to say that, yes, at the end of the book someone does end up naked and singing outside a South London Woolworths. --Sarah Champion --

Review:

"Hawks's comedic talent comes across well in the written form...he has a breezy, witty style that makes the book extremely enjoyable...Hawks is not only a crazy comic but a keen observer of the human experience." --The San Francisco Chronicle

"This is an extremely entertaining book...A real treat for fans of the weird, the silly, and the out-of-left-field." --Booklist (starred review)

"[Hawks's] account of his travels to Moldova, Transnistria, Northern Ireland, and Israel to track down those worthy opponents may remind some readers of Bill Bryson, except that Hawks is genuinely funny and doesn't have to reach to get a laugh." --Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312305184
• ISBN 13: 9780312305185
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264