Golfs Best Short Stories - Softcover

Staudohar, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 028563576X ISBN 13: 9780285635760

Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd

Synopsis

Golf is the most literate of sports. Its appeal lies in the way that it embraces every emotion within a round, from elation to despair, triumph to tragedy and pleasure quickly becomes frustration. It is a sport that reveals the true character, and the twentieth century s best writers have all written about it. Golf is an addictive game, whether you play or are a fan. In the space of a few hours, over one round, you move between elation and despair, from triumph to tragedy and partake of pleasures and frustrations. From John Updike s Farrell s Caddie , often acclaimed as the greatest of all golfing stories, to P.G. Wodehouse s The Clicking of Cuthbert the stories in this collection bring together British duffers, amateur sleuths, plodders and hustlers, caddies and cheats, lovers and adventurers. Each reveals a true love of the game and a wry understanding of how golf can drive the emotions to breaking point. Every golfer who has stood in a bunker contemplating defeat or listened to tall tales at the nineteenth hole will recognise their own experience in these stories and draw comfort, as well as wisdom, from them. The stories capture the essence of the game, and the nature of the people who play it, and there s not a bogey among them.

About this title

Review:

Is there a serious student of literature--or golf--who wouldn't give a stroke or two a side to be part of a Nassau that included, say, Don Marquis, Paul Gallico, P. G. Wodehouse, Ethan Canin, Ring Lardner, Stephen Leacock, Bernard Darwin, or John Updike? "People who care about golf," writes Paul Staudohar in his introduction to this marvellous and sometimes whimsical collection that packs all the above into its bag, "are typically well-educated men and women who appreciate things of quality in life, including good literature." The literature in Golf's Best Short Stories is indeed good: it contains 24 stories, dating from just before the turn of last century to just before the turn of this one, that explore some aspect of the mesmerising hold golf has on its adherents. Updike's "Farrell's Caddie," perhaps the most anthologised of all golf stories, is the ace here, but there's not a bogey in the bunch. What serious golfer--or reader--could ask for more?

Review:

A fine collection that satisfyingly combines old favourites with a few surprising finds... the stories do live up to their billing. --'Observer Sports Monthly'

It is somewhat tempting fate to entitle a book Golf s Best Short Stories. In this case, though, it is hard to complain too much. There are 24 of them in this book... and several are absolute gems. --'Golf International'

All human emotion, much of it private, is there on the golf course and as this collection of American and British stories prove it is for authors to exploit... A smashing read --'Manchester Evening Post'

About this edition

• Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd
• ISBN 10: 028563576X
• ISBN 13: 9780285635760
• Binding: Paperback