Tennis Lessons

(Paperback)

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Description

For fans of I MAY DESTROY YOU and ADULTS, readers who want to laugh, cry, gasp and nod along. The brilliantly brave and darkly funny story of a girl's tortuous and spectacular journey to womanhood, stopping at each year along the way. From dead pets and crashed cars to family traumas and misguided love affairs, Susannah Dickey's revitalizing debut novel plunges us into the private world of one young woman as she navigates her rocky way to adulthood. 'I loved Tennis Lessons so much. Susannah is a phenomenally talented writer' ELIZABETH DAY 'A raw, fierce, shockingly honest coming-of-age story' LOUISE O'NEILL 'Incredibly funny . . . by turns charming and disgusting and I loved it' NELL FRIZZELL You're strange and wrong. You've known it from the beginning. This is the voice that rings in your ears. Because you never say the right thing. You're a disappointment to everyone. You're a far cry from beautiful - and your thoughts are ugly too. You seem bound to fail, bound to break. But you know what it is to laugh with your best friend, to feel the first tentative tingles of attraction, to take exquisite pleasure in the affront of your unruly body. You just need to find your place. 'Brilliant . . . a wonderful writer, hugely talented, very funny and insightful' ALAN DAVIES 'Propulsive . . . brilliantly vivid . . . stays in the mind long after reading' IRISH TIMES 'A beautifully written and psychologically incisive bildungsroman...the arrival of a young writer to watch' OBSERVER

Reviews

This is a raw, fierce, shockingly honest coming-of-age story. Tennis Lessons heralds the arrival of a startling new voice in literary fiction * Louise O'Neill *
I loved Tennis Lessons so much * ELIZABETH DAY *
An incredibly funny and poignant portrait of what it is to be young, female and human. The whole thing is witty - the narrative voice, the dialogue, the plot and the detail - while also having searing moments of sadness, discomfort and cruelty. Susannah Dickey has created a world and a main character that is by turns disgusting and charming and I loved it. * Nell Frizzell *
A beautifully written and psychologically incisive bildungsroman...the arrival of a young writer to watch * Observer *
Brilliant . . . a wonderful writer, hugely talented, very funny and insightful. * Alan Davies *

Author Bio

Susannah Dickey grew up in Derry and now lives in Belfast. She is the author of two poetry pamphlets, I had some very slight concerns (2017) and genuine human values (2018). Her poetry has been published in Ambit, The White Review, Poetry Ireland Review and Magma, amongst others. In 2018 she was shortlisted for The White Review short story prize, and in 2017 she was the winner of the inaugural Verve Poetry Festival competition. Her debut novel, Tennis Lessons, was published in July 2020.