An unforgettable, illuminating story of how men live and how they survive, from Abraham Verghese, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water, an Oprah's Book Club Pick.

“Heartbreaking. . . . Indelible and haunting, [The Tennis Partner] is an elegy to friendship found, and an ode to a good friend lost.”—The Boston Globe

When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital. There he meets David Smith, a medical student recovering from drug addiction, and the two men begin a tennis ritual that allows them to shed their inhibitions and find security in the sport they love and with each other. This friendship between doctor and intern grows increasingly rich and complex, more intimate than two men usually allow. Just when it seems nothing can go wrong, the dark beast from David’s past emerges once again—and almost everything Verghese has come to trust and believe in is threatened as David spirals out of control.

Library Journal Reviews

Verghese's award-winning My Own Country was a stunning introduction to this compassionate and lyrical writer. In The Tennis Partner, we follow the author to his new home in Texas, where he beautifully crafts his failing marriage, his new life as a medical school professor, and his deepening friendship with an Australian student who was studying medicine but who played tennis in college and later as a pro. David Smith helps Verghese through the debris of his failed marriage, reintroduces him to tennis, and eventually pulls him back from the chasm of loneliness. Unfortunately, Smith cannot escape the cocaine addiction that affected the men's relationship. An unabridged recording would be preferable, but this program, read by the author, is recommended for all libraries. Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville Copyright 1999 Library Journal Reviews