String Theory - David Foster Wallace

Fans of David Foster Wallace’s epic novel, Infinite Jest, know that tennis is a firm presence in the author’s life and work. Wallace was a highly-ranked junior tennis player in the Midwest, and along with his celebrated fiction, wrote essays about tennis. Whether explaining the hazards and vicissitudes of playing in the tornado alleys of his youth, the trials of a player trying to qualify for the US Open, or the sublimity of Roger Federer’s game, the five pieces included in String Theory are literary and journalistic treats, and often very funny. Don’t overlook the (lengthy) footnotes—mini masterpieces of their own.