The Tennis Partner

Five glorious stars for this memoir. To say I loved this book is an understatement. Abraham Verghese is one of my favourite authors and after reading this poignant and heartbreaking story of his memories of his friend and colleague David Smith, I feel that I have a better understanding of the kind pf man and the kind of doctor he is. This story is about the friendship between these two doctors and how it progresses around the game of tennis. The tennis adds structure to this story and works very well as an allegory about life lessons. David has had a troubled life and has achieved great successes as a professional tennis player. But the fame and the lifestyle of a pro athlete prove to be overwhelming for him, and as his tennis career show more ends he is trying to find a way to cope. Unfortunately, as these things go, he stumbles across drugs at a party, and falls under the spell of addiction. He has had many attempts at rehab but they don’t take, but when he decides to follow his dream to become a doctor, it takes him out the maelstrom for awhile. He meets Abraham in a hospital in El Paso, Texas. As David studies medicine under Abraham, Abraham studies tennis skills under David’s tutelage. These two worlds do collide for David and his and Abraham’s worlds implode. The story of David and his many demons is told with affection and understanding. We know as we read that this story is going to end badly, but we reach that final point along with Abraham and experience it the same way that he does because of the way Abraham has written it. I have a much better understanding and empathy for drug addicts than I did when I started the book. Addiction affects everyone in an addict’s sphere. It takes no prisoners and leaves carnage behind. This book goes onto my absolute favourites list.


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It’s not often that I read a book about male friendship, but I believe this heartbreaking memoir is one of the best. The two friends are Abraham Verghese, author of this memoir and physician at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, and David Smith, a medical student from Australia who formerly had the opportunity to become a tennis professional. Due to the life circumstances of these two men, their bond begins somewhat tenuously. Later we find that, despite a strengthening bond which is inextricably linked to tennis, there is an unspoken barrier which can never be breached.

The book is fascinating in its honesty. It captures so well the author’s dedication to medicine, his love for tennis, the strength he musters in separating from his wife, show more his vulnerability in opening himself up to disappointment in friendship, and his understanding of the terrible cost of drug abuse. The easy, intelligent writing style of Dr. Verghese is beautiful to read. After finishing this book, one comes away with a feeling of knowing the author and a desire to hear more of what he has to say. show less

Someone recommended this book to me, saying it was about Verghese and an "idiot savant" who hung around the tennis courts where Verghese played, and was a fascinating account of the relationship between the two men. She predicted I would like it because I played tennis. Were we playing a match, the score at that point would have been 2:1, my favor. She had the basic story all wrong, though the relationship was fascinating. And I don't play tennis, just am the mother of tennis players. Despite the slightly-off recommendation, I did pick up the book, mostly because I thought Cutting for Stone one of the best novels I've read, which interested me enough to read more by and about the author.

Verghese tells of his life in El Paso in the early show more 90's, where he has taken on a position in Internal Medicine at a teaching hospital. There he meets David, a fourth year med student. It turns out David actually spent time on the pro-tennis circuit before retiring to go to medical school. The two begin to hit together, and as they do, their lives open up to each other. Verghese's marriage is crumbling, though his love for his two young sons is strong and bright. David is a recovering IV drug addict, who, in fact, had to repeat a year of medical school because his addiction caused him to crash and burn last time through. He returned to the hospital to do so after completing rehab.

I knew from the start that this book would be a tough one to read. Verghese's powerful descriptions in Cutting for Stone let me know that he would write as eloquently a when depicting the tale of his friend. And I suspected it would end badly for David, even before reading the book. The back cover gives David's name, and so does the dedication -- except the dedication name is followed by birth and death years. What I wasn't prepared for was how impressed I would be with Verghese's clinical skills, his constant assessment of patients and people he sees, the use of touch, smell and sight. When he described how he approached a patient's bedside, or how he let his physical assessment be a part of his world observations, I rejoiced. This was how the physician I was closest to, the one who actually got me into nursing, used to practice healing arts. How did we get so far away from using our own senses, observations, and instincts, moving to machinery instead.

The other thing that stood out for me was the author's love for his boys. Beautiful. The nice to know bits included Verghese's background in tennis, and the descriptions of matches he played or observed, the things he learned from other players, pro or friend. I also liked the info on El Paso, a place I probably never will visit in person, but that I know a little better from this book.

It's a powerful novel of friendship, haunting, terrifying, and I'm betting, unforgettable. show less

This book is about the anatomy of a friendship, with all its darkness and light and shadows. I loved Verghese's novel, Cutting For Stone, and had heard that this memoir was worth a read, as well. He is such a fine writer, both in his insights and his ability to articulate them with sensitivity and clarity, as well as in his craft of telling a story. I am not a tennis player so the parts where he describes the games and the strategies, sometimes caused me to skim a bit, but not a lot. I knew this would be a sad story and felt in some ways that Verghese needed to write this book more for himself, as a way to come to terms with this very personal tragedy that he wasn't prepared for and could not prevent. Catharsis comes in many guises and show more Verghese allows us to travel this journey with him. show less

Such an amazing writer, so much insight into the complicated puzzle of life as it unfolds, twists, careens, levels. I'm a huge fan of Verghese and would list his My Own Country as one of my top ten non-fiction titles. Many fans of Cutting for Stone, but I find this author's non-fiction even more compelling. Verghese presents this tragic friendship within the passions shared by the two men: medicine and tennis. No holds barred here, nothing summary, casual or flip. The author shares his deep feelings and this heartfelt experience with the reader through the beauty of the details. Intense, critical details. Anyone who has every studied ANYTHING hard or dealt in any way with the heartbreak of addiction will resonate with this title. I wish show more I could count Abraham Verghese among my friends..... KH show less

Such an amazing writer, so much insight into the complicated puzzle of life as it unfolds, twists, careens, levels. I'm a huge fan of Verghese and would list his My Own Country as one of my top ten non-fiction titles. Many fans of Cutting for Stone, but I find this author's non-fiction even more compelling. Verghese presents this tragic friendship within the passions shared by the two men: medicine and tennis. No holds barred here, nothing summary, casual or flip. The author shares his deep feelings and this heartfelt experience with the reader through the beauty of the details. Intense, critical details. Anyone who has every studied ANYTHING hard or dealt in any way with the heartbreak of addiction will resonate with this title. I wish show more I could count Abraham Verghese among my friends..... KH show less

Beautifully written as always, sad and luminous.