An engrossing set of works of athletic beauty.
Linebarger presents an eclectic collection of artworks that highlights the power and grace of tennis.
Over a seven-year period, the author compiled a remarkable assemblage of creative pieces by a wide range of artists—paintings, photographs, and images of sculptures that represented the athletic dynamism of tennis as a sport. Many are representations of famed tennis players doing what they do best, showcasing a blend of power and choreographic precision. As Linebarger writes of Roger Federer: “Tennis not how it’s played, but how we imagine the gods might play it. The serve, the forehand, the one-handed back-hand drive. Grace, beauty, fluidity, perfection.” Each of the dozens of pieces here are accompanied by the author's commentary, and just as often composed in a soaring, lyrical manner. The artistic styles cover a broad spectrum that includes meticulously realistic studies and more impressionistic renditions, such as Scott Kish’s interpretation of Andre Agassi. Cat Lee’s vision of Elena Rybakina is playfully cartoonish, and Mark Shorter’s version of Margaret Court is almost abstract, departing the realm of the obviously figurative. In one of the more humorous paintings, Nial Smith places Andy Murray at the center of a commercial poster for the movie Gladiator (2000).The book also effectively highlights the experiences of such players as Arthur Ashe, who faced racial prejudice, and Billie Jean King, who battled misogyny. One can’t help but wish Linebarger began the collection with a prefatory note of some kind, explaining the nature of the project more thoroughly; instead, readers are left to piece that together on their own. However, this is a minor quibble, as the art itself is vivid and diverse, and the commentaries on each piece are consistently illuminating. Overall, it’s a captivating gathering.
An engrossing set of works of athletic beauty.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9798891324831
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Infectiously enthusiastic appraisals of NBA and WNBA stars.
Revering roundball royalty.
Fervor fuels this impressionistic celebration of basketball’s greatest performers. Serrano, the author of bestsellers about sports and pop culture, sticks with what’s made him successful, peppering this collection of essays about LeBron James, A’ja Wilson, and others with go-for-broke adjectives and references to rappers and action movies. You might not agree that Kobe Bryant’s final game was “monumental” or that the Golden State Warriors’ record 73 wins was a “godly” achievement, but Serrano is irresistibly passionate, a fan-writer who greets each game as a chance to be awed. Its title notwithstanding, this effervescent book isn’t about player contracts or billion-dollar revenue streams. To the author, “expensive” is synonymous with virtuosity. Ray Allen’s textbook jump shot was expensive. Though Serrano quotes William Carlos Williams in a chapter about WNBA all-timer Sue Bird, he’s more apt to cite blockbuster films, prestige TV, and hip-hop. Often, this works nicely. His inspired paean to Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the first time that a streaky free-throw shooter has been likened to “cool-as-fuck” Helen Mirren’s unlikely appearance in The Fate of the Furious. Conversely, Serrano’s long list of memorable rap lyrics adds little to his Stephen Curry chapter. The author is appealingly self-effacing—a footnote calls attention to his “dorkiest” sentence—and watchful for manifestations of unbridled athletic joy, like the gleeful “little jump-skip thing” Dwyane Wade did after tossing an alley-oop pass. His support of the WNBA is just as strong as his love of the men’s game. DeWanna Bonner, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi “are sledgehammers covered in scorpions.” Wilson “is a goddamn basketball obliteration monster.” Serrano is great at exploring how fans’ memories of their favorite players intermingle with important events from their lives. That’s the subject of his affable chapter about former San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan.
Infectiously enthusiastic appraisals of NBA and WNBA stars.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781538755228
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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