Critical Praise

“Marvellous. Jacobson has not just written the first great novel about ping-pong. He has written one of the greatest sporting novels ever.”

—Sunday Telegraph (UK)

“Funny and perceptive…Readers of literary fiction should be acquainted with one of Jacobson’s works, and Finkler may be the easiest choice. Beyond that, this new work is brilliant, funny, engaging, and strongly recommended.”

—Library Journal

“A riotous, sometimes poignant coming-of-age story that takes ping-pong to a whole new level.”

—Booklist

“Jacobson chronicles the mordantly funny (and highly autobiographical) coming-of-age of Oliver Walzer as he contends with his neurotic Jewish family in 1950s Manchester, England; struggles to find his way with the ladies; and, most crucially, develops into a Ping-Pong champion … Jacobson spares no painful or uncomfortable moments, and while the notion of a novel of Ping-Pong may not sound like the most enticing offer, Jacobson writes with such verve, and his sense of humor is so sharp, that he could turn a novel of basket weaving into a ripsnorter.”

—Publishers Weekly