Red Dirt: A Tennis Novel Paperback – April 7, 2015

I was really looking forward to this book because I am big tennis fan. The story line starts well with father building his son a clay tennis court and Jaxie loving playing tennis with Dad as a coach. Unfortunately, the book is not credible when it describes tennis action. One example is Jaxie playing a match when he is under 10 yrs old and has a rally of 50 strokes with another young player. This is not believable for two young players to be that good. The book follows Jaxie being a top junior player and entering the French Open. While the book is fictional, it does mix in some real tennis players of the time period with Jaxie losing in the semi-finals to Thomas Muster. Jaxie's career goes downhill quickly when word of his "affair" with under aged female tennis star gets leaked and his Dad passes away. Jaxie is distraught and loses himself in alcohol and basically does nothing for 10 yrs. Once again, the story does not make sense because how does he support himself for all those years without working. His French Open winnings ($75,000) could not last that long. Jaxie then tries to make comeback at 28 with the help of his coach/friend "Fast Eddie". The book culminates with Jaxie qualifying for the US Open at age 38 and making it to the semi-finals. This is totally unbelievable and tries to mimic Jimmy Connors semi-final run at age 39 but the difference is Connor's was a tennis legend. Another lame part of the book is his match against Andy Roddick who comes out of retirement. Author tries to make you believe that Roddick could get rattled by young boy crying during a match. Finally, the premise of this book was good but the author really needed to make the tennis aspects of this book more believable.

Again, I feel obliged to mention at the outset that I am acquainted with the author. That said, the tale of Jaxie Skinner and his surprising run as an 18-year-old at the French Open, his precipitous drop thereafter, and his ultimate redemption is delightful for tennis lovers and sports fans. The detailed commentary on various matches, the shot selection and direction by the players, is, for those of us who play tennis regularly, riveting. Sam Starnes obviously knows tennis inside and out, and also knows how to spin a tale that keeps the reader turning the pages, wanting to know what happens next. Like Jaxie Skinner and tennis, Sam Starnes has a real talent for writing fiction. For readers with a bent for literary fiction, I strongly recommend his "Fall Line".

It's not often that you find a literary novel involving tennis. This great book certainly qualifies. Mr. Starnes is a wonderful writer who can be mentioned along with other great southern writers like Larry Brown. Uniquely, he clearly also knows tennis. His description of the practice and match strategy necessary to be a successful pro was realistic and rarely seen in a fictional setting. I'm looking forward to Mr. Starnes' next book and I hope we see more of Jaxie and his friends in the future.

This book is as well written as any I have ever read. I read more than 25 books each year. The characters are real in the way they are written. They seem to be family or friends that you've grown up with. They have a depth and growth that is rare to find. The storyline is compelling. I could not put the book down. I read it in three weekend days. It has my highest recommendation. I tend to be a tough reviewer when it comes to books and have never given five stars to a book before.

A very enjoyable read, especially for tennis fans. He captured the intracacies of the game paired with a compelling story. Maybe a little predictable though through out.

I choose this rating simply because I enjoyed the book. It was fun to read. Actually I am sorry that I am finished. There really is a lack of good tennis books out there. This book should appeal to all tennis lovers. Kool book. I will read again.

I'm a big tennis aficionado - player and watcher. So I enjoyed this book. If you are not a big tennis fan then I don't think you'd even rate this 3 stars.

just couldn't figure this one out, was it autobiographical or fiction? either way, very predictable and not very interesting. I did not even finish the book because it was heading for a predictable ending. Characters were not developed and no interesting twists to the plot. It was like reading the journal of an amateur tennis player.