The Last Days of Roger Federer

And Other Endings

The Last Days of Roger Federer
Geoff Dyer
RRP:
NZ$ 61.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 49.59
Hardback
h240 x 162mm - 304pg
9 Jun 2022 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781838855741
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
' Quite possibly the best living writer in Britain' Daily Telegraph Much attention has been paid to so-called late style - but what about last style? When does last begin? How early is late? When does the end set in? In this endlessly stimulating investigation, Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last achievements of writers, painters, athletes and musicians who' ve mattered to him throughout his life. With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence, he examines Friedrich Nietzsche' s breakdown in Turin, Bob Dylan' s reinventions of old songs, J. M. W. Turner' s paintings of abstracted light, John Coltrane' s cosmic melodies, Jean Rhys' s return from the dead (while still alive) and Beethoven' s final quartets - and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight. Oh, and there' s stuff about Roger Federer and tennis too. This book on last things - written while life as we know it seemed to be coming to an end - is also about how to go on living with art and beauty, on the entrancing effect and sudden illumination that an Art Pepper solo or an Annie Dillard reflection can engender in even the most jaded sensibilities. Blending criticism, memoir and repartee into something entirely new, The Last Days of Roger Federer is a summation of Dyer' s passions and the perfect introduction to his sly and joyous work.
Tennis, jazz, Dylan, movies, TV, drugs, Nietzsche, Beethoven. So, why am I laughing? Because Geoff Dyer once again melds commentary and observation with intellect and wit. Bouncing between criticism and memoir, Dyer is one of the few writers whose paragraphs I can immediately reread and get more from. The twists, turns, and delights abound, and when you finally put the book down you think, "Oh, yes, I' ve always been this smart, haven' t I? " -- STEVE MARTIN Most authors use language to write about things. Dyer uses things to write about language. He' s a clever clogs but he' s one of us at the same time. Genius -- SIMON ARMITAGE Who can make the world new again like Geoff Dyer? For the low, low price of a book, he will rearrange the art on the walls of your memory so that you might see it again, as if for the first time. The Last Days of Roger Federer is an inspired cultural and personal meditation as well as an unsurprising delight. To read it is to feel relief that, despite Dyer' s contention that his life' s theme is ' giving up' , he hasn' t -- SLOANE CROSLEY More than its title would suggest, The Last Days of Roger Federer is an engaging series of meditations on mental and physical sunsets in the lives of painters, musicians, philosophers, poets, boxers, and of course tennis players. Dyer the stylist is at the top of his game here, serving up conundrums, paradoxes, logical binds, and other cerebral delights. Even his syntax is witty. This generous offering of Dyer' s insightful, often hilarious, take on art, life and sports is a feast for his readers -- BILLY COLLINS A wonderfully original writer. Here [Dyer] uses the last days of Roger Federer' s tennis career as a jumping-off point for an examination of late style and last works, ranging from JMW Turner and Jean Rhys to Bob Dylan and John Coltrane * * The Times, 2022 Highlights * * Geoff Dyer' s wry meditations on mortality and late style have a dazzling way of dispelling gloom. Nietzsche and the Turin horse, vaporised Turner, dolorous Dylan, antics on courts and at Burning Man, Dyer' s Last Days had me laughing aloud, a sure signal of deft seriousness. What is there to say except if this is late Dyer, it' s great Dyer -- LISA APPIGNANESI Just like Roger Federer' s backhand, Geoff Dyer' s swing is a thing of beauty, complete with his signature follow through. He captures so much, touches so much and amuses the while. This form-blending book is extremely smart, wise, and simply plain fun. I am smarter for having read it. This is a great book -- PERCIVAL EVERETT Praise for Geoff Dyer: Quite possibly the best living writer in Britain * * Daily Telegraph * * A national treasure -- ZADIE SMITH Brilliant . . . Dyer' s eyes miss nothing * * Observer * *
Geoff Dyer is an award-winning author of eleven non-fiction books and four novels, including Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga for People Who Can' t Be Bothered to Do It, Zona and, most recently, See/Saw. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science, Dyer lives in Los Angeles, where he is Writer in Residence at the University of Southern California. His books have been translated into twenty-four languages.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781838855741
Published: 9 Jun 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Canongate Books
Publisher: Canongate Books
Format: Hardback
Height: 240mm
Width: 162mm
Spine: 29mm
Weight: 517g
Pages: 304

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