Book review: Carrie Soto is Back

I read Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid just before attending the Australian Open, and I was glad I did.

Tennis is at the heart of the novel as it traces the career of Carrie – a determined, often surly former world number 1 who decides to make a comeback.

While at many times, Carrie’s ruthlessness and her disinterest in friendships is off-putting and I doubt that I would be friends with her, somehow, by mid-story, I found myself hoping that she would win her games.

I’m not sure what people with no interest in tennis would think of the novel, as it primarily follows matches and tournaments as Carrie tries to prove her detractors – of which there are many – wrong. Sometimes, I even found the recounts a little boring.

However, all up, it is an enjoyable read about the tennis world, the sacrifices that are made by the best, the nature of professional sport, and the love of a parent.

It certainly added to my experience of watching the Australian Open, as I wondered about the backgrounds of the players, which ones had the temperament of Carrie, and at the commitment needed to get to the top.