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The Stars' Tennis Balls
 
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The Stars' Tennis Balls (Paperback)

by Stephen Fry (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (1 Nov 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099727412
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099727415
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.9 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 268,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #76 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Fry, Stephen

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ned Maddstone has it all. He's handsome and talented; he has the love of a beautiful woman and in 1980, he stands at the brink of a glittering future. He rounds off an outstanding public school career with a sailing trip to Scotland, which is where his fortunes enter a terrifying tailspin. Determined to honour the dying wish of his sailing instructor, Ned returns to London, where the schemes of jealous classmates catapult him into a 10-year nightmare. Confined to a solitary Hell, believed dead by all those who loved him, Ned transforms from a terminally nice guy into a creature bent on revenge, a revenge both satisfying and apocalyptic.

Few writers can deliver so much in one package, but here Stephen Fry combines a riotous satire of the privileged classes with elements of the darkest thrillers. While the plot bounces from the sublime to the surreal, his characters remain acutely real. Ned's classmates, slow-witted hedonist Rufus Cade, and the Machiavellian climber Ashley Barson-Garland--who is aroused by the sight of straw boaters--are masterful creations. This novel has nothing to do with tennis, and everything to do with the cruel logic of Fate. Game, set and match to Mr Fry. - - Matthew Baylis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A Count of Monte Cristo for the dot.com generation...whatever Stephen Fry does, he has it -- that rare, unlearnable quality. When he speaks, you listen. When he writes, you read." -- "Literary Review"
"Stylish...written up with zest and humour...a page-turner and full of fun." -- "Spectator
"
"A revenge tragedy for our times." -- "The Times"
"A taut thriller...a talent for terror and suspense-writing." -- "Sunday Telegraph"

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Customer Reviews

71 Reviews
5 star:
 (21)
4 star:
 (27)
3 star:
 (13)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (71 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Revenge isn't always sweet ... but do read this novel! , 15 Jun 2006
This review is from: The Stars' Tennis Balls (Paperback)
Note: `Revenge' is the same novel as `The Stars' Tennis Balls' re-titled for the American market

You can't go wrong with Fry's novels: his plots are unpredictable, his writing style is witty, intelligent and captivating, and his (dark) humour is ever-present ... what more could you ask for?
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Star's Tennis Balls, 4 Sep 2003
A friend lent me this book read as she said she had not got further than the first 20 pages, so I was not prepared for a good read. I have to admit this is not the type of book I would normally go for. I think the cover gave it a light hearted feel and it not a light hearted read by any means. I must congratulate Stephen Fry on this work, his language is excellent and is obviously totally at ease in author mode!

The story begins with Ned Maddstone, who I imagined as a bit of Hugh Grant type but more intelligent and able. The story unravels how his 'friends' are harbouring building resentment towards Ned and how a practical joke turns Ned's & thier lives upside down. I didn't expect the book to be as shocking in parts as I found it.

My only criticsm is that it was a bit slow to begin with & I thought it was going to be a love story but once the plot thickened (excuse the cliches) it was a real page turner, which I couldn't put down. The effect of the book once it finished stayed with me for hours after.

Excellent book. I'll definitely read Fry again.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read and hard to put down, 5 Dec 2001
By A Customer
I loved this book. I hadn't read any Stephen Fry for some time, and Tennis Balls reminded me why I admire the man so much. I found it near impossible to put down, and it kept me gripped pretty much from start to finish. The plot, if essentially an old one, does work, and I felt real horror for Ned when I discovered he had been in the Swedish asylum for over ten years by the time he begins to uncover the truth of his situation. Some other reviewers have described Ned in the first part of the book as bland: while agreeing to a degree, surely this is the whole point: as a teenager with life ahead of him, his character was a blank canvas, and the ordeal ahead of him shaped him into the internet genius obsessed with revenge that we see at the end of the novel. The whole tragedy of the situation is that despite the horrific (and deserved) revenge on Ashley, Rufus, Oliver and Gordon, in the end it makes no difference. "It was too late. It was always too late", and Ned's precious and long-preserved love for Portia has no place in a world where all but he had moved on twenty years.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful stuff
I dont read many novels these days, I have migrated towards exploration type books and biographies. I picked up this book because I love Stephen Fry in his QI role and respect... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Michael Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
If you love Fry, you'll love this book. Written in his unique way, it is witty and often dark, culminating in what i think is his best work to date.
Published 29 days ago by Mr. J. D. Hawthorne

5.0 out of 5 stars Absloutely fantastic!!
I recommend this book to everyone!! First Stephen Fry book i have ever read and it was amazing. I even got up in middle of the night to carry on reading it, this happened about... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ms. P. Jeffery

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, but unfortunately, seen through Monte Cristo coloured spectacles
I certainly enjoyed this book; ah, how wonderful! - a tale of revenge - what a delicious theme! It is in fact a modern retelling of the ultimate revenge novel (and one of my... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Thomas Wade

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this with an open mind...
Don't read this book expecting a rip-roaring, side-splitting romp that you might expect of a man possessing Stephen Fry's ability (as demonstrated in his other fictional works)... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Say Again

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Thriller, a Great Novel.
Fans of Fry expect humour, and clever ideas but they are in for a shock when they read this.

This a dark book; full of ruminations on the origin of personality and... Read more
Published 17 months ago by D. Wright

4.0 out of 5 stars Tragic and touching
As most of my friends know, I am a big fan of Stephen Fry, so I guess it's no surprise that I liked this book. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Lecari

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Fabulous
This has got to be one of the best books i have ever read. I couldn't put it down, i thought about the plot for days afterwards, i dreamt about it, it was constantly on my mind... Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by Mrs. N. J. Kewley

4.0 out of 5 stars It's definitely Up there
When I first started reading this book I had not seen the Count of Monte Cristo and to be honest I am glad. Read more
Published on 5 April 2006 by A. Carr

5.0 out of 5 stars just as good as the classic
First a word of warning I wouldnt take the present perfect partner deal as they are if fact the same book (the revenge and the stars tennis balls). Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2006

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