Rating: 
Summary: Excellent study of how great gifts can't save a flawed life
Review: Abraham Verghese is a physician, a deeply inquisitive student of human nature, and a dark, poetic writer. This book reminds me of another of my favorites, Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It," with tennis instead of fishing.In the years that have elapsed since "My Own Country," Verghese's marriage has collapsed, and he has moved to a teaching hospital in Texas. One of his students is a young man named David Smith, who had briefly played pro tennis before beginning medical school. Verghese, an avid tennis player, hesitantly asks if they might play together. Smith, like the younger brother in "A River Runs Through It," is charming, lovable, smart, and supremely gifted in his chosen sport; on the tennis court, he seems to be transformed into a different, and better, person. But his gifts aren't enough to save his life; he's an intravenous drug abuser, in and out of recovery and rehab. When the two men play tennis together, their support for each other, and their anger and frustrations, are all played out on the tennis court. As in "My Own Country," Verghese reveals his fascination with people from all walks of life. His emotional inquisitiveness leads him to take risks, as when he accepts a junkie's offer of a tour of "his" world. Yet for all his curiosity and his desire to learn to see the world through the eyes of others, Verghese was unable to save his friend, and he was even unable to save his own marriage. Sadly, he wonders if his marriage might have survived if he had invested himself in it as deeply as he invested himself in the minutiae of tennis.
Rating:
Summary: A doctor's pain and loss by the death of a tennis partner.
Review: Abraham Verghese tell us another story of real life within the circles of his life. He tells it in such a way to keep one glued to the pages until finished. In the earlier going I became confused as to whether his young student David Smith was in fact a "friend" or a tennis partner, and then when Abraham states, " my student, my intern, my tennis partner, my friend," I began looking back over the pages in an attempt to discover if he meant the above quote in just that order. Well worth reading, and may leave you wondering as well.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly written
Review: Abraham Verghese's life was such an emotional roller coaster, fighting for the life of his patients and the immense challenges his best friend tried to overcome. This book was written with such emotion, pain, love, and above all,total committment. This book took me through such an unforgettable journey.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Look At Human Aloneness and Male Friendship
Review: Abraham Verghese's second book, "The Tennis Partner," is far different from his first, "My Own Country," in which he chronicles his work in a rural area in Tennessee as the physician in a "one doctor town." An inordinate number of AIDS cases begin to come his way and he tells the story of his learning quickly how to deal with this challenging disease in an area with extremely limited resources. (An outstanding read available through Amazon.)"The Tennis Partner" begins with Verghese's arrival in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons where has taken a new position as a Professor of Medicine in a teaching hospital, a prestigious advance in his medical career. Soon into the story, we learn that Verghese finds himself fairly humanly bankrupt as he finally realizes the reality that his marriage is in ruins and now ending due to his own neglect of his wife in the amount of attention he has given to his career. He learns that he is extremely rootless: a foreign born physician, in a new town, with no friendships or personal support systems. Verghese, after assisting his wife establish a new home and a create a sense of stability for his sons, begins to look for an apartment near his wife's home so that he can be near his sons and complete the actual separation from his wife that they have been essentially living for quite some time by this point. Verghese begins a friendship with David, an intern in his final year (actually, we later learn, that David is repeating his internship, due to drug addition having interrupted his earlier, nearly completed internship.) There is a similarity to Verghese's rootless and David's own. The intern, a bit older than the typical medical school following a fairly successful run on the professional tennis circuit. The heart of the story is the newly developing friendship between the two men, the mutually rewarding relationship they ultimately establish in co-mentoring each other; Verghese mentoring his intern in medicine and David mentoring Abraham in improving his tennis game. While sounding simplistic, as one reader, I enjoyed observing the somewhat complex relationship that is rife with the the awkwardness and clumsiness of two heterosexual men essentially creating a non-sexual love and friendship that is a fundamental need that all men have. Verghese's book very accurately mirrors the reality of men needing other men in their lives for significant friendships and characterizes well, the complexity of "male bonding."The story doesn't have a particularly happy ending, yet, it is a true story. It is an excellent documentation of the need for, the high degrees of complexity, the platonic love men often develop for one another, the degrees of petty rivalry and subtle competition that often exist in men's friendships and the ultimate limitations of any friendship - male or female.The "tennis element" adds even more to the story for the person who is a tennis fan but the tennis games and the medical mentoring the two men exchange are, in many ways, metaphors of the manner in which male friendships develop and volley from one side to the other, each holding high expectations of the other, each contributing something to the other, yet careful not to overwhelm the other -- often with one winning more than the other as is the case in this story in both tennis and medicine. Verghese is clearly an excellent physician who takes great interest in his patients and uses his keen personal intuition as one of his best diagnostic tools. Yet, Verghese's sensitivity, attentiveness and keen intuition seems to start and stop at the hospital doors as he shows himself to be quite human in his personal inadequacy, stilted personal development and in his normal human incompleteness. David is equally complex, engaging at the same time he is able be maintain his clear boundaries and keep a certain distance. An excellent and gripping story. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Look At Human Aloneness and Male Friendship
Review: Abraham Verghese's second book, "The Tennis Partner," is far different from his first, "My Own Country," in which he chronicles his work in a rural area in Tennessee as the physician in a "one doctor town." An inordinate number of AIDS cases begin to come his way and he tells the story of his learning quickly how to deal with this challenging disease in an area with extremely limited resources. (An outstanding read available through Amazon.)"The Tennis Partner" begins with Verghese's arrival in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two sons where has taken a new position as a Professor of Medicine in a teaching hospital, a prestigious advance in his medical career. Soon into the story, we learn that Verghese finds himself fairly humanly bankrupt as he finally realizes the reality that his marriage is in ruins and now ending due to his own neglect of his wife in the amount of attention he has given to his career. He learns that he is extremely rootless: a foreign born physician, in a new town, with no friendships or personal support systems. Verghese, after assisting his wife establish a new home and a create a sense of stability for his sons, begins to look for an apartment near his wife's home so that he can be near his sons and complete the actual separation from his wife that they have been essentially living for quite some time by this point. Verghese begins a friendship with David, an intern in his final year (actually, we later learn, that David is repeating his internship, due to drug addition having interrupted his earlier, nearly completed internship.) There is a similarity to Verghese's rootless and David's own. The intern, a bit older than the typical medical school following a fairly successful run on the professional tennis circuit. The heart of the story is the newly developing friendship between the two men, the mutually rewarding relationship they ultimately establish in co-mentoring each other; Verghese mentoring his intern in medicine and David mentoring Abraham in improving his tennis game. While sounding simplistic, as one reader, I enjoyed observing the somewhat complex relationship that is rife with the the awkwardness and clumsiness of two heterosexual men essentially creating a non-sexual love and friendship that is a fundamental need that all men have. Verghese's book very accurately mirrors the reality of men needing other men in their lives for significant friendships and characterizes well, the complexity of "male bonding."The story doesn't have a particularly happy ending, yet, it is a true story. It is an excellent documentation of the need for, the high degrees of complexity, the platonic love men often develop for one another, the degrees of petty rivalry and subtle competition that often exist in men's friendships and the ultimate limitations of any friendship - male or female.The "tennis element" adds even more to the story for the person who is a tennis fan but the tennis games and the medical mentoring the two men exchange are, in many ways, metaphors of the manner in which male friendships develop and volley from one side to the other, each holding high expectations of the other, each contributing something to the other, yet careful not to overwhelm the other -- often with one winning more than the other as is the case in this story in both tennis and medicine. Verghese is clearly an excellent physician who takes great interest in his patients and uses his keen personal intuition as one of his best diagnostic tools. Yet, Verghese's sensitivity, attentiveness and keen intuition seems to start and stop at the hospital doors as he shows himself to be quite human in his personal inadequacy, stilted personal development and in his normal human incompleteness. David is equally complex, engaging at the same time he is able be maintain his clear boundaries and keep a certain distance. An excellent and gripping story. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Abraham!
Review: Abraham Verghese's writing is wonderfully readable, leaving a lasting impression. Time spent in this book will deepen your understanding of drug addiction--and friendship.
Rating:
Summary: I wish he were my doctor!
Review: After reading both of Dr. Verghese's books I a) wish he'd hurry up and write the next segment of his life story and b) wish that he could be my very own personal physician. I can't imagine trusting anyone more. He is honest, and from his careful medical discussions here, he is brilliant and intuitive. I love the way he combines his knowledge of medicine and tennis with his friendship and his marriage. Some folks are bored with his medical and tennis descriptions, but I felt so privileged to be peering over his shoulder. To admit to such vulnerability! To lay your soul bare! He is a poet and a master of the language. This man knows how to write creative nonfiction.
Rating:
Summary: Warm, compassionate, inviting and tragic.
Review: An even better read than his first book, Abraham Verghese really hits his stride with The Tennis Partner. The characters come alive with warmth and a gentle, nonjudgemental touch. I feel like I've come to know a part a part of El Paso - its people and the place. A must read for all physicians in practice and those in training - and anyone who plans on seeing a physician too. I was sorry when the book ended. Sign me up as a new member of the Abraham Veghese fan club.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and insightful
Review: As a fan of Dr. Verghese's "My Own Country", I was intrigued by this topic, obviously a departure and a deeply personal memoir, when I first decided to buy "The Tennis Partner". I think enjoyment of this book requires the ability to realize that he is searching for answers regarding the addiction of his friend, a situation which boggles the mind of someone who has not struggled with the same problem. I admire his research into the world of drug addiction and the beauty of his attempts to explain his insights into David's world, actually into David's mind. There didn't seem to be a resolution for his search to understand David, but it seems this book was Dr. Verghese's method of paying tribute to his friend and probably therapeutic way to deal with his loss. The tennis descriptions were an interesting way to tell this story. I like the way he showed the tennis partnership interwoven with getting to know and understand David. To me, Dr. Verghese seemed at a loss to come to grips with what could be happening inside David to cause such destruction in a life of promise. Dr. Verghese even seemed to be unfamiliar with the whole addiction and recovery process, as he was sucked into the life of a dependent so far as to be an enabler of sorts. I admire him for putting his thoughts and experiences together, and exploring his own attitude toward drug abuse.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, painful and engrossing
Review: Do not fear reading The Tennis Partner if you are not a fan of tennis. Dr. Verghese uses his and David's love of the sport as a way to illustrate how some things in life are simple on the surface, yet incredibly involved once you peer beneath it. The friends' tennis meetings are originally scheduled to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors, yet soon turn in to the tie that binds the two men as well as an outlet for their innermost secrets. Tennis is also a game of seemingly simple bodily motions, yet slight changes in those movements can yield tremendous gains or losses. For Verghese, this is a metaphor for life itself. David is at first appearance everything that Verghese wishes he was - young, attractive, a former tennis pro. Yet once the two cement their relationship with tennis and get together outside their profession, David's problems become apparent, and somewhat mysterious to the author. Verghese's medical background serves a similar purpose. The somewhat detailed accounts of his career serve to illustrate his gifts for intuiting the things that destroy people's bodies. And through his gifts, he is able to look past David's emotional facade and find that his friend is troubled. And although medical diagnoses come as second nature for Verghese, he is unable or afraid to act when he sees David destroyed by his own inner demons. The Tennis Partner is a beautifullly crafted story of a painful, yet enriching friendship and loss. I enjoyed it so much I immediately went out and bought a copy of Verghese's first book. I very highly recommend that anyone read this incredible book.
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