RaveAsymptoteSudden Death is about so much more than tennis, for in the hands of a brilliant writer such as Enrigue, it is not just a lifetime but an entire segment of human history that a tournament between two individuals can bring to life ... The palimpsestic narratives that Enrigue exposes in the process are not only vigorous and compelling but also deeply illuminating, placing the book in the tradition of Borges, Sebald, and Calasso ... There is no shortage of wonderful books with pumping hearts but it is much rarer to find one that resembles a fully functional organism—complex, bloody, relentless yet subtle, and ultimately glorious in its humanity and inventiveness.
