Shot and a Ghost

I bought this book with great expectations because it's about squash, a sport I happen to play and love in equal measure. Yet it was a total let down.

This book is very shoddily edited. It felt like a series of blog-posts strung together to form a book. It felt very uneven and the disjointed time-frame left me confused at times. Many a times, the author veered into an off-tangential rant on random stuff which was exhausting to be honest. Overall, the writing felt extremely dry and very repetitive at times, especially when it came to descriptions of his matches.

Yet, this is probably the best squash book out there. There are nuggets to learn when it comes down to the sport and its nuances - ghosting, warm up techniques, injury prevention - are all great and solid pieces of advice that any weekend squash player would appreciate. The mental aspects of the sport is also explored in detail. It does give perspective to how hard the sport is and how professional squash players approach it.

I only wished the author highlighted more of his relationship with his girlfriend. He does, however, open up about his tenacious relationship with his father and also pours out his heart when it comes to his late mother, which shows his softer side.

The book is devoid of drama, humour and colour, which could have elevated this otherwise staid book on squash onto something else.

Needless to say, if you're a squash fan - do pick it up - but expect it to be a sort of ‘boring' read. Otherwise, give it a pass.