Late Return, A
Table Tennis a la carte
Published on 1. May 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
110 pages
978-1-913640-30-9 (ISBN)
Description
Bill Rees has been living in the south of France for ten years
working as an itinerant bookseller in Montpellier. The one
thing he misses about England is table tennis. Then he sees
an advert to join a club for "experienced players only" and
veterans. He starts training immediately, he's forty and not
as fit as he used to be but Bill Rees is returning to the game
a la carte.
Covering one Sunday tournament in the depths of Languedoc
when his team bids to make the National Finals, Bill Rees
produces a deeply felt and deeply funny homage to the
beautiful game of ping-pong. Rees shows the sport for what
it is: painful, exhilarating, tactical, fast (especially when his
club mate Alain is at the table), consuming. All of which is
revealed from the perspective of a Brit playing in French
amateur leagues.
Conveyed is the pain of competition, the agony of losing and
the joys of victory. The reader is also regaled with a Zen-like
insight into the sport.
For all those athletes who dream of glory being around the
corner and never too late.
Contains illustrations by the Monpellier based artist Beachy.
working as an itinerant bookseller in Montpellier. The one
thing he misses about England is table tennis. Then he sees
an advert to join a club for "experienced players only" and
veterans. He starts training immediately, he's forty and not
as fit as he used to be but Bill Rees is returning to the game
a la carte.
Covering one Sunday tournament in the depths of Languedoc
when his team bids to make the National Finals, Bill Rees
produces a deeply felt and deeply funny homage to the
beautiful game of ping-pong. Rees shows the sport for what
it is: painful, exhilarating, tactical, fast (especially when his
club mate Alain is at the table), consuming. All of which is
revealed from the perspective of a Brit playing in French
amateur leagues.
Conveyed is the pain of competition, the agony of losing and
the joys of victory. The reader is also regaled with a Zen-like
insight into the sport.
For all those athletes who dream of glory being around the
corner and never too late.
Contains illustrations by the Monpellier based artist Beachy.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cardigan
United Kingdom
Illustrations
10 B&W illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 126 mm
Width: 203 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
96 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-913640-30-9 (9781913640309)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Bill Rees
A Late Return: Table-Tennis a la Carte
E-Book
05/2021
Parthian Books
€5.99
Available for download
Person
Bill Rees lives in Le Vigan (Sud de France), and makes a
precarious living by selling used books. He studied at UCNW
(Bangor) and Birkbeck College. He worked as a reporter for
a local newspaper in London before the lure of travel and
bookselling led him to take a less conventional path. His
memoir, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Book Runner
was published by Parthian in 2011. In recent years Rees has
rediscovered the joys and frustrations of competitive table
tennis. An embarrassingly large amount of Rees's time and
energies have been devoted to perfecting his backhand top
spin. A Late Return goes some way to explaining why.
precarious living by selling used books. He studied at UCNW
(Bangor) and Birkbeck College. He worked as a reporter for
a local newspaper in London before the lure of travel and
bookselling led him to take a less conventional path. His
memoir, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Book Runner
was published by Parthian in 2011. In recent years Rees has
rediscovered the joys and frustrations of competitive table
tennis. An embarrassingly large amount of Rees's time and
energies have been devoted to perfecting his backhand top
spin. A Late Return goes some way to explaining why.