Teddy Wayne
Author of Kapitoil suggests:
I've just read two very different books that are both about unhappy adolescences: Andre Agassi's memoir, Open, and Aryn Kyle's short-story collection, Boys and Girls Like You and Me. What makes Open one of the most compelling sports autobiographies is the introspection Agassi (abetted by J.R. Moehringer, whose own memoir, The Tender Bar, inspired the athlete to write his) brings to his painful past: a verbally abusive father; the baleful scrutiny of the media; self-loathing and loneliness after losses and even victories; and a lifelong hatred of the game he mastered. Kyle, author of the best-selling novel The God of Animals, focuses primarily on stories of girls and young women who make bad decisions, indulge in bad behavior and gain the wisdom that only scars can provide. They're darkly funny, lyrical yet lucid, and the characters are as heartbreakingly real in their vulnerability as any others you're likely to encounter this year.