Underspin

'A staggeringly good debut, written with élan, compassion and wit' Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time'Challengers, but make it table tennis' Lit Hub'An eruption of a debut . . . with meticulous precision and tremendous heart' Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars'A superior force to be reckoned with' Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others and ChoiceRyan Lo begins playing table tennis aged eight. His brilliant but ruthless coach sees a talent in him that might be nurtured into greatness.Through an adolescence marked by hours of practice, matches away from home, clandestine relationships and a determination to win, Ryan ascends to the highest echelons of the game, just as he was supposed to.But here he is now, dead before his twenty-fifth birthday, leaving grief and confusion in his wake.Ryan Lo was meant to be great. What happened?Underspin delves beneath the pressure that forges a champion, and the vulnerability that makes a coming of age: the crackling intensity of a match, the push and pull of first love, and the great injustices committed within our closest relationships.'A kaleidoscopic novel . . . Zhao's prose is a marvel' Rob Franklin, author of Great Black Hope'Leaves a trail of fire in its wake . . . An electric debut' Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky'An unconventional and stylish portrait of a table tennis wunderkind . . . this book will immerse you in its high-stakes world until the very last page' Alina Grabowski, author of Women and Children First