The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings
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- Create Date：2022-05-29 06:53:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Geoff Dyer
- ISBN：0374605564
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Summary
An extended meditation on late style and last works from one of our greatest living critics （Kathryn Schulz， New York）。
When artists and athletes age， what happens to their work？ Does it ripen or rot？ Achieve a new serenity or succumb to an escalating torment？ As our bodies decay， how do we keep on？ In this beguiling meditation， Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last works of writers， painters， footballers， musicians， and tennis stars who've mattered to him throughout his life。 With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence， he recounts Friedrich Nietzsche's breakdown in Turin， Bob Dylan's reinventions of old songs， J。 M。 W。 Turner's paintings of abstracted light， John Coltrane's cosmic melodies， Bjorn Borg's defeats， and Beethoven's final quartets--and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight。 Throughout， he stresses the accomplishments of uncouth geniuses who defied convention， and went on doing so even when their beautiful youths were over。
Ranging from Burning Man and the Doors to the nineteenth-century Alps and back， Dyer's book on last things is also a book about how to go on living with art and beauty--and on the entrancing effect and sudden illumination that an Art Pepper solo or Annie Dillard reflection can engender in even the most jaded and ironic sensibilities。 Praised by Steve Martin for his "hilarious tics" and by Tom Bissell as "perhaps the most bafflingly great prose writer at work in the English language today，" Dyer has now blended criticism， memoir， and humorous banter of the most serious kind into something entirely new。 The Last Days of Roger Federeris a summation of Dyer's passions， and the perfect introduction to his sly and joyous work。
When artists and athletes age， what happens to their work？ Does it ripen or rot？ Achieve a new serenity or succumb to an escalating torment？ As our bodies decay， how do we keep on？ In this beguiling meditation， Geoff Dyer sets his own encounter with late middle age against the last days and last works of writers， painters， footballers， musicians， and tennis stars who've mattered to him throughout his life。 With a playful charm and penetrating intelligence， he recounts Friedrich Nietzsche's breakdown in Turin， Bob Dylan's reinventions of old songs， J。 M。 W。 Turner's paintings of abstracted light， John Coltrane's cosmic melodies， Bjorn Borg's defeats， and Beethoven's final quartets--and considers the intensifications and modifications of experience that come when an ending is within sight。 Throughout， he stresses the accomplishments of uncouth geniuses who defied convention， and went on doing so even when their beautiful youths were over。
Ranging from Burning Man and the Doors to the nineteenth-century Alps and back， Dyer's book on last things is also a book about how to go on living with art and beauty--and on the entrancing effect and sudden illumination that an Art Pepper solo or Annie Dillard reflection can engender in even the most jaded and ironic sensibilities。 Praised by Steve Martin for his "hilarious tics" and by Tom Bissell as "perhaps the most bafflingly great prose writer at work in the English language today，" Dyer has now blended criticism， memoir， and humorous banter of the most serious kind into something entirely new。 The Last Days of Roger Federeris a summation of Dyer's passions， and the perfect introduction to his sly and joyous work。
Reviews
James Beggarly
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Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 While considering the end of Roger Federer’s career， the author starts to examine other ends。 Late career athletes， but also musicians and writers。 He takes us through the last years and artistic achievements of Nietzsche， Beethoven， Coltrane， J。 M。 W。 Turner， Bob Dylan and others， but also， as he ages， the approach of last things for the author。 His possible last time at Burning Man， his trying to hold off as long as he can the playing of his last game Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 While considering the end of Roger Federer’s career， the author starts to examine other ends。 Late career athletes， but also musicians and writers。 He takes us through the last years and artistic achievements of Nietzsche， Beethoven， Coltrane， J。 M。 W。 Turner， Bob Dylan and others， but also， as he ages， the approach of last things for the author。 His possible last time at Burning Man， his trying to hold off as long as he can the playing of his last game of tennis。 This author is always so quick witted and thoughtful that you certainly hope this isn’t close to being his last book。 。。。more
Dipra Lahiri
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Literature， music， sport， travel， personal quirks - all this and more covered in numbered chapters， by a writer who loves writing and cannot stop。 Like a conversation with a very erudite friend。
Tom
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I enjoyed following his train of thought （the shampoo and tennis towels sections had me in stitches）， though， by the end， I don't think the book yielded many illuminating insights into endings。 There are plenty of facts and observations about cultural figures and happenings which are always interesting， and the book kept pointing to deeper issues without going there。 Probably one of the weakest of his books I've read thought still an enjoyable read。 I enjoyed following his train of thought （the shampoo and tennis towels sections had me in stitches）， though， by the end， I don't think the book yielded many illuminating insights into endings。 There are plenty of facts and observations about cultural figures and happenings which are always interesting， and the book kept pointing to deeper issues without going there。 Probably one of the weakest of his books I've read thought still an enjoyable read。 。。。more
Nick Feliz
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Mr Geoff Dyer's writing is a bit more literary and dense than Chuck Klosterman's， but every bit as entertaining and enjoyable to read。 Mr Geoff Dyer's writing is a bit more literary and dense than Chuck Klosterman's， but every bit as entertaining and enjoyable to read。 。。。more
Michael
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Geoff Dyer’s new book finds the author in fine form， obsessed with literature， music， tennis and stealing shampoo。 Dyer’s wit and curiosity always make his nonfiction work brilliant， and equal to his superb fiction。
Mark Chimel
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I am reviewing the audiobook version and the first thing that I will say is that I did not understand the choice of narrator。 I understand that the author is British and the use of British narrator， but in this case the narration did not seem to fit the content at all。 I was confused on multiple occasions by what I felt was this dichotomy。 In addition to that， the subject matter did not appeal to me as much as I thought it would。 At many times this seems to be as much a mediation on the author's I am reviewing the audiobook version and the first thing that I will say is that I did not understand the choice of narrator。 I understand that the author is British and the use of British narrator， but in this case the narration did not seem to fit the content at all。 I was confused on multiple occasions by what I felt was this dichotomy。 In addition to that， the subject matter did not appeal to me as much as I thought it would。 At many times this seems to be as much a mediation on the author's last styles as those he is profiling。 This makes for interesting anecdotes， but don't fit with my personal experiences or life stage。 There is great writing here and a great concept that I am sure that some will really enjoy。 Unfortunately， it wasn't a favorite of mine。*I received an eARC audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Katie Murphy
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Geoff Dyer possesses a sense of curiosity I greatly admire。 This collection of essays investigates the idea of mortality， of coming to the end， the twilight years of greatness， and building things that last。 Written in an almost stream of consciousness， it’s highly entertaining， almost amusing， and very informative。
Bob Peru
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this guy is me。 but taller and a little smarter。
Hanna Gil
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We， mortals， are fascinated by the events defined as “the last”。 This fascination is reflected even in the titles of our films， paintings， and books such as The Last Supper， Last Tango in Paris， or The Last of the Mohicans。 The newest book by Geoff Dyer The Last Days of Roger Federer is very much in the vein of our interest。This is not a story about the last matches of a famous tennis player， although they occupy a prominent place in it， but about the last works of artists for whom life meant cr We， mortals， are fascinated by the events defined as “the last”。 This fascination is reflected even in the titles of our films， paintings， and books such as The Last Supper， Last Tango in Paris， or The Last of the Mohicans。 The newest book by Geoff Dyer The Last Days of Roger Federer is very much in the vein of our interest。This is not a story about the last matches of a famous tennis player， although they occupy a prominent place in it， but about the last works of artists for whom life meant creating。 As their lives drew to an end， their creativity changed along with the weakness of their physical bodies - sometimes it diminished completely， sometimes it manifested itself in a completely different way， like in Beethoven’s case where ‘the dissociation and disintegration themselves become artistic means’。Geoff Dyer describes the last years of Beethoven， Nietzsche， Turner， and Coltrane， just to name a few subjects of his analysis， looking at them with inquisitiveness， justified by the fact that， being a writer over 60， he cannot resist the thought that perhaps this book could be his last。 While we usually know what our "firsts" were - the first kiss， the first job， the first sushi - we usually do not know what will be the "last"。 Rarely， we make a conscious decision to do something for the last time， such as in Dyer’s case， his Burning Man experience; describing it he’s well aware that he’s doing it for the last time。 Not because he is bored， but because he knows he won’t be able to experience anything new there。 Coming back will be truly just a sentimental journey。 The stigma of finality gives his experience the mark of freedom， and every moment becomes important。The Last Days of Federer narrative reminded me of Emmanuel Carrere’s The Kingdom but also of a diary of someone I would like to talk to， partly because that person is extremely witty， and partly because you never know which way the conversation will go。 Will it become a description of a narcotic trance or an in-depth analysis of jazz？ I have to admit that this way of writing suits me very well。 By intertwining information that could be given in a good academic lecture， with lightly examining one’s problems with tennis injuries， I was able to contemplate what old age means to me in a calm， unhurried way。 Geoff Dyer’s energetic and humorous writing allows plenty of space for the reader’s reflection on how creativity is impacted by age。 。。。more
Sam
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Geoff Dyer can write about anything and make it interesting。 As Geoff is an ageing man and had some time to spare through the pandemic he gives us his thoughts on getting older and endings。 Some people know when to quit while others carry on to increasingly diminished returns。 Geoff is not one of those people。 I found his wry observations as entertaining as ever as I age with him。
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Farrar， Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy of this new collection of essays on endings。Life is a series of endings。 Childhood， careers， fads， politics， innocence， life。 Age is sometimes a factor， childish things get put behind， making that serve causes more pain than victories， interest wans。 Sometimes its outside factors， a dream job lost due to corporate accounting， maladies of the body。 Maladies of the spirt also lead to endings， sometimes per My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Farrar， Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy of this new collection of essays on endings。Life is a series of endings。 Childhood， careers， fads， politics， innocence， life。 Age is sometimes a factor， childish things get put behind， making that serve causes more pain than victories， interest wans。 Sometimes its outside factors， a dream job lost due to corporate accounting， maladies of the body。 Maladies of the spirt also lead to endings， sometimes permanent， sometimes just a break。 Geoff Dyer in his book The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings starts with the retirement of a tennis star， than looks at how other athletes and artists dealt with their endings， including himself。 The book is a series of essays， with short chapters describing the aging of athletes， artists and others and how they dealt with the fact that their craft was not up to the high expectations of what it once was。 Some walk away into the sunset， heads high， on to the next thing， or even nothing， Some hang on trying to keep the dream alive， living with disappointments， trying hard for one last great project。 Some examples， are Bob Dylan's constant reinvention of old songs， where could John Coltrane have taken jazz， Pharaoh Saunders playing at the end， sports heroes and himself。 As Mr。 Dyer he discusses how things have changed for him both physically and mentally， and how things have changed。 The book is beautifully written with passages and lines that just stay with the reader。 Some are sad， some are just different ways of looking at a situation。 The book is written almost as diary entries， as things occur to him， Mr。 Dyer will write about it。 Some are longer， reflections about artists especially， but most are short to the point and non-judgemental。 Who are we to judge if an artist should leave the scene。 The art might not be as strong， the work sometimes embarrassing， but if the artist is trying， shouldn't the audience allow this。 Questions are asked， sometimes answered， but much is left to the reader。 One of the more interesting collections I have read in awhile。 I am quite the fan of Mr。 Dyer， I've read probably more of his nonfiction， than his fiction but he is always a writer that I feel I have learned quite a bit from after reading。 There is a lot going on， and this is a book that will stay with the reader for quite a while after reading。 。。。more
M。 Sarki
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…It had been a question， always， of moving on and， if that was impossible， of pulling through。。。Please read the rest of my review here:https://rogueliterarysociety。com/f/th。。。 …It had been a question， always， of moving on and， if that was impossible， of pulling through。。。Please read the rest of my review here:https://rogueliterarysociety。com/f/th。。。 。。。more
Kasa Cotugno
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