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Dad Had a Bad Day
Headshot meets John Cheever in this darkly funny, deeply moving portrait of what happens when a “sad dad” reconnects with a passion from his past.
When Ned finds his old Slazenger tennis racquet buried in the garage, he unearths a part of his former self. Having recently lost his job, his sole duty is to watch over their six-year-old son while his wife works. On a whim--and without his wife's knowledge--Ned joins his childhood tennis club with a secret credit card, where he finds life outside the realm of “sad dad” domesticity. He becomes the captain of a local men’s rec league team, reconnects with his old hitting partner and former tennis prodigy, Roland, and commits his whole sad self to building a winning team. But when Roland disappears, Ned’s search for his friend threatens to consume the path to glory, the relationship with his son, his marriage, and his mind.
A meditation on fathers and sons, male friendship, and the psychic pressures of an individual sport, Politanoff’s novel sits beautifully alongside the dark comedy of Iris Murdoch and the masculine angst of John Cheever, with a style all its own. Funny, poignant, and deeply relatable, Dad Had a Bad Day explores our desire for structure, the emotional limits of domestic life, and the unbelievably potent, powerful, intoxicating feeling of winning.
When Ned finds his old Slazenger tennis racquet buried in the garage, he unearths a part of his former self. Having recently lost his job, his sole duty is to watch over their six-year-old son while his wife works. On a whim--and without his wife's knowledge--Ned joins his childhood tennis club with a secret credit card, where he finds life outside the realm of “sad dad” domesticity. He becomes the captain of a local men’s rec league team, reconnects with his old hitting partner and former tennis prodigy, Roland, and commits his whole sad self to building a winning team. But when Roland disappears, Ned’s search for his friend threatens to consume the path to glory, the relationship with his son, his marriage, and his mind.
A meditation on fathers and sons, male friendship, and the psychic pressures of an individual sport, Politanoff’s novel sits beautifully alongside the dark comedy of Iris Murdoch and the masculine angst of John Cheever, with a style all its own. Funny, poignant, and deeply relatable, Dad Had a Bad Day explores our desire for structure, the emotional limits of domestic life, and the unbelievably potent, powerful, intoxicating feeling of winning.
- GenresFiction
272 pages, Paperback
Published May 19, 2026
About the author
Ashton Politanoff
4 books12 followersAshton Politanoff is a frequent contributor to NOON, edited by Diane Williams. His writing has also appeared or is forthcoming in McSweeney’s, Southwest Review, Conjunctions, New York Tyrant, Egress, and elsewhere. He is a former division I tennis player and his childhood coach was Robert Lansdorp, who is credited with coaching Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin, and Maria Sharapova. His novel Dad Had a Bad Day is forthcoming Spring/Summer 2026 from Astra House (US) and Daunt Books (UK). Politanoff’s first novel, You’ll Like It Here, was published by Dalkey Archive in 2022. He is an English Professor at Cypress College.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
May 21, 2026
What a trip. This novel’s main theme is reclaiming lost youth. Yet in this case, it takes on an obsessive turn, it’s as if our main character is actually in the mind of an adolescent.
Let’s unpack: Ned is a middle-aged married man with a young son. (I repeatedly forgot the son’s name as it was rarely mentioned. The boy is a huge presence in the story, but he’s usually referred to as “son” or “the boy.”) Jobless and in-debt Ned joins a tennis club behind his wife’s back using a secret credit card. He soon decides to create a tennis squad, which soon morphs him into becoming possessive, saboteur, and obnoxiously competitive. Ned used to be a promising tennis player in his teenage years but had to give it up for reasons that are explained later on in the narrative. We begin to understand why the sport is important to him, but we also can see that it made him regress into someone who is hopelessly chasing lost youth. He also runs into an old friend, who appears to be even a bigger sad sack than he is. And he’s desperate to reconnect.
This novel had some gasp-worthy moments. Ned becomes so consumed with his new lifestyle that his parenting takes a backseat. Believe me, our main character does some wild things, very out-of-pocket, totally reckless and unhinged. As he starts to obsess at being the number one player, finishing off his opponents, and proving his manhood, he begins to spiral out, to such a point that he begins to lose himself and his moral compass. He consistently lies to his wife, coerces his son in unethical behavior, and racks up even more credit card debt. Winning is his end goal, his only goal, his ultimate downfall.
Side note: This novel made me feel nostalgic, not because of its themes, but for the particular in-depth sport it covers. My childhood summers were spent in New York with my relatives. My uncle was very into tennis, and I witnessed the joy it brought him, as well as the competitiveness. I could recall the “tennis uniforms” he wore. How I would stumble upon canisters of tennis balls in practically every closet and storage unit at the house. The multiple tennis rackets stored with care. The serious look on his face before every serve. Reading through this novel made these memories come flooding back. Ah, such simple times!
Dad Had a Bad Day really is a blast. Extremely readable, darkly humorous, energetic, shocking, infuriating, messy, tragic. A look at the lengths people go through in an attempt to recapture their youth. The desperate desire to be seen again, unlike how domestic responsibilities rendered them invisible. To try to tap back into that particular moment in time when one felt most alive. It’s a novel that takes you on an unhinged journey. With a “surrealistic” kind of ending that makes you go “huh?” A bop.
Let’s unpack: Ned is a middle-aged married man with a young son. (I repeatedly forgot the son’s name as it was rarely mentioned. The boy is a huge presence in the story, but he’s usually referred to as “son” or “the boy.”) Jobless and in-debt Ned joins a tennis club behind his wife’s back using a secret credit card. He soon decides to create a tennis squad, which soon morphs him into becoming possessive, saboteur, and obnoxiously competitive. Ned used to be a promising tennis player in his teenage years but had to give it up for reasons that are explained later on in the narrative. We begin to understand why the sport is important to him, but we also can see that it made him regress into someone who is hopelessly chasing lost youth. He also runs into an old friend, who appears to be even a bigger sad sack than he is. And he’s desperate to reconnect.
This novel had some gasp-worthy moments. Ned becomes so consumed with his new lifestyle that his parenting takes a backseat. Believe me, our main character does some wild things, very out-of-pocket, totally reckless and unhinged. As he starts to obsess at being the number one player, finishing off his opponents, and proving his manhood, he begins to spiral out, to such a point that he begins to lose himself and his moral compass. He consistently lies to his wife, coerces his son in unethical behavior, and racks up even more credit card debt. Winning is his end goal, his only goal, his ultimate downfall.
Side note: This novel made me feel nostalgic, not because of its themes, but for the particular in-depth sport it covers. My childhood summers were spent in New York with my relatives. My uncle was very into tennis, and I witnessed the joy it brought him, as well as the competitiveness. I could recall the “tennis uniforms” he wore. How I would stumble upon canisters of tennis balls in practically every closet and storage unit at the house. The multiple tennis rackets stored with care. The serious look on his face before every serve. Reading through this novel made these memories come flooding back. Ah, such simple times!
Dad Had a Bad Day really is a blast. Extremely readable, darkly humorous, energetic, shocking, infuriating, messy, tragic. A look at the lengths people go through in an attempt to recapture their youth. The desperate desire to be seen again, unlike how domestic responsibilities rendered them invisible. To try to tap back into that particular moment in time when one felt most alive. It’s a novel that takes you on an unhinged journey. With a “surrealistic” kind of ending that makes you go “huh?” A bop.
October 31, 2025
As a tennis fan, I was eager to pick this up and it did not disappoint. There are plenty of humorous moments, especially in the interactions between the main character and his son, but the story also takes a darker turn as we watch him slowly unravel. It’s literary fiction with a touch of suspense, keeping you unsure of just how far things will spiral. As someone who played tennis in my youth, I found the character’s relationship with the sport and its lasting impact especially relatable. Overall, this was a dark, compelling, and deeply engaging read.
November 17, 2025
This book was unhinged in the best possible way. The main character is so deeply morally grey it’s almost comical, except it isn’t, because you’re too busy watching him completely unravel. His obsession with tennis becomes this dark, consuming force, and watching him self-destruct is both horrifying and fascinating.
The prose is straightforward and razor-sharp, which works perfectly for the story’s descent into chaos. I actually found myself gasping out loud during some of his more questionable decisions (which happened often). The tennis scenes are vivid and strangely hypnotic whether or not you care about the sport, you’ll be pulled in.
I loved every wild, spiralling moment of this. It’s unsettling, darkly funny, and unforgettable.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC review.
The prose is straightforward and razor-sharp, which works perfectly for the story’s descent into chaos. I actually found myself gasping out loud during some of his more questionable decisions (which happened often). The tennis scenes are vivid and strangely hypnotic whether or not you care about the sport, you’ll be pulled in.
I loved every wild, spiralling moment of this. It’s unsettling, darkly funny, and unforgettable.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC review.
October 11, 2025
Absolutely loved the plot of this book. Med is a relatable and likeable character and his life is relatable with being out of work, balancing a marriage and fatherhood, and the need to find himself. It was heartwarming and encouraging to see him find himself through joining a tennis club and reconnecting with Roland. Of course everything is thrown into chaos and I was worried for him as he navigates the pressures of life that men can face. We don’t often get books that cover these topics so this is a true treasure. Loved the humor mixed in the storyline and the overall look at domestic life as we know it today. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 21, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, Astra House, and Ashton Politanoff for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
While Dad Had a Bad Day is framed as a dark comedy about domestic life, its surrealist elements run deep, shaping the tone and narrative in unexpected ways. Ned is having difficulty squaring his idealized notion of masculinity with his current circumstances as a laid-off, stay-at-home dad. His self-reflection leads him to seek meaning through reliving his glory days of tennis at his childhood country club. Tennis works as an apt metaphor for Ned’s idea of what it means to be a ‘manly man'. Its solitary nature, strict boundaries, and focus on dominance, control, and winning by any means necessary reflect the emotional isolation and performative masculinity he tries to project, both to others and to himself. Roland functions both as a cautionary tale and as a glimpse into Ned’s emerging reality.
As a reader, it's easy to empathize with what Ned is going through. It's also crushing to then see Ned's efforts lead him to spiral and betray what he truly wants: to be a good father, husband, and man. I loved this book!
While Dad Had a Bad Day is framed as a dark comedy about domestic life, its surrealist elements run deep, shaping the tone and narrative in unexpected ways. Ned is having difficulty squaring his idealized notion of masculinity with his current circumstances as a laid-off, stay-at-home dad. His self-reflection leads him to seek meaning through reliving his glory days of tennis at his childhood country club. Tennis works as an apt metaphor for Ned’s idea of what it means to be a ‘manly man'. Its solitary nature, strict boundaries, and focus on dominance, control, and winning by any means necessary reflect the emotional isolation and performative masculinity he tries to project, both to others and to himself. Roland functions both as a cautionary tale and as a glimpse into Ned’s emerging reality.
As a reader, it's easy to empathize with what Ned is going through. It's also crushing to then see Ned's efforts lead him to spiral and betray what he truly wants: to be a good father, husband, and man. I loved this book!
October 30, 2025
Picked this up for the tennis but stayed for the sad-dad vibes... I absolutely loved it. It’s rare to find a novel that blends literary depth and dark humor so seamlessly, but Politanoff nailed it.
The story follows Ned, a recently laid-off father struggling to navigate stay-at-home life, parenthood, and a fading sense of identity. When he dusts off his old tennis racquet, he reconnects with a former version of himself, one hungry for competition, and control. What begins as a harmless pastime slowly twists into obsession, a sharp reflection on masculinity, dominance and the need to win at all costs.
Politanoff’s prose is beautifully measured and quietly propulsive. Funny, sad, relatable and deeply human, Dad Had a Bad Day is a moving meditation on fathers, sons, friendship, and the fragile sense of purpose we all chase. I couldn’t put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
netgalley
The story follows Ned, a recently laid-off father struggling to navigate stay-at-home life, parenthood, and a fading sense of identity. When he dusts off his old tennis racquet, he reconnects with a former version of himself, one hungry for competition, and control. What begins as a harmless pastime slowly twists into obsession, a sharp reflection on masculinity, dominance and the need to win at all costs.
Politanoff’s prose is beautifully measured and quietly propulsive. Funny, sad, relatable and deeply human, Dad Had a Bad Day is a moving meditation on fathers, sons, friendship, and the fragile sense of purpose we all chase. I couldn’t put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
netgalley
October 22, 2025
this was such a great read. quick-paced, funny in unexpected ways, and surprisingly tender. it actually reminded me a bit of a miranda july book - that same mix of offbeat humor and quiet heartbreak.
i loved how easy it was to connect with ned and how well it captured that feeling of being lost after a major life shift. tennis almost felt like its own character at times, but it was written in a way that never left me behind. and the ending? loved! satisfying, a little tense, and exactly what i was hoping for. huge thanks for the advanced copy!
i loved how easy it was to connect with ned and how well it captured that feeling of being lost after a major life shift. tennis almost felt like its own character at times, but it was written in a way that never left me behind. and the ending? loved! satisfying, a little tense, and exactly what i was hoping for. huge thanks for the advanced copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER TO HAVE A BOOK
February 22, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! This novel releases in May.
Sadly, this didn’t work for me. Despite some solid writing—some excellent turns of phrase and intriguing character work—I just wasn’t gripped. At 242 pages I should’ve finished weeks ago, yet it took me almost a month to finish. I found myself simply not wanting to return. Part of it was the lack of chapter breaks (not that I am opposed to this sort of stylization, but the whole thing really begins to feel like an onslaught), part of it was simply not caring about tennis. Sorry! This is clearly a novel about tennis, so that’s on me, but I thought it would grab me more than it did. I see this book has already gotten some 5-star reviews so it is obviously working for some readers. I found it to be a little bit of a headache. Ah, well. We gotta keep it pushing!
Sadly, this didn’t work for me. Despite some solid writing—some excellent turns of phrase and intriguing character work—I just wasn’t gripped. At 242 pages I should’ve finished weeks ago, yet it took me almost a month to finish. I found myself simply not wanting to return. Part of it was the lack of chapter breaks (not that I am opposed to this sort of stylization, but the whole thing really begins to feel like an onslaught), part of it was simply not caring about tennis. Sorry! This is clearly a novel about tennis, so that’s on me, but I thought it would grab me more than it did. I see this book has already gotten some 5-star reviews so it is obviously working for some readers. I found it to be a little bit of a headache. Ah, well. We gotta keep it pushing!
May 14, 2026
Dad Had a Bad Day follows Ned, a typical suburban man who has lost his job and is a stay-at-home-dad for his 6-year-old son. His wife Loraine, to whom he pens many journal entries, is constantly traveling for work, and Ned suffers the ennui of a midlife crisis. When he takes his son to the park one day and watches a father-son duo playing tennis, he is inspired to dig up his old tennis racket from when he was a young tennis virtuoso. This all happens pretty rapidly, and the remainder of the book’s action mounts in its short, terse chapters. Ned joins a tennis club, Ned encounters a former friend and fellow child tennis pro, Ned starts to shell out more and more money on tennis, Ned avows his son to keep the club a secret from his mother, Ned becomes captain of a tennis team, Ned starts to run into another woman at the club, Ned piece-by-piece reveals his and his former friend’s backstory…etc. etc. There is a mention at the beginning of one crucial element, but it is left hanging and then later executed poorly.
The main aspect of Ned, that he is a dad, starts to wither away the more he becomes absorbed in tennis. He starts to neglect his son in some very shocking ways, or uses him as an accomplice against his fellow tennis players. Ned is one of those main characters who makes the book hard to read. His egotism and insane fixation on ‘defeating’ people whom he perceives as having wronged him are constants as he becomes more deeply disturbed. The cover art is undoubtedly a reference to limp-dick toxic male insecurity (and you will certainly see that here).
Those who know me now know I’m not at all sporty, but I actually played tennis up through my teenage years, so I was drawn to this book despite the fact that sports novels aren’t my jam. I suppose it is good that the book reads so quickly, because I didn’t wind up liking this too much, based mostly on the plot and characters; you do not need to be a tennis player to read this.
Editing wise: as we all know, I’m not a fan of the absence of quotation marks with no literary merit, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead on that front. I don’t knock off points for poor eARC formatting (even though it does detract a bit from the experience), because I know that isn’t what the print book is going to look like. I DO feel chagrined when I catch basic typos in a 260ish page book. To someone like me who has tutored and taught writing, it just sticks out like a gangrenous thumb. I know most uncorrected proofs aren’t perfectly polished, and hopefully won’t make it into the print edition, but seeing something as basic as breath instead of breathe does drive me a little nuts. Astra, I’m sorry, I’m a big fan of your work.
I received an eARC from NetGalley and Astra Publishing House in exchange for an honest review!
The main aspect of Ned, that he is a dad, starts to wither away the more he becomes absorbed in tennis. He starts to neglect his son in some very shocking ways, or uses him as an accomplice against his fellow tennis players. Ned is one of those main characters who makes the book hard to read. His egotism and insane fixation on ‘defeating’ people whom he perceives as having wronged him are constants as he becomes more deeply disturbed. The cover art is undoubtedly a reference to limp-dick toxic male insecurity (and you will certainly see that here).
Those who know me now know I’m not at all sporty, but I actually played tennis up through my teenage years, so I was drawn to this book despite the fact that sports novels aren’t my jam. I suppose it is good that the book reads so quickly, because I didn’t wind up liking this too much, based mostly on the plot and characters; you do not need to be a tennis player to read this.
Editing wise: as we all know, I’m not a fan of the absence of quotation marks with no literary merit, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead on that front. I don’t knock off points for poor eARC formatting (even though it does detract a bit from the experience), because I know that isn’t what the print book is going to look like. I DO feel chagrined when I catch basic typos in a 260ish page book. To someone like me who has tutored and taught writing, it just sticks out like a gangrenous thumb. I know most uncorrected proofs aren’t perfectly polished, and hopefully won’t make it into the print edition, but seeing something as basic as breath instead of breathe does drive me a little nuts. Astra, I’m sorry, I’m a big fan of your work.
I received an eARC from NetGalley and Astra Publishing House in exchange for an honest review!
April 5, 2026
First and foremost, a huge thank you to Astra House for the gifted copy of this book for my review.
As someone who grew up wrestling, playing football, and traveling year-round for baseball, this book resonated with me. I saw firsthand how quickly sports can shift from something fun into something stressful for all involved. The pressure, the expectations, and the way some fathers live through their kids felt very, very familiar to me.
I wasn’t the standout athlete like Ned, but I witnessed from the sidelines and bleachers the pushy coaches, the intense parents, and the teams that took it way too seriously. Now, as an adult, I see a lot of those same guys coaching their kids and playing in rec leagues, still holding onto pieces of that identity.
I had to catch my breath tearing through this novel. The short, choppy sentences, the lack of quotation marks and the writing all press down as our main character, Ned, tries to reclaim a life that slipped through his fingers between college and fatherhood. It feels like a foot on my chest and I couldn't predict how far Ned was willing to go to have another "good day."
After closing the book, I kept coming back to the same question: is Ned a bad father, or just a man trying, and failing, to set boundaries in a life that's already spiraling? Outside of a few moments that clearly cross the line, he lives in that uncomfortable gray space. The kind that fluctuates between uncomfortable and unhinged.
Masculinity is on display here on-and-off the court. Ned is recently unemployed, supported by his wife, and running out of funds and time. He is stuck in the same place that once defined him as a promising tennis player, but he's the one that never made it to the "big leagues," and everyone he bumps into reminds him of that. I could feel the weight of that across the pages and from other characters, too. While he's going through the motions of his life in the present, he's trapped in the expectations he and others had for him in his past.
That tension built on and off the page for me. I'm a man in my thirties and as a runner who will likely never break my PR mile time, the feelings Ned has toward tennis and reclaiming some sense of self-accomplishment were recognizable
Admittedly, the writing takes a minute to adjust to. It’s sharp and disorienting. About 20 pages in, it clicked. The structure mirrors Ned’s mindset and the situation he finds himself in now. Ashton is sharing Ned's chaos, his thoughts, and his choices with us in a raw, unpolished format. And it works for me.
I’d recommend this to anyone who’s been around competitive sports culture, especially those who never fully left it behind. I feel like it will hit hardest for dads, and men navigating identity and expectation as they diverge from their father's expectations for them and are simultaneously imparting their own expectations on their own children. The multi-generational trauma, mentoring, and complicated love is such a delicate theme explored here. I would also recommend this to readers who like darker, character-driven stories with a few unhinged plot points sprinkled in.
Overall, a really great read, and one I’d easily recommend!
As someone who grew up wrestling, playing football, and traveling year-round for baseball, this book resonated with me. I saw firsthand how quickly sports can shift from something fun into something stressful for all involved. The pressure, the expectations, and the way some fathers live through their kids felt very, very familiar to me.
I wasn’t the standout athlete like Ned, but I witnessed from the sidelines and bleachers the pushy coaches, the intense parents, and the teams that took it way too seriously. Now, as an adult, I see a lot of those same guys coaching their kids and playing in rec leagues, still holding onto pieces of that identity.
I had to catch my breath tearing through this novel. The short, choppy sentences, the lack of quotation marks and the writing all press down as our main character, Ned, tries to reclaim a life that slipped through his fingers between college and fatherhood. It feels like a foot on my chest and I couldn't predict how far Ned was willing to go to have another "good day."
After closing the book, I kept coming back to the same question: is Ned a bad father, or just a man trying, and failing, to set boundaries in a life that's already spiraling? Outside of a few moments that clearly cross the line, he lives in that uncomfortable gray space. The kind that fluctuates between uncomfortable and unhinged.
Masculinity is on display here on-and-off the court. Ned is recently unemployed, supported by his wife, and running out of funds and time. He is stuck in the same place that once defined him as a promising tennis player, but he's the one that never made it to the "big leagues," and everyone he bumps into reminds him of that. I could feel the weight of that across the pages and from other characters, too. While he's going through the motions of his life in the present, he's trapped in the expectations he and others had for him in his past.
That tension built on and off the page for me. I'm a man in my thirties and as a runner who will likely never break my PR mile time, the feelings Ned has toward tennis and reclaiming some sense of self-accomplishment were recognizable
Admittedly, the writing takes a minute to adjust to. It’s sharp and disorienting. About 20 pages in, it clicked. The structure mirrors Ned’s mindset and the situation he finds himself in now. Ashton is sharing Ned's chaos, his thoughts, and his choices with us in a raw, unpolished format. And it works for me.
I’d recommend this to anyone who’s been around competitive sports culture, especially those who never fully left it behind. I feel like it will hit hardest for dads, and men navigating identity and expectation as they diverge from their father's expectations for them and are simultaneously imparting their own expectations on their own children. The multi-generational trauma, mentoring, and complicated love is such a delicate theme explored here. I would also recommend this to readers who like darker, character-driven stories with a few unhinged plot points sprinkled in.
Overall, a really great read, and one I’d easily recommend!
June 19, 2026
Delightful, fast paced, not mean-spirited despite so much bad behavior. Sad to see it end!
November 17, 2025
The fact was novel was fast-paced and short was the primary reason I finished it. However, I can’t say I enjoyed it much. The writing was frantic and erratic, and I never fully invested in the main character, Ned.
I understand that while this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there will be readers who will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this upcoming novel.
I understand that while this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there will be readers who will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this upcoming novel.
June 9, 2026
⊹ ࣪ ˖𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈
ᯓ★★★.17 decent
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
Dad Had a Bad Day is basically the story of a sad dad trying to find purpose after losing his job. What made the premise work for me is that Ned is a stay-at-home father. If the protagonist were a woman, the same situation probably wouldn't feel nearly as unusual/odd/absurde. But watching a grown man secretly rejoin a tennis club and become obsessed with a local league gives the story an almost sitcom-like energy.
I actually appreciated how flawed Ned is. He's selfish, dishonest, and often frustrating, but the novel never seems interested in making him likeable. Instead, it lets him spiral and trusts readers to sit with that discomfort.
The second half lost me a little. The tennis-heavy sections became repetitive, and I wanted more from some of the supporting characters and subplots. Still, it's a memorable read about identity, obsession, and what happens when someone desperately tries to reclaim a version of themselves that no longer exists.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒐𝒏
╰┈➤blog ╰┈➤ instagram
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
After losing his job, Ned secretly rejoins his childhood tennis club in an attempt to escape the frustrations of stay-at-home fatherhood. What begins as a nostalgic return to the sport soon turns into an obsession as he captains a local team and reconnects with his former tennis partner, Roland. But when Roland mysteriously disappears, Ned's search for his friend threatens to unravel his marriage, family life, and sense of self. Blending dark humour with emotional depth, Dad Had a Bad Day is a sharp exploration of fatherhood, male friendship, and the intoxicating pursuit of winning.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
# started: 23/05/2026
# finished: 06/06/2026
ᯓ★★★.17 decent
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈
Dad Had a Bad Day is basically the story of a sad dad trying to find purpose after losing his job. What made the premise work for me is that Ned is a stay-at-home father. If the protagonist were a woman, the same situation probably wouldn't feel nearly as unusual/odd/absurde. But watching a grown man secretly rejoin a tennis club and become obsessed with a local league gives the story an almost sitcom-like energy.
I actually appreciated how flawed Ned is. He's selfish, dishonest, and often frustrating, but the novel never seems interested in making him likeable. Instead, it lets him spiral and trusts readers to sit with that discomfort.
The second half lost me a little. The tennis-heavy sections became repetitive, and I wanted more from some of the supporting characters and subplots. Still, it's a memorable read about identity, obsession, and what happens when someone desperately tries to reclaim a version of themselves that no longer exists.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒐𝒏
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⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
After losing his job, Ned secretly rejoins his childhood tennis club in an attempt to escape the frustrations of stay-at-home fatherhood. What begins as a nostalgic return to the sport soon turns into an obsession as he captains a local team and reconnects with his former tennis partner, Roland. But when Roland mysteriously disappears, Ned's search for his friend threatens to unravel his marriage, family life, and sense of self. Blending dark humour with emotional depth, Dad Had a Bad Day is a sharp exploration of fatherhood, male friendship, and the intoxicating pursuit of winning.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
# started: 23/05/2026
# finished: 06/06/2026
May 23, 2026
2 stars; major fit problems, unsuccessful for me.
The novel’s intended effect is obvious - escalating obsessive behavior thinly masking underlying narcissism, insecurity and unmitigated ego, but I did not think the execution kept up the pace. While the "dad" is slowly building his career in tennis, his own personal relationships and treatment of his young son, is destabilizing the family foundation. He puts his own son is circumstances that are truly abhorring, he does so with quite an ease to ensure success in his career.
Ned, the dad, is easy to dislike. All the desperate scheming to be validated by peers that he sees as "enemies" is incredibly tragic. The end, the downfall and all the mess that comes back for retribution wasn't gratifying but an inevitable conclusion that's set in stone from the very first moment his ego is bruised.
Thank you to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
The novel’s intended effect is obvious - escalating obsessive behavior thinly masking underlying narcissism, insecurity and unmitigated ego, but I did not think the execution kept up the pace. While the "dad" is slowly building his career in tennis, his own personal relationships and treatment of his young son, is destabilizing the family foundation. He puts his own son is circumstances that are truly abhorring, he does so with quite an ease to ensure success in his career.
Ned, the dad, is easy to dislike. All the desperate scheming to be validated by peers that he sees as "enemies" is incredibly tragic. The end, the downfall and all the mess that comes back for retribution wasn't gratifying but an inevitable conclusion that's set in stone from the very first moment his ego is bruised.
Thank you to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.
June 3, 2026
Read it! Funny and poignant about aging, family, tennis, and the desire for greatness. A really engaging read.
January 23, 2026
Ned didn’t just have a bad day, he was having a mid life crisis at the expense of everyone else including his own family.
Ned joins his tennis club using a secret credit card that his wife was oblivious to that and also to the fact that he’s not looking for work or really being the agreed stay at home parent while she works full time.
Ned becomes more aggressive, selfish and obnoxious the longer it goes on until one day it all collapses leaving a host of victims in his wake.
I didn’t enjoy this too much; tennis goes over my head but the plot was kind of lost on me. It didn’t have much to get my teeth into and the Roland plot was a missed opportunity.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for this ARC.
Ned joins his tennis club using a secret credit card that his wife was oblivious to that and also to the fact that he’s not looking for work or really being the agreed stay at home parent while she works full time.
Ned becomes more aggressive, selfish and obnoxious the longer it goes on until one day it all collapses leaving a host of victims in his wake.
I didn’t enjoy this too much; tennis goes over my head but the plot was kind of lost on me. It didn’t have much to get my teeth into and the Roland plot was a missed opportunity.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for this ARC.
June 21, 2026
Closer to a 4.
April 28, 2026
I enjoyed this immensely but it’s likely highly influenced by my having played a sport to a similarly competitive level to the author and the main character of this book. The solipsism and delusion that engulfs a person that becomes a certain level of dedicated to sport is a concept I think most people that haven’t experienced it are quite foreign to. The author is clearly familiar with it and satirizes it quite deftly. The sense of delusion and the emasculation of the main character in contrast to his grandiose vision reminds me a lot of Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind— the exploration of some talent that’s ultimately a vehicle to indict a certain deluded machismo that ruins their livelihood and alienates them from family.
June 5, 2026
Bought this for the cover, super quippy rambling beach fiction a lá emma cline + the guest
April 22, 2026
This is a sharp, darkly funny, and often unsettling novel that explores masculinity, identity, and the fragile structures of modern domestic life. What emerges most clearly is how effectively the book walks a tightrope between humor and psychological unraveling. One of the novel’s strongest elements is definitely its complex characterization. Ned is neither likable nor entirely unsympathetic; instead, he occupies a morally ambiguous space that makes the reading experience tense and often disorienting. I frequently felt torn between empathy and disbelief as he makes increasingly questionable choices, particularly in his role as a father. Stylistically, the book leans toward a lean, fast-paced, and sometimes fragmented prose, which can be unsettling, at first, but it reflects Ned's mental state, which creates a propulsive, immersive experience. Thematically, tennis is more than just a sport—it functions as a powerful metaphor for control, isolation, masculinity, and the need to “win” at life. I will recommend this book, for sure, I really enjoy it!
January 1, 2026
As someone who is getting back into play tennis after playing a ton in my teens, this book hit a particular chord with me. On its surface, it’s about a guy struggling with real life who finds escape in something he used to excel at and enjoy. But he has his demons and captaining a team of other dudes with baggage creates more problems. Dealing with being an unemployed dad seems tough, especially in this case. I enjoyed seeing how he handles these junk balls that life throws him. It’s not a masterpiece, and to people who don’t like tennis, it might just be another book about a guy who never figured out how to deal with his trauma. But to me, it was a cautionary tale about using hobbies as bandaids for real world problems. Well done and one I’ll be recommending to my tennis buddies.
January 4, 2026
*dad gave everyone else a bad day
March 11, 2026
4.5⭐️
This book is my nightmare.
I spent the whole book being like I hope his wife leaves him. I HOPE she’s cheating or something. I hope she leaves AND LEAVES the kid, cause the kid also sucks.
I really don’t like this literary fiction thing of no quotation marks or chapters. Why is this a stylistic choice? The only demarcation of note is these short letters/emails he writes to his wife, explaining his decisions/rationalizing perceived slights. Otherwise it fluctuates between flashbacks and the current day (pretty succinctly, but still).
This is a book that is just filled with tension cause this man is making the worst decisions for his life and you’re just waiting for the ball to drop.
If you wanna read a book about a guy who feels just “a little bit off,” whose rage is simmering at the surface and explodes from time to time, this is the book for you!
The above makes it seem like I hate the book, but I kinda loved it. It was this searing portrait of a man on fire. The ending gave me chills.
Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC. @Astra House Books
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
‘My son is blonde, blue eyed, fair skinned. I have brown hair, light, brown eyes, and I could be described as swarthy. My wife, she is blonde and green eyed, and although she tans easily, she looks Irish.’
‘On the way out, I had to use the bathroom. The urinals were wall-mounted higher than usual. They made me feel like a small man.’
‘First, they cut my hours and half, then they put me on street commission. Then I was 1099’d, furlough, idle, and finally laid off. The bills, they wouldn’t stop coming in. My wife was a project manager. When there wasn’t work, she wouldn’t work, but we didn’t know when she wouldn’t have work. So when she came home last night and said that we needed to say, I agreed. Daddy daycare it is, I said.’
‘I hadn’t done anything yet. No paperwork was signed, no credit card given. The thing of it was, I needed my own separate card from my wife’s account. Budget is budget, and I didn’t want to be separated from my wife. But I also needed to take care of myself.’
‘Dear Lorraine,
I don’t know if you know that I know, but we were at the park last week, the three of us, when I heard you speak to the other man…
When you said, “You make such beautiful children,” it felt like a compliment to a semen. And I found that deeply offensive.’
“I saw you hitting earlier. You’re rusty, but you’ll get it back quick.”
“I’m just playing for fun.”
“You can’t just play for fun once you’ve tasted glory, the kind that you’ve had…”
‘Whatever happened to you? she asked later that night over a slice of greasy pepperoni, pizza, and I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell her what happened, about the team, about the coach. I didn’t tell her about the fight, about the shoulder.
We moved in together a year later, engaged the following, then married. She became pregnant with our son Frederick, in our second year of marriage.
We were different people now.’
‘Dear Lorraine,
I think I found what I’m looking for.’
‘One must put those worries aside and live a little. Focus on the present.
I had my objective in order. I was a tennis player now – again.
Who’s to say there was no worse than that? Who’s to say that money seeking was more important than sport?’
‘I applied zinc oxide to the bridge of my nose. I stood in the mirror and repeated positive affirmations. I kept a journal. I charged everything to the secret credit card. I kept behind my drivers license in my Montblanc wallet.’
‘There’s that feeling you get when things are on. You feel it when you lace your shoes – not too tight, not too loose. Just perfect.’
‘He what’s the golden boy. Nothing could touch him.
Nothing could touch Roland – except one thing.’
‘I was the one that fed him. I became mother bird.
He became mine, too.’
‘Another building had a mural of three crosses. Inside each cross rested at a different message; a good man, a sorry man, a bad man.
Which one was I?
This book is my nightmare.
I spent the whole book being like I hope his wife leaves him. I HOPE she’s cheating or something. I hope she leaves AND LEAVES the kid, cause the kid also sucks.
I really don’t like this literary fiction thing of no quotation marks or chapters. Why is this a stylistic choice? The only demarcation of note is these short letters/emails he writes to his wife, explaining his decisions/rationalizing perceived slights. Otherwise it fluctuates between flashbacks and the current day (pretty succinctly, but still).
This is a book that is just filled with tension cause this man is making the worst decisions for his life and you’re just waiting for the ball to drop.
If you wanna read a book about a guy who feels just “a little bit off,” whose rage is simmering at the surface and explodes from time to time, this is the book for you!
The above makes it seem like I hate the book, but I kinda loved it. It was this searing portrait of a man on fire. The ending gave me chills.
Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC. @Astra House Books
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
‘My son is blonde, blue eyed, fair skinned. I have brown hair, light, brown eyes, and I could be described as swarthy. My wife, she is blonde and green eyed, and although she tans easily, she looks Irish.’
‘On the way out, I had to use the bathroom. The urinals were wall-mounted higher than usual. They made me feel like a small man.’
‘First, they cut my hours and half, then they put me on street commission. Then I was 1099’d, furlough, idle, and finally laid off. The bills, they wouldn’t stop coming in. My wife was a project manager. When there wasn’t work, she wouldn’t work, but we didn’t know when she wouldn’t have work. So when she came home last night and said that we needed to say, I agreed. Daddy daycare it is, I said.’
‘I hadn’t done anything yet. No paperwork was signed, no credit card given. The thing of it was, I needed my own separate card from my wife’s account. Budget is budget, and I didn’t want to be separated from my wife. But I also needed to take care of myself.’
‘Dear Lorraine,
I don’t know if you know that I know, but we were at the park last week, the three of us, when I heard you speak to the other man…
When you said, “You make such beautiful children,” it felt like a compliment to a semen. And I found that deeply offensive.’
“I saw you hitting earlier. You’re rusty, but you’ll get it back quick.”
“I’m just playing for fun.”
“You can’t just play for fun once you’ve tasted glory, the kind that you’ve had…”
‘Whatever happened to you? she asked later that night over a slice of greasy pepperoni, pizza, and I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell her what happened, about the team, about the coach. I didn’t tell her about the fight, about the shoulder.
We moved in together a year later, engaged the following, then married. She became pregnant with our son Frederick, in our second year of marriage.
We were different people now.’
‘Dear Lorraine,
I think I found what I’m looking for.’
‘One must put those worries aside and live a little. Focus on the present.
I had my objective in order. I was a tennis player now – again.
Who’s to say there was no worse than that? Who’s to say that money seeking was more important than sport?’
‘I applied zinc oxide to the bridge of my nose. I stood in the mirror and repeated positive affirmations. I kept a journal. I charged everything to the secret credit card. I kept behind my drivers license in my Montblanc wallet.’
‘There’s that feeling you get when things are on. You feel it when you lace your shoes – not too tight, not too loose. Just perfect.’
‘He what’s the golden boy. Nothing could touch him.
Nothing could touch Roland – except one thing.’
‘I was the one that fed him. I became mother bird.
He became mine, too.’
‘Another building had a mural of three crosses. Inside each cross rested at a different message; a good man, a sorry man, a bad man.
Which one was I?
June 27, 2026
I genuinely don’t know how to rate this book.
It’s either a one-star read or a five-star masterpiece, and I’m still not sure which.
Dad Had a Bad Day is one of the most effective portrayals of toxic masculinity, insecurity, and emotional avoidance that I’ve read in a long time. It’s also one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever finished.
Dad has recently been laid off while his wife is the family’s primary breadwinner. Instead of confronting their financial crisis together, he secretly opens a credit card and begins spending his days at an upscale tennis club with his young son. As he climbs the social ranks to become captain of the club and reconnects with an old rival, the novel slowly peels back the layers of his past—and the fragile ego that’s been driving him all along.
This isn’t a thriller, but it reminded me of The Shining in the best possible way. It’s a slow, psychological descent into madness. No axes. No ghosts. No murders. Just one lonely man who refuses to confront his own failures until he destroys the people who love him most.
The formatting deserves special praise. At roughly 250 pages, I flew through it in one sitting. There are no traditional chapter breaks. Some pages contain only a sentence, others a single paragraph, creating a relentless momentum that makes the story feel almost like a novella while perfectly mirroring Dad’s increasingly fractured state of mind.
And then there’s Dad himself.
I’ve never wanted to smack my forehead so many times while reading a book. Every terrible decision somehow gives way to an even worse one. My favorite (or perhaps least favorite) moment comes when his wife is sobbing because they’re on the verge of losing their home and facing bankruptcy. His response? He walks into the kitchen, grabs a handful of cashews, and internally complains that they aren’t salty enough.
It’s absurd.
It’s infuriating.
It’s also devastatingly believable.
If you find yourself absolutely despising this man, I hate to break it to you…you might just be a feminist. This novel is a powerful reminder that the patriarchy doesn’t only damage women. It damages men, too, teaching them to equate vulnerability with weakness, identity with success, and self-worth with winning. Dad isn’t simply an awful husband. He’s a tragic product of a system that taught him all the wrong lessons—and then left him unequipped to deal with failure.
Did I enjoy spending time with him?
Not for one second.
Did Ashton Politaniff accomplish exactly what he set out to do?
I think so.
This is one of those rare books that I admired far more than I enjoyed. It made me angry. It made me cringe. It made me want to yell at the pages. And days later, I’m still thinking about it.
Maybe that’s exactly what great literature is supposed to do.
Thank you to Astra Publishing House for the finished copy. I think.
It’s either a one-star read or a five-star masterpiece, and I’m still not sure which.
Dad Had a Bad Day is one of the most effective portrayals of toxic masculinity, insecurity, and emotional avoidance that I’ve read in a long time. It’s also one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever finished.
Dad has recently been laid off while his wife is the family’s primary breadwinner. Instead of confronting their financial crisis together, he secretly opens a credit card and begins spending his days at an upscale tennis club with his young son. As he climbs the social ranks to become captain of the club and reconnects with an old rival, the novel slowly peels back the layers of his past—and the fragile ego that’s been driving him all along.
This isn’t a thriller, but it reminded me of The Shining in the best possible way. It’s a slow, psychological descent into madness. No axes. No ghosts. No murders. Just one lonely man who refuses to confront his own failures until he destroys the people who love him most.
The formatting deserves special praise. At roughly 250 pages, I flew through it in one sitting. There are no traditional chapter breaks. Some pages contain only a sentence, others a single paragraph, creating a relentless momentum that makes the story feel almost like a novella while perfectly mirroring Dad’s increasingly fractured state of mind.
And then there’s Dad himself.
I’ve never wanted to smack my forehead so many times while reading a book. Every terrible decision somehow gives way to an even worse one. My favorite (or perhaps least favorite) moment comes when his wife is sobbing because they’re on the verge of losing their home and facing bankruptcy. His response? He walks into the kitchen, grabs a handful of cashews, and internally complains that they aren’t salty enough.
It’s absurd.
It’s infuriating.
It’s also devastatingly believable.
If you find yourself absolutely despising this man, I hate to break it to you…you might just be a feminist. This novel is a powerful reminder that the patriarchy doesn’t only damage women. It damages men, too, teaching them to equate vulnerability with weakness, identity with success, and self-worth with winning. Dad isn’t simply an awful husband. He’s a tragic product of a system that taught him all the wrong lessons—and then left him unequipped to deal with failure.
Did I enjoy spending time with him?
Not for one second.
Did Ashton Politaniff accomplish exactly what he set out to do?
I think so.
This is one of those rare books that I admired far more than I enjoyed. It made me angry. It made me cringe. It made me want to yell at the pages. And days later, I’m still thinking about it.
Maybe that’s exactly what great literature is supposed to do.
Thank you to Astra Publishing House for the finished copy. I think.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received this book via an eARC on NetGalley. It will be my first eARC, and, if negative feedback hurts my chances of receiving future ARCs, I suppose there's a chance it could be my last as well. Nonetheless, thanks to Astra and NetGalley for the opportunity to check this out early.
This book follows along Ned, a 40-something unemployed husband and father, who decides to get back into tennis at a local club after not playing for 10+ years.
To be completely honest, if you are not a devout fan of tennis who absolutely loves reading anything having to do with tennis, I really have no idea why you would read this book. I feel that every character here is unlikable. Ned himself is the worst of them all, an egoist who routinely puts himself above everybody else in his life.
And sure, deplorable narrators are a relatively common thing, and feature in books I often like. It's just that, usually, the writing in those books is fantastic, and they are trying to explore some deep psychological issue or philosophical concept with this deplorable narrator. Here, I have no idea why Ned is the bad person that he is. He has some trauma relating to tennis in the past, I guess, but nothing that seems intense enough to make him such a bad person.
And then there's the writing. In flashes, Politanoff shows an eye for descriptions, but on the whole the writing feels meandering. There's random letters to his wife scattered in throughout, seemingly to try and add some variation to the writing, but instead just add confusion. There is constant jumping back and forth between timelines, with no delineation (which may just be due to the lack of formatting as this is an ARC, in which case this critique can be dropped). There are no quotations around dialogue, a recent trend most notably seen in Sally Rooney's novels, but here I feel is not pulled off well enough and instead just adds annoying extra work for the reader to parse what is dialogue versus what is in Ned's head. There is random profanity thrown in, seemingly to add more spunk. There is an overabundance of proper nouns that add nothing to the story. There are cringe lines taken from pop culture peppered in ("Sundays, as they say, are for the boys", "focus on the W", "sun's out, guns out") that made me want to stop reading.
So yeah. I was not a fan. Then again, I don't really have many qualifications besides writing a bunch of Goodreads reviews, so what do I know?
This book follows along Ned, a 40-something unemployed husband and father, who decides to get back into tennis at a local club after not playing for 10+ years.
To be completely honest, if you are not a devout fan of tennis who absolutely loves reading anything having to do with tennis, I really have no idea why you would read this book. I feel that every character here is unlikable. Ned himself is the worst of them all, an egoist who routinely puts himself above everybody else in his life.
And sure, deplorable narrators are a relatively common thing, and feature in books I often like. It's just that, usually, the writing in those books is fantastic, and they are trying to explore some deep psychological issue or philosophical concept with this deplorable narrator. Here, I have no idea why Ned is the bad person that he is. He has some trauma relating to tennis in the past, I guess, but nothing that seems intense enough to make him such a bad person.
And then there's the writing. In flashes, Politanoff shows an eye for descriptions, but on the whole the writing feels meandering. There's random letters to his wife scattered in throughout, seemingly to try and add some variation to the writing, but instead just add confusion. There is constant jumping back and forth between timelines, with no delineation (which may just be due to the lack of formatting as this is an ARC, in which case this critique can be dropped). There are no quotations around dialogue, a recent trend most notably seen in Sally Rooney's novels, but here I feel is not pulled off well enough and instead just adds annoying extra work for the reader to parse what is dialogue versus what is in Ned's head. There is random profanity thrown in, seemingly to add more spunk. There is an overabundance of proper nouns that add nothing to the story. There are cringe lines taken from pop culture peppered in ("Sundays, as they say, are for the boys", "focus on the W", "sun's out, guns out") that made me want to stop reading.
So yeah. I was not a fan. Then again, I don't really have many qualifications besides writing a bunch of Goodreads reviews, so what do I know?
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I had high hopes for this one at the start, and the beginning definitely pulled me in. The short, snappy chapters reminded me a bit of Flesh in terms of fast-reading quality that keeps you turning pages. Watching Ned, a recently laid-off stay-at-home dad, rediscover his old tennis racquet and slowly spiral into obsession was compelling at first.
But the further I got, the more it started dragging for me. What began as darkly funny and engaging became harder to push through. Ned's descent into obsession - secretly joining his childhood tennis club, neglecting his son, lying to his wife, becoming increasingly aggressive and selfish - stopped being interesting and just became exhausting to read about.
The tennis scenes are incredibly technical, which I imagine works great if you're familiar with the sport, but I found myself losing the thread at times. The writing style is frantic and erratic, which seems intentional to mirror Ned's mental state, but it made the reading experience feel chaotic rather than immersive.
I also struggled with how underdeveloped the supporting characters felt. Ned's wife barely exists except in relation to how she impacts his tennis schedule. The Roland subplot - his old hitting partner and former prodigy who disappears - felt like it was building to something significant but never really materialized into a satisfying resolution.
The formatting didn't help either. The lack of quotation marks for dialogue made things confusing, and the time jumps weren't always clear, leaving me having to backtrack to figure out what was happening when.
I can see why this book works for some readers - if you're a tennis player dealing with similar life pressures, Ned's journey probably hits differently. But for me, it started strong and then lost momentum. The dark comedy promised in the description never quite landed, and what I got instead was just watching someone make increasingly bad decisions at the expense of everyone around him.
I had high hopes for this one at the start, and the beginning definitely pulled me in. The short, snappy chapters reminded me a bit of Flesh in terms of fast-reading quality that keeps you turning pages. Watching Ned, a recently laid-off stay-at-home dad, rediscover his old tennis racquet and slowly spiral into obsession was compelling at first.
But the further I got, the more it started dragging for me. What began as darkly funny and engaging became harder to push through. Ned's descent into obsession - secretly joining his childhood tennis club, neglecting his son, lying to his wife, becoming increasingly aggressive and selfish - stopped being interesting and just became exhausting to read about.
The tennis scenes are incredibly technical, which I imagine works great if you're familiar with the sport, but I found myself losing the thread at times. The writing style is frantic and erratic, which seems intentional to mirror Ned's mental state, but it made the reading experience feel chaotic rather than immersive.
I also struggled with how underdeveloped the supporting characters felt. Ned's wife barely exists except in relation to how she impacts his tennis schedule. The Roland subplot - his old hitting partner and former prodigy who disappears - felt like it was building to something significant but never really materialized into a satisfying resolution.
The formatting didn't help either. The lack of quotation marks for dialogue made things confusing, and the time jumps weren't always clear, leaving me having to backtrack to figure out what was happening when.
I can see why this book works for some readers - if you're a tennis player dealing with similar life pressures, Ned's journey probably hits differently. But for me, it started strong and then lost momentum. The dark comedy promised in the description never quite landed, and what I got instead was just watching someone make increasingly bad decisions at the expense of everyone around him.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DAD HAD A BAD DAY and I had a bad time reading this novel. Not that it is a bad novel!! It is very tightly constructed and a total page turner, but it was the long, protracted sense of impending doom that gave me such a hard time. That and the sometimes near and sometimes overt neglect of 6-year-old Freddie, the protagonist’s son. I felt like I was watching a proverbial 272 pages of a skidding car crash with nothing in the way to obstruct the impact. At the beginning of Ashton Politanoff’s second novel, Ned Lafferty has just lost his job and will be spending the summer providing daycare for son, Freddie, while wife and mom, Lorraine is often away for work, trying to keep the family financially afloat. A former child prodigy tennis player, Ned begins to reconnect with his days of former glory when he finds his old racquet in the garage. He opens a new credit card without his wife’s knowledge, joins a fancy country club and purchases everything he will need – and then some - to get back into tennis. Ned’s prowess is recognized early and he becomes the captain of the men’s competitive league. Ned reconnects with Roland, a tennis friend from his youth who time has not treated kindly. The simultaneous reassociation with tennis and Roland opens a chasm of unprocessed memories from Ned’s childhood as he fights to regain former glory on the courts. When Roland disappears, the pace of the story picks up and echoes the fast volleys of men’s tennis and the chaotic rhythm of a hard-fought match as Ned’s life begins to spiral and he neglects everyone around him in his hunt for his former friend. Some reviewers have called the book darkly funny. I found little humour but maybe I just don’t have the right kind of funny bone. I thought it was a sadly powerful look at both toxic father-son relationships and the blurred roles athletes and coaches in the pressurized world of elite sports. It took awhile to loosen the grip of my fingers when the flying tennis balls finally settled on the court.
May 12, 2026
4/5⭐ - This book takes the “Dad who swears he would’ve gone pro if not for that one injury and is still bitter about it in his 40s” trope to a whole new level 😂
(Thank you Astra publishing for the ARC, all thoughts are my own)
Weird girl lit? Nah weird unhinged dad lit.
I honestly wasn’t sure if this would work for me because I am such a fan of feminine rage / femhorror novels and, if being honest, find it hard to empathize with awful men and their antics. However, the author was able to tote the line and allow our main character to reflect on the trauma of his past and how it correlates with his current actions without utilizing it as an excuse and leaving the reader with any feeling that his actions were justified. Politanoff could’ve written the wife to play into a lot more of the nagging withholding stereotype, or given the dad a sexy and idealized affair with another woman, but instead our main character suffers failure after failure and we watch as he pulls his own life apart at the seams - nothing is admirable or commendable about the self-destruction.
The prose is incredibly dry and simple, which I believe adds character but also provides some hindrance. This writing style prevents the reader from becoming too emotionally invested - this is actually a good thing imo. It contributes to the lack of empathy for our main character that’s necessary for the reasons listed above, and provides no additional attempts to coddle our dad or portray his victimhood. But, this also caused at times slight boredom and less excitement to read the words on the page as they were always matter-of-fact and left little to imagine.
I also think it would’ve been really interesting to explore the Roland plot line more, and maybe have them reconnect or just some sort of resolution.
Overall this was quite the unique story and explored the realm of male dissatisfaction with just being average, the notion that the grass is greener on the other side, and feeling like a failure in life makes them a failure of a man. The patriarchy hurts us all, folks.
(Thank you Astra publishing for the ARC, all thoughts are my own)
Weird girl lit? Nah weird unhinged dad lit.
I honestly wasn’t sure if this would work for me because I am such a fan of feminine rage / femhorror novels and, if being honest, find it hard to empathize with awful men and their antics. However, the author was able to tote the line and allow our main character to reflect on the trauma of his past and how it correlates with his current actions without utilizing it as an excuse and leaving the reader with any feeling that his actions were justified. Politanoff could’ve written the wife to play into a lot more of the nagging withholding stereotype, or given the dad a sexy and idealized affair with another woman, but instead our main character suffers failure after failure and we watch as he pulls his own life apart at the seams - nothing is admirable or commendable about the self-destruction.
The prose is incredibly dry and simple, which I believe adds character but also provides some hindrance. This writing style prevents the reader from becoming too emotionally invested - this is actually a good thing imo. It contributes to the lack of empathy for our main character that’s necessary for the reasons listed above, and provides no additional attempts to coddle our dad or portray his victimhood. But, this also caused at times slight boredom and less excitement to read the words on the page as they were always matter-of-fact and left little to imagine.
I also think it would’ve been really interesting to explore the Roland plot line more, and maybe have them reconnect or just some sort of resolution.
Overall this was quite the unique story and explored the realm of male dissatisfaction with just being average, the notion that the grass is greener on the other side, and feeling like a failure in life makes them a failure of a man. The patriarchy hurts us all, folks.
May 24, 2026
The cover to this book is helpful - a smashed tennis racquet draped over a net. Because this is a novel about tennis. Or rather, it’s a novel where the tennis court is the place of action. So if tennis turns you off then maybe there are other middle-aged crisis novels set in more approachable contexts. Still with me? Ok full disclosure, I’m a weekly club player - nothing like the standard that Ned is at, but enough to get most of the subtleties of play. As indeed would someone who watched Wimbledon religiously every year but who had never set foot on an actual court. Politanoff’s protagonist is Ned, thirty-nine and recently laid off, now at home taking care of his young son while his wife goes out to work. There’s no spare money, but Ned impulsively rejoins his local tennis club anyway- and being American this is more like a country club than anything European.
Before long he’s captain of the team and plotting ever-more devious strategies to take opposing teams down while flirting with much younger female players. If he managed a football team he’d be Jose Mourinho. His court time of course runs up against his childcare duties, and before long his descent into middle-aged meltdown has him drugging his son to stay asleep, or actively enlisting him to disadvantage the opposition.
Behind all this - perhaps predictably - is a decades-old trauma when a golden future was ripped away. Less predictably is the presence of Roland, his childhood tennis chum who is now a shadowy presence at the club and who increasingly becomes the focus of Ned’s life.
This is a very funny, at times downright nasty, novel that gets to the heart of a truth about middle-aged amateur sports. It’s sometimes a vehicle for those who felt they could have been, with a few more breaks, another Agassi, to prove they could have been a contender. Don’t get in their way.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Before long he’s captain of the team and plotting ever-more devious strategies to take opposing teams down while flirting with much younger female players. If he managed a football team he’d be Jose Mourinho. His court time of course runs up against his childcare duties, and before long his descent into middle-aged meltdown has him drugging his son to stay asleep, or actively enlisting him to disadvantage the opposition.
Behind all this - perhaps predictably - is a decades-old trauma when a golden future was ripped away. Less predictably is the presence of Roland, his childhood tennis chum who is now a shadowy presence at the club and who increasingly becomes the focus of Ned’s life.
This is a very funny, at times downright nasty, novel that gets to the heart of a truth about middle-aged amateur sports. It’s sometimes a vehicle for those who felt they could have been, with a few more breaks, another Agassi, to prove they could have been a contender. Don’t get in their way.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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