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Everything on the Line
The year is 2043. God and Satan are dining at a cute little Italian trattoria in Purgatory, when Satan challenges God to a wager: At stake is whether Good or Evil will prevail in the world. Both antagonists will choose someone on earth to compete in a winner-take-all athletic competition. If God's choice wins, Good will prevail forever. If Satan's choice wins….
They select tennis as the ideal crucible in which to have this ultimate mano-a-mano sporting test of physical skills and inner strength.
Throughout the novel (which takes place in Florence, Venice, Rome, New York, Florida, Ohio, Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne, and Wimbledon), Italian wunderkind Ugo Bellezza (God's choice) and American prodigy Jack Spade (Satan's) battle both opponents and their own personal demons—and become the two greatest players in the history of tennis—until, in the final chapter, they clash in a titanic battle at Wimbledon, a cataclysmic, touching, and surprising denouement in which (with everything on the line, literally and figuratively) the eternal battle between Good and Evil is ultimately decided.
They select tennis as the ideal crucible in which to have this ultimate mano-a-mano sporting test of physical skills and inner strength.
Throughout the novel (which takes place in Florence, Venice, Rome, New York, Florida, Ohio, Paris, Barcelona, Melbourne, and Wimbledon), Italian wunderkind Ugo Bellezza (God's choice) and American prodigy Jack Spade (Satan's) battle both opponents and their own personal demons—and become the two greatest players in the history of tennis—until, in the final chapter, they clash in a titanic battle at Wimbledon, a cataclysmic, touching, and surprising denouement in which (with everything on the line, literally and figuratively) the eternal battle between Good and Evil is ultimately decided.
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First published May 1, 2013
2 people want to read
About the author
Bob Mitchell
8 books6 followersBob Mitchell’s memoir Time for a Heart-to-Heart is a reflection of his remarkably eclectic life experience. He has been a sports fanatic since birth and is also passionate about art, music, world literature, travel, food and wine, and dogs. He is the author of eleven published books, including a volume of essays, a collection of poems, five nonfiction books, and three novels about sports and the meaning of life. Bob studied at Williams, Columbia, and Harvard, where he received a PhD in French and Comparative Literature. He has had careers as a university French professor (Harvard, Purdue, Ohio State), a teaching tennis pro, an award-winning advertising creative director, a teacher of advertising and creative writing (New York, Paris, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem), and a novelist and has lived in seven states as well as Paris, Brittany, Angers, Besançon, London, Florence, Stockholm, Montreal, and Tel Aviv. He resides in Carlsbad, CA, with his wife, artist Susan Love. Visit his website at www.bobmitchellheart2heart.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2022
This book - although already short could have been even more so if the author didnt take on the task of repeating himself quite so often.
August 28, 2013
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ev...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
This was definitely an amazing book to read!. I really liked it and enjoy it. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first book I’ve read that its story centers around a sport and that specific sport being tennis. It was a first good experience with a different genre than my usual one, fantasy.
I couldn’t help, but love this idea of Good vs. Evil and sports that author Bob Mitchell portrays through his writing; two tennis players decide the faith of the world and its inhabitants. I would call this short story, a very well thought out piece of creativity. At the end It just gives you something to think about for a while and wonder what other sport could have God and the Devil chosen for their endless battle.
The characters were a clear representation of what God’s good human and what the Devil’s bad human would be like, just like the people that surrounds them and helps them grow as a person in their careers, whose roles within the story turn out to be key points, too. This was more than just a very well described tennis game. There’s so many art, literature, history, sport and other details well placed within the story that reflect and interfere in Jack and Ugo’s life throughout their training that serve as lessons even at the final match. I got lost remembering all of these quotes and events from when I first heard of them in those class days like Ugo.
But, underneath all that excitement to learn who will be the final winner, there is also a family story and the problems they face. Jack can’t take his father’s treatment anymore, which leads him to hurt himself and comply to what he’s ordered to do. While, Ugo, who seems like the happiest kid in the world, suffers as well. Usually the plot twist or that shocking piece of information that gives the story a turn in events that makes one say WHAT?! out loud, comes at the end, but the author reveals this detail about Ugo at the start that just surprised me and makes you wonder more who will really win.
All in all this was a great book to read. The plot, its characters, the quotes, tennis, the Italian, the abilities and disabilities, parenting, food and the fun conversations between God and Satan. I definitely recommend you read this book even though I feel it might be a little tricky for those that don’t like sports or tennis and less reading about it, but giving it a try won’t hurt you. You might actually learn more than tennis at the end. Let me ask you one question. If saving the world required you and the sport you practiced, would you have the enough strength physically and mentally to take upon the challenge? And, finally, I leave you with one last word. Love.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
This was definitely an amazing book to read!. I really liked it and enjoy it. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first book I’ve read that its story centers around a sport and that specific sport being tennis. It was a first good experience with a different genre than my usual one, fantasy.
I couldn’t help, but love this idea of Good vs. Evil and sports that author Bob Mitchell portrays through his writing; two tennis players decide the faith of the world and its inhabitants. I would call this short story, a very well thought out piece of creativity. At the end It just gives you something to think about for a while and wonder what other sport could have God and the Devil chosen for their endless battle.
The characters were a clear representation of what God’s good human and what the Devil’s bad human would be like, just like the people that surrounds them and helps them grow as a person in their careers, whose roles within the story turn out to be key points, too. This was more than just a very well described tennis game. There’s so many art, literature, history, sport and other details well placed within the story that reflect and interfere in Jack and Ugo’s life throughout their training that serve as lessons even at the final match. I got lost remembering all of these quotes and events from when I first heard of them in those class days like Ugo.
But, underneath all that excitement to learn who will be the final winner, there is also a family story and the problems they face. Jack can’t take his father’s treatment anymore, which leads him to hurt himself and comply to what he’s ordered to do. While, Ugo, who seems like the happiest kid in the world, suffers as well. Usually the plot twist or that shocking piece of information that gives the story a turn in events that makes one say WHAT?! out loud, comes at the end, but the author reveals this detail about Ugo at the start that just surprised me and makes you wonder more who will really win.
All in all this was a great book to read. The plot, its characters, the quotes, tennis, the Italian, the abilities and disabilities, parenting, food and the fun conversations between God and Satan. I definitely recommend you read this book even though I feel it might be a little tricky for those that don’t like sports or tennis and less reading about it, but giving it a try won’t hurt you. You might actually learn more than tennis at the end. Let me ask you one question. If saving the world required you and the sport you practiced, would you have the enough strength physically and mentally to take upon the challenge? And, finally, I leave you with one last word. Love.
May 30, 2013
God and Satan are enjoying a customary lunch together when they decide to settle it all. The whole shebang. Which is more powerful: good or evil? This is no mere side bet, like whether or not a fellow named Job is a good guy. Satan has had enough of being banished from heaven, and this time it’s for all the marbles.
They decide to settle the issue on the tennis court, so each backs a champion. God picks Ugo, a graceful, deaf Italian while Satan likes Jack, a relentless, win-at-all-costs American. The two champions are molded for ten years, from the tender age of thirteen until they become magnificent athletic perfection at twenty-three, when everything is finally ready for a final showdown at Wimbledon.
If you’re a tennis fan, or any kind of sports fan, or, hey, just a human being, this book is great entertainment. A feel-good book of cosmic significance, for about any age. A bit sappy and overplayed, maybe, but what’s wrong with a little light-hearted good-versus-evil? I loved it all the way through.
Mitchell’s fun writing style with its exaggerated run-on sentences contributes perfectly to the never-ending volleys of the greatest tennis match of all time.
They decide to settle the issue on the tennis court, so each backs a champion. God picks Ugo, a graceful, deaf Italian while Satan likes Jack, a relentless, win-at-all-costs American. The two champions are molded for ten years, from the tender age of thirteen until they become magnificent athletic perfection at twenty-three, when everything is finally ready for a final showdown at Wimbledon.
If you’re a tennis fan, or any kind of sports fan, or, hey, just a human being, this book is great entertainment. A feel-good book of cosmic significance, for about any age. A bit sappy and overplayed, maybe, but what’s wrong with a little light-hearted good-versus-evil? I loved it all the way through.
Mitchell’s fun writing style with its exaggerated run-on sentences contributes perfectly to the never-ending volleys of the greatest tennis match of all time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews