Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

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Tony, a successful and somewhat complacent writer, makes a bizarre bet with a friend that he can play and beat the entire Moldovan national football team at tennis, one by one. Even if you hate tennis and couldn't find Moldova on the map, you'll be charmed. Utterly recommended" ( FHM) Comedian Tony Hawks challenges to individual tennis matches all 11 of the Moldovan footballers who lost to England, 4-0.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks | Goodreads

Tony Hawks, un actor de comedie din Anglia şi un bărbat excentric ce adoră provocările neobişnuite, e legat de Moldova printr-un pariu. Misiunea sa bizară e să găsească membrii echipei naționale de fotbal şi să-i convingă să joace tenis cu el. I can imagine to be willing to read this book another time *again*. According to my memory and goodreads, I already read it twice in German, but, but! since I don't have the recollection of a second year, I am going to stay with: read twice, once in 2007 in German, once in 2019 in English. The ensuing unpredictable and often hilarious adventure sees him being taken in by Moldovan gypsies and narrowly avoid kidnap in Transnistria. It sees him smuggle his way on to the Moldovan National Team coach in Coleraine and witness (almost) divine intervention in the Holy Land.As the story unfolds, Tony's desire not to let the family down, particularly ten year old Elena, becomes more important than winning the bet itself. This book takes place in Moldova and is one of the books representing Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union on my list Seven Continents of Books- Despite these trials, Tony's understanding of the country and its problems grow. He develops a strong bond with the family he is lodging with and an unconventional and, at times, downright awkward relationship with Lulian, his translator - a relationship that mirrors the clash of their starkly differing cultures. pentru contribuția ta din Moldova la faptul că „oamenii cu orice fel de dizabilitate trebuie să fie respectați de către societatea în mijlocul căreia trăiesc și să aibă dreptul la o viață pe cât e posibil normală și satisfăcătoare”. Wonderful reading! I am Moldovan, and at times it actually hurt to read some things, and sometimes I wanted to scream "That's not true!", but as a matter of fact - a lot of things in this book ARE true... Though it was written some time in the end of 90's as I undersand, and things are much better here now (at least we have lights in the streets now!), but a lot of things about mentality of Moldovans never changed...

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Episode

Fortunately, Tony Hawks is a different kind of person. His humour is self-depreciating, and he is genuinely interested in getting to know and understand the Moldovans. He is even questioning if he is doing the right thing with his bizarre adventure, which seems to him rather frivolous as time is passing, considering the living conditions of everyone around him. It is fascinating to see glimpses of life in Moldova and it is the local cast who are the true stars of the film, in particular the outstanding Anatol Durbala who plays Iulian the translator. I expected to find this book funny, which it is; I didn't expect to find it illuminating and rather moving, which it is too" ( Daily Mail)This would probably be interesting to read both for foreigners going to Moldova, or those who have spent some time there already, and would definitely recognize quite a lot of situations described. The book took a bit of time to get going but was incredibly entertaining by the end. It centres on a zany bet: to play and beat the Moldovan football team (well, a particular starting XI against England in the late 1990s) at tennis. I'm not entirely sure that I ever figured out why.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

Follow the fortunes of Tony in this hilarious and often moving adventure as it takes him from Moldova, onwards to Northern Ireland, leading to an exciting denouement in Nazareth - and the naked truth of the bet's final outcome ... It’s a fun and an entertaining little read, as Hawks often is, although I don’t think it’s one that I’ll find myself thinking about too deeply in the months and years to come. With that said, reading him writing about Moldova, which was also occupied by the Soviet Union, reminded me of my trip to Latvia. Today I am writing a few lines about a rather humorous book by the British comedian Tony Hawks: Playing the Moldovans at Tennis. At the beginning is an eccentric wager: Tony is betting with a friend (after they watched the Moldovan football team in TV losing against England) that he can beat every member of the Moldovan National team in tennis. (It should be mentioned that a short time before his Moldovan adventure he won a bet that included his traveling around Ireland - with a fridge!)Tony Hawks is a funny guy. After all, he is a comedian, and comedians tend to have to be funny. But in recent years, he’s progressed from being “funny ha-ha” to being possibly a little bit strange. It’s not his fault, I guess. He just can’t resist a challenge. So when he got drunk one night and was bet that he couldn’t hitch hike around Ireland with a fridge in tow, he did, and then promptly wrote a book, the hilarious, if not terribly imaginatively titled “Round Ireland With a Fridge” Peter Moore is another example of similar literature, though perhaps one of the best ones is Daniel Kalder's Lost Cosmonaut: Observations of an Anti-Tourist. What follows is the hilarious report of Tony's adventures mainly in Moldova, with a visit in Northern Ireland (where the football team has a match that would give Tony the opportunity to challenge some players he hadn't met yet.) and an exciting trip to Nazareth where things seem to go wrong for Tony...

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

Hawks's comedic talent comes across well in the written form...he has a breezy, witty style that makes the book extremely enjoyable...Hawks is not only a crazy comic but a keen observer of the human experience.” — The San Francisco ChronicleTony is an OK actor - he's never likely to win an Oscar - but his tennis skills and the fact that we know he actually did everything in the film make it very believable. It’s an entirely new challenge to going to Ireland and wandering around with a fridge. For one thing, Tony isn’t even sure where Moldova is, much less what language they speak there. And for another, even getting to Moldova is quite a process and one that, in Tony’s case, involves going to Liverpool to meet a Beatles tribute band. Not quite how you’d expect a Moldovan odyssey to start, but that’s how things had to be done. Even if you hate tennis and couldn't find Moldova on the map, you'll be charmed. Utterly recommended FHM I found myself laughing out loud while reading this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes travel memoirs and has a good sense of humor. This is an extremely entertaining book...A real treat for fans of the weird, the silly, and the out-of-left-field.” — Booklist (starred review)