Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

by Tony Hawks

Release Date: 23 June, 2001

Edition: Hardcover

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Connecting with the Moldovan people

An enjoyable book, like a Bill Bryson book with a basic plot and some human relationships. A British comedian bet that he'd play tennis with every member of a Moldovan international foootball/soccer team he saw play in Britain, and win. And why not?

He knows nothing about Moldova (it's somewhere between Romania and the Ukraine) but he's an optimist, so he gets the most basic of leads and off he goes on his 6-month quest.

It's a mix of an appreciation/travelogue of this emerging, poor country (think Albania with a few nightclubs but no streetlights at night) with a good appreciation of its people (pleasant but whose history has made them fatalistic) and his connection with a generous family who let him in. He can't play against all the footballers there and to complete his bet he needs to visit Northern Ireland for an international football match and a quirky interlude. And then the final footballer has transferred an Israel football club...

I enjoyed it. Hawks gives a good account of his own ups and downs on his 6-month mission, and the interactions with the Moldovans and others brighten his tale.

Round Moldova with a Tennis Racket

British comedian Tony Hawks doesn't seem to be able to have a conversation without getting into some fantastic bet. His last book recounted his journey, on a dare, to travel "Round Ireland With a Fridge." One of my favorite travel memoirs of the past few years, "Round Ireland" combined outrageous humor with an affectionate portrait of Ireland and her people. His newest, "Playing the Moldovans at Tennis," follows the same path: challenged by his friend Arthur that he can't beat the entire Moldovan national football team at tennis, Tony immediately jets to the tiny Balkan country and is met with frustration at every turn to even get a chance to set foot on a tennis court. Since the loser of the bet strips naked and sings the Moldovan national anthem in public, he doesn't dare lose, but the incredibly different customs of Moldova are against him from Day One. Red tape, diplomacy, and the language barrier rise up to block his success, but for every pushy, arrogant football team manager he comes across there's a dozen friendly, supportive, and helpful journalists, fixers, and everyday folks who are intrigued by and helpful with Tony's seemingly mad quest.

While not as fascinating as "Round Ireland," (there's less of travel interest here to the casual reader), Hawks brings his usual humor punctuated by moments of hilarious despair, and the ending even has a twist that couldn't have been written more cleverly if it had been in a Hollywood movie. In the end it's a gentle and affectionate portrait of the Moldovans, a people and country I knew nothing about before this book. More important, Tony himself sums up the real result of his offbeat quest as *not* the chance to avoid singing starkers outside a London pub, but inspiring a young Moldovan man who, pessimistic at the first, comes to realize a silly impossible pursuit is just as worth doing as a dull everyday task.