Greatness

GREATNESS is a poetic and powerful portrait of a lonely athlete locked in battle with time, memory, and himself. At once intimate and epic, it offers a riveting glimpse into the twilight of a generational talent.
On the eve of his retirement, tennis legend King returns to Flushing Meadows for his final US Open. Surrounded by the roar of adoring crowds and the tight-knit team that has become his surrogate family, he sets his sights on one last, improbable run at glory. Aging, injured, and haunted by the past, King still knows, perhaps better than anyone, what it takes to win.
But off the court, a deeper reckoning awaits. Since the age of four, tennis has been his entire world-his parents' dream of greatness the only life he's ever known. Now, with his career nearing its end, King must confront old betrayals, fierce rivals, the weight of grief, and the stirrings of unexpected love. As his final match draws near, so too does the answer to the question he's never dared to ask:
What is the true cost of greatness?

Keir Lowther is the author of Dirty Bird, winner of the 2013 Margaret and John Savage First Novel Award at the Atlantic Book Awards, shortlisted for a Relit Award, a PEI Book Award for Fiction, and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize. He is a former nationally ranked junior tennis player and provincial tennis champion. He lives in Prince Edward Island with his wife, daughter, son and dog.