Carrie Soto Is Back
Carrie Soto Is Back
By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
[Winner for ‘Best Historical Fiction’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“When did winning become something I needed in order to survive? Something I did not enjoy having, so much as panic without?”
This was a surprisingly engaging book considering it’s pretty much just about tennis.
I shouldn’t say that, though, because my favorite part of the book was the development of the father/daughter relationship.
‘Carrie Soto Is Back’ is the story of Carrie’s tennis journey from rookie, to challenger, to champion, to comeback.
Does she have what it takes— physically, emotionally, and mentally— to be the best? And if she can’t— can she live with that version of herself?
This book will make you want to watch tennis. And marvel at Serena Williams who is one of the best to play tennis— she holds the most Grand Slam titles right now at 23. She holds a combined 39 major titles. She was ranked number one in the world for 319 weeks. Her and her sister, Venus, ushered in a new era of power to women’s tennis. She retired in 2022 at the age of 40.
Once you read the book, these numbers will start to mean a lot more. It would seem Carrie Soto’s character may even be loosely based on Serena, at least in skill and achievements. The timeline is a little off, though, as Serena didn’t go professional until 1995 and that’s when Soto’s comeback begins.
Either way, I enjoyed this book and it was a different kind of book than I’ve read— focused on sports.
I thought it would get repetitive describing match after match. But the author did a good job of summarizing events by inserting short transcripts of sportscasters rehashing tournaments in between chapters.
It was a good balance between the actual playing of tennis and the character relationships in between.
Plot Summary
Carrie Soto was a child prodigy in tennis, having been coached by her dad, Javier, since she was two. In all her years of playing, she broke many records and changed the game of tennis for women.
But an injury led to her retirement from the game.
Until…
…her record for most Grand Slam wins was tied by an up-and-coming tennis player.
Since being the best has been her life goal and achievement, she is compelled to come out of retirement and take her title back.
Her agent asks her if she is confident that this is the right move. She replies: “It is the only move. I cannot conceive of any other future.”
But Carrie is 37 years old— old for this sport. Not to mention, ‘The Battle Axe’ and ‘Cold-Hearted Carrie’ was never a crowd favorite. She knows there are many who would love to see her fail.
“No matter how good I was on the court, I was never good enough for the public.”
She accepts the challenge and trains vigorously. She has four opportunities to get the win she needs. She refuses to accept any other outcome.
Father and Daughter
Carrie’s dad, Javier, is my favorite part of this book.
Sure, he probably pushed too hard when Carrie was little and sent her the message that winning was the most important thing and what determined her value, but that was during a time he was grieving the loss of his wife— Carrie’s mom.
And the time he spent with Carrie meant so much to her:
“The time I got to spend with my father felt like a gift that other kids didn’t get. Unlike them, my time had purpose; my father and I were working toward something of meaning. I was going to be the best.”
Yes, that’s not the model picture of what that relationship should look like, but it is a reminder that the time we spend with our kids is more meaningful than we realize. To do things together, to learn, to teach, to focus on them, is a special thing for a kid to have with a parent. Attention.
Over the years, he has wizened. He sees Carrie’s ambition and what it has cost her.
He is just the sweetest dad and he’s funny, too. He is Carrie’s biggest fan, and more than his desire for her to win, he wants her to open her heart. To realize there is more to life than tennis and winning.
They had a fallout at the peak of Carrie’s career leading her to basically fire her dad as coach and be coached by someone else. They became estranged.
“If you would like to coach someone who is fine being second, go coach someone else.”
This comeback season has brought them back together and her father is overjoyed to spend time with his daughter, playing tennis, and being part of her life again.
Personally, I didn’t really like Carrie’s character. She is brash and mean— although I have to admit, it was sometimes satisfying to hear her say the comebacks we all just think and don’t say. That’s probably just my own bad sportsmanship feeling that solidarity, but it’s true so.
Also Carrie is hardened to love.
After all, “Love means nothing.” (Pun!)
But to see the way Javier still stands with her, gently trying to guide her, but pulling back when necessary to maintain the relationship, is super sweet.
Really I think this story is more about him than her. He has been in the story from the beginning. He was the coach, her sole care-taker. He has taught her everything she knows— about tennis, about life, about love. He has always been her rock.
This is the story of Javier’s relationship with his daughter from start to finish. The influence and legacy of a dad who loves his little girl.
Fame and Ambition
Another thread woven into this story is the pressure of the position of fame. Being in the spotlight. Having expectations put on you.
At one point Carrie compares herself to another woman: “Maybe her life looked nothing like mine. Maybe she lived free from all this pressure, this sense that she lived or died by how good she was at something. Was she burdened by the need to win everything she did? Or did she live for nothing?”
There is this tension with Carrie.
“My ambition has long felt oppressive. It is not a joy— it is a master that I must answer to, a smoke that descends into my life, making it hard to breathe. It is only my discipline, my willingness to push myself harder, that has been my way through.”
Winning and being the best is all she has ever known. Especially because she was capable to achieve greatness. She tasted it. And she was determined enough to do whatever she had to to stay there.
But we can see what that has cost her. Relationships. Love.
She is driven by her ambition and lives off the thrill of it, yet she feels the pressure of achieving and the fickleness of fame. As soon as you can’t be who the people want you to be, they’re done with you. Then what are you?
When our identity is wrapped up in our achievements we are destined to despair for there will always be someone better. Records are broken. Bodies deteriorate. We have to be more than what we can do.
Carrie is running on the beach and sees kids building a sandcastle. She thinks, “I wonder why anyone would want to build anything out of sand, when tomorrow it will be gone, and you’d have nothing to show for your day.”
This mindset is an interesting thing to ponder. Because we think this way too a lot of times. What is the point of this or that if I don’t have something tangible to show for it?
Of course, as the Bible says, we should not build our house on sand, but in this scenario I think what’s lost in Carrie rejecting something out of sand is she has lost joy. She is afraid to create something that won’t last forever. She is blind to the learning that happens and just the beauty of creating.
She can’t just enjoy the activity and the brief sense of accomplishment. Instead of the wave washing it away being a normal tide of life, she sees it as failure.
But what if some things in our life are meant to be sand— shaped, refined, reconstructed?
Random Comments
Gotta give a shout out to the 90s references in this book (is that the primary reason for its historical fiction designation?): Doc Martens, home phones, fax machines, 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up…
There was quite a bit of Spanish in this book that wasn’t always translated. My meager Spanish memories from high school and college helped me figure out most of it, but you may need to Google translate some parts if you’re not fluent.
After I read that Carrie’s mother died when she was young I thought the book would be more about her coming to terms with not having a mom or thinking about what her mother would say or think about this or that. But really her mom was not that much a part of the story. It was her relationship with her dad that meant the most to her. Somehow it’s not surprising but still unexpected that the book turned out that way.
Like the last three books I’ve read the characters have been chess players. I’m seeing a pattern of greatness and success being associated with chess and now I’m questioning my entire childhood which is devoid of this game.
[Enter: rabbit trail]
It’s interesting reading this book during the NCAA Women’s March Madness tournament. I’m adding this in here for posterity, but the championship just happened between LSU and Iowa. Angel Reese vs Caitlin Clark. The biggest controversy after the game was the sportsmanship between both players and what was acceptable and what was not.
Reading about Carrie Soto’s character, she has the swagger of an athlete who knows they are good. Her trash talk is bold and public.
Reese and Caitlin (especially Caitlin) are arguably the best female basketball players right now. I think athletes, especially at a professional level, should be allowed a certain amount of confidence and swagger— it’s part of the competition, the intimidation, the strategy of getting in your opponent’s head to try and beat them.
But there is a limit. I think Carrie Soto crossed the line in a lot of ways. And I think Angel Reese did too. (I probably should have left that as a vague reference, but I like to share my opinion so I’ll just say that what makes Reese’s gesture different than Caitlin’s was that it occurred AFTER the game was over, after they won by a decent amount of points, and she basically chased her around the court to get her attention.)
But ANYWAY, I think it’s interesting how it is harder for us to accept women showing that confident swagger than men. Probably because we’re used to associating women with quiet, nurturing? I don’t know.
Personally, I am super competitive and I’m a bad loser. So I can’t really say I’ve taken the high ground on much in terms of sports and I would for sure not win any ‘good sportsmanship’ award.
Basically, reading this during the NCAA controversy was an interesting mind experience.
Recommendation
The main reason I would give for NOT reading this book would be if you don’t like to read books with a lot of language. One of Carrie’s favorite phrases is to tell people to ‘Kindly F-off.’ She uses the f-word quite frequently.
I’m not a fan of swearing in the books I read, but for some reason it felt a little different in this book because it did feel like part of Carrie’s persona.
But if you can handle the swearing, I don’t see any other reason not to read it. It was an engaging read with a nice familial relationship thread.
If you like tennis or sports or winning— you’ll definitely like it, but you may feel a little attacked if your life song is DJ Khalid’s ‘All I Do is Win.’
I like sports, but if you’re apprehensive about reading a sports-related book, I’ve seen many reviewers who loved the book even though they were anti-sports.
[Content Advisory: probably at least 50-60+ f- and s-words; no sexual content]
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