Fear of Tennis is David Cohen’s quirky and absurd first novel. It features the obsessive Mike Planner, whose interests include court reporting and bathrooms. When he bumps into Jason Bunt, his best friend from high school, Mike recalls how they fell out.

At the centre of the story is a bizarre struggle towards redemption; Mike wants to atone for a past sin and believes that Jason’s series of ‘challenges’ are a way to do just that. So, somewhat perplexingly, Mike, who has never been interested in sport, begins to swim and play tennis, frequenting the gym with increasing regularity.