Underspin by E. Y. Zhao

Review by Larry Hodges

“Underspin,” 252 pages, by E. Y. Zhao, comes out on Sept. 23 in hardcover, kindle, and audiobook versions. The author, Emily Zhao, is a former junior star who played in US tournaments from 2006-2013, achieving a high rating of 1873. She holds an MFA in prose from the University of Michigan and a BA in history from Harvard College. 

The novel is the story of the rise and fall of champion player Ryan Lo under a ruthless and tyrannical coach, Kristian. It’s a deep, cautionary tale, with adult themes, exhibiting Ryan’s short career and tragic end, highlighting both the heroics and the warts. Much of it takes place off the table, showcasing both the training aspect and the shenanigans outside. To quote the official description, “the tragedy and triumphs of Ryan’s life are narrated by those caught in his orbit.”

The story is told in 13 chapters with 13 stories from 13 points of view, all associates of Ryan. They are vividly portrayed, ranging from practice partners and rivals, coaches, officials, doctors, and others. Sometimes Ryan is in the middle of the action; other times he’s in the background as we learn about his exploits off-screen. However, in the end, it all revolves around Ryan, his table tennis, and his relationships. Some of the stories feature those who helped Ryan, while others are from jealous players or coaches, or his off-again, on-again girlfriend, Anabel, and, of course, Coach Kristian, whose presence is like a dark shadow over every chapter.

That Ryan has a tragic end is no spoiler. The novel starts with his funeral, in his early twenties, in a prologue. The subtitle of the prologue is “The Los,” referring to Ryan Lo’s family—but it’s also a homophonic reference to the Loss from such an early and tragic death. And then the real story begins as we go back to Ryan’s beginning as an up-and-coming junior star, coached by Kristian, and learn of the events in between that lead to his demise to answer the ultimate question: What happened? It’s especially dark near the end, where SafeSport is involved and we learn of child abuse. The title itself is perhaps a veiled reference to this—“Underspin” may be a table tennis term, but the novel often shows the underworld of table tennis at its lowest.

The novel is told as if to insiders, often using insider table tennis lingo that the non-table tennis crowd will have to figure out from the context—looping, pendulum serves, attack the pocket, and so on. There are numerous table tennis references, such as mention of the Bryant Park outdoor table tennis area in Manhattan, a reference to what appears to be the movie “Balls of Fury,” a table tennis satire, and action that takes place in the German Bundesliga, the professional league where Ryan competes for a time. Some of the characters seem to be fictionalized versions of real table tennis people – a chapter is from the point of view of referee Kagin (alias international referee Kagin Lee), a top coach is Gao (alias Gao Jun, US Team Coach), and even table tennis playing actress Suzanne (alias Susan Sarandon).

As a professional table tennis coach, I found some of the events of the novel almost too close to the truth. I’ve met a number of coaches like Kristian, some of them almost mustache-twirlingly oblivious to the destruction in their wake. 

Below are some of my favorite lines and segments. (The nails-on-walls idea is intriguing! Pause while I twirl my fictional mustache.)

• “Several times he mentions the walls of nails behind tables in Chinese training centers: ‘The coaches never have to tell them to stay close to the table.’”
• “Coach filled our life with punishments,” followed by a page of them.
• “Your footwork is like a maimed pig” and “Ryan moves with the grace of a foosball figurine.”
• “His career had died and I had helped ship the corpse away, and now he sent an arrow flying through my eye.”
• Punishments for losing: “Coach makes Ryan do punitive push-ups on the piss-sticky floor, maybe sitting on Ryan’s back. He forces Ryan’s face before the mirror, by a handful of hair, and lectures him with a stabbing forefinger. He slaps him, one cheek then the other. He kicks him. He just stands outside his stall as Ryan tries to squeeze something foul out of himself (the nausea of the last match, the red electrolytes), voice issuing through the crack like the finger of damp wind Rahul’s father claimed ruined his back when he was at school in Delhi, sharing a draughty room with five other students.”

If you are looking for something light that’ll leave you skipping away in a good mood, then move along. If you are looking for something deep that’ll make you think and will stick with you for a long time, or just want to read a good table tennis story, then this book is for you.