E. Y. Zhao’s Underspin caught my attention as I’ve enjoyed other novels about sport, such as Walter Tevis’s The Colour of Money and The Queen’s Gambit. This novel follows Ryan Lo, a table tennis prodigy, and tries to piece together why his life ends so tragically at the age of 25. I liked the structure in that each chapter is told from the point of view of someone who knew Ryan. This means the reader only ever sees him in fragments, through other people’s eyes. At times, though, I found this approach hard work. I often had to reread passages to keep track, and I sometimes got confused between the different characters. Because of this, I never felt I fully understood Ryan, although perhaps that’s the intention, that he remains partly unknowable. The novel wasn’t what I expected at all, but in some ways that’s a positive. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and explored themes like grief, abuse, ambition, friendship, and adolescence. While I found it occasionally heavy going, I’m glad I read it as it offered something different. I received an advance review copy from the publisher and NetGalley, and this is my honest review.