{"product_id":"dad-had-a-bad-day-9781662603433","title":"Dad Had a Bad Day","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeadshot\u003c\/i\u003e meets John Cheever in this darkly funny, deeply moving portrait of what happens when a \"sad dad\" reconnects with a passion from his past.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Ned finds his old Slazenger tennis racquet buried in the garage, he unearths a part of his former self. Having recently lost his job, his sole duty is to watch over their six-year-old son while his wife works. On a whim--and without his wife's knowledge--Ned joins his childhood tennis club with a secret credit card, where he finds life outside the realm of \"sad dad\" domesticity. He becomes the captain of a local men's rec league team, reconnects with his old hitting partner and former tennis prodigy, Roland, and commits his whole sad self to building a winning team. But when Roland disappears, Ned's search for his friend threatens to consume the path to glory, the relationship with his son, his marriage, and his mind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA meditation on fathers and sons, male friendship, and the psychic pressures of an individual sport, Politanoff's novel sits beautifully alongside the dark comedy of Iris Murdoch and the masculine angst of John Cheever, with a style all its own. Funny, poignant, and deeply relatable, \u003ci\u003eDad Had a Bad Day\u003c\/i\u003e explores our desire for structure, the emotional limits of domestic life, and the unbelievably potent, powerful, intoxicating feeling of winning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-15039201\"\u003eAshton Politanoff\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Astra House\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/19\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781662603433\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1662603436\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC045010\"\u003eFamily Life | Marriage \u0026amp; Divorce\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC019000\"\u003eLiterary\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC038000\"\u003eSports\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAshton Politanoff is a frequent contributor to \u003ci\u003eNoon\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by Diane Williams. His writing has also appeared in \u003ci\u003eSouthwest Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eConjunctions\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNY Tyrant\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEgress\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. He is a former division I tennis player and his childhood coach was Robert Lansdorp, who is credited with coaching Pete Sampras, Tracy Austin, and Maria Sharapova. Politanoff's first novel, \u003ci\u003eYou'll Like It Here\u003c\/i\u003e was published by Dalkey Archive. He is an English professor at Cypress College.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Astra House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46821363908747,"sku":"9781662603433","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5100\/7115\/files\/img_21f8b238-b3d3-4900-9731-8c9600a8cff2.jpg?v=1777313654","url":"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/products\/dad-had-a-bad-day-9781662603433","provider":"CA Corrections Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}