Dec 29

Dec 29 There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

About the book

Author: Hanif Abdurraqib
Publisher: Random House

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

Buy and support indie bookstores (+ I earn a small commission):
Bookshop.org (print) | Libro.fm (audio)

My Review

I’m embarrassed to admit that this was my first Hanif, but don’t worry — I’m fully on board now.

This book is hard to describe; it is about basketball, but it’s also totally not about basketball. It’s more accurate to say that basketball — more specifically, street basketball in Columbus and Lebron James in Cleveland — is a lens through which Abdurraqib remembers, reflects, and critiques. I have a small amount of knowledge about Lebron James (because my husband loves him), but even that small drop was enough for this to hit. I truly think that Abdurraqib could choose any lens and make something incredible out of it. His ability to see the world differently and make connections out of thin air is unmatched.

This is also one of those books that you absolutely must listen to and read along at the same time. Abdurraqib’s prose here borders on poetry, and you would do his words a disservice to miss it in either format.

There’s not much more I can say that others have not. But please know that this book is both sad and hopeful, scathing and uplifting. Brb, time to (finally) go read Abdurraqib’s entire backlist.