'Playing the Moldovans at Tennis' by Tony Hawks

The likeable Tony Hawks as our guide through a tale so strange that it only seems to emerge through this particular sub-genre of travelogue.

He and his friend Arthur Smith bet during an England-Moldova football qualifier that Tony cannot meet and beat all of the Moldovan national football team at Tennis. Tony takes on the challenge such as it is and shortly finds himself, via a bizarre interlude with a Beatles tribute band, in Moldova attempting to commence his bet.

What follows is an account of Moldovan life often startling for its honesty and adherence to reality despite the way these harsh truths contrast with Hawks' own cheery positivity.

He finds a reserved, reluctant people, emerging from an era of totalitarian rule and at first, this is reflected in his lack of success at getting access to his chosen footballers.

Among the best of those he meets are his adoptive family, a young girl called Elena and her elder brother Adrian provide him with inspiration as he struggles to even play a few games of tennis. These difficulties in convincing the Moldovan authorities to allow him access to its footballers seems indicative of the corruption that is endemic in societies which struggle economically.

Despite these difficulties, the emerging theme is one of the decency of most of the people Tony encounters. One of his strengths as a writer is his ability to convey the best in people and to show that even beneath the masks we all wear as adults, most of us are able to be touched by the people that surround us.

As the book ends, in predictably hilarious circumstances, Tony shows that even in emerging from his bet, he is unchanged in his views about Moldova and the experiences he had there. His charity work since writing the book bears testament to the relationship he built with the place.

Time well spent I would say.