Deep Pockets: Snooker and the Meaning of Life

‘A brilliant book . . . brilliantly written. You really do need to read it’ Adrian Chiles

‘Mixing the sacred and the profane, high culture and low culture, the sublime and the ridiculous, Deep Pockets is the book this game of unfathomable difficulty and infinite mystery well deserves’ Critic

The game of snooker has a remarkable history. From humble origins, it blossomed spectacularly in the 1980s into the nation’s most popular sport. Top players became celebrities. The papers were stuffed with snooker scandals. It even conquered the pop charts.

In the twenty-first century, the game is still big news. Along with millions of British fans, a vast audience continues to grow across every corner of the world, from Europe to the Middle East to China. The global thirst for snooker has never been greater.

But – strangely perhaps – snooker’s deeper meanings have rarely been explored. It is a game that celebrates subtlety and mystery; a slow undertaking in a fast-paced world. Elegant and profound, snooker invites serious contemplation.

Deep Pockets is a study of this uncharted territory – a love letter to snooker, and an impassioned journey into its soul. Because snooker, in fact, is more than a game. It is a belief set; a way of seeing; an entire philosophical system. In chapters that cover everything from time, truth, loss, luck and more, Deep Pockets explores how snooker can help us to trace the meaning of life itself.

Born in London’s East End, Brendan Cooper received his BA and PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has published widely on British and American literature, including a critical guide to William Blake and a study of Cold War American poetry. He lives in Berkshire.