14 Aug 2010 23:29:40
The book Holes was written by Louis Sachar – a book that sold more than 8m copies and not only won, but deserved to win, a shelf-full of prestigious awards. So his publishers must have been pretty excited when his new manuscript came in. I picture them all crowding round Sachar saying: "What's it about? What's it about?" "It's about bridge." "Bridges? As in Madison County? As in On the River Kwai?" "No, bridge as in the complicated card game favoured by retired professionals." "Oh. Right. Bridge. So when this character says 'I'm the only one to bid the grand, which would be cold if spades weren't five-one' – that's not a misprint?" "No. That's bridge." The prevailing wisdom is that writers should start from where their readers are – engage with the fashions and mores of the time. You have to admire Sachar's chutzpah for doing the opposite.
Alton Richards is an awkward teen who has just lost his girlfriend to his best friend. His mother forces Alton into the company of his wealthy great uncle, an aloof, blind bridge genius called Lester, in the hope that Alton will worm his way into his rich relative's affections and get the family a mention in Lester's will. Alton takes a job as the "card turner" – telling Lester what cards he holds and playing them when he's told to do so. But Alton has competition from another young relative, the beautiful but possibly insane Toni Castaneda. As in Holes, the dark secrets of the past are distorting any chance of happiness in the present.
When you read his books it is like being hustled in a card game by someone who seems straight-talking and modest but who turns out to be a virtuoso card sharp. So is The Cardturner one big bluff or is he really holding all the trumps? I don't want to spoil it for you but he does something towards the end of this book that I can't imagine anyone else even trying to get away with. As Uncle Lester might say, nicely played, Louis.
Alton Richards is an awkward teen who has just lost his girlfriend to his best friend. His mother forces Alton into the company of his wealthy great uncle, an aloof, blind bridge genius called Lester, in the hope that Alton will worm his way into his rich relative's affections and get the family a mention in Lester's will. Alton takes a job as the "card turner" – telling Lester what cards he holds and playing them when he's told to do so. But Alton has competition from another young relative, the beautiful but possibly insane Toni Castaneda. As in Holes, the dark secrets of the past are distorting any chance of happiness in the present.
When you read his books it is like being hustled in a card game by someone who seems straight-talking and modest but who turns out to be a virtuoso card sharp. So is The Cardturner one big bluff or is he really holding all the trumps? I don't want to spoil it for you but he does something towards the end of this book that I can't imagine anyone else even trying to get away with. As Uncle Lester might say, nicely played, Louis.
