You know those books that just stick with you and for some reason, you find yourself happily remembering snippets of them long after the last page has been read? Well, The Cardturner by Louis Sachar , author of Holes and the Wayside School Trilogy, was and is one of those books for me. I am still pondering it and I finished it at least three weeks ago. And the weirdest part–it’s a book about bridge!
At 17, Alton is sure that his life can’t get any worse. His girlfriend broke up with him for his best friend and he feels like he has lost everything. As summer draws near, he knows that he is going to have to get a job, but also know he is too lazy to even look for one. When his mother volunteers his driving services and time to his blind (and rich) Uncle Lester, he really knows he has no choice. So Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons, Alton drives his uncle to the club to play bridge, a card game he considers out-dated and obsolete. He is to tell his uncle, whom everyone calls Trapp at the club, his cards in suit and number order. (So all the Spades from highest to lowest, all the Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs in the same manner. Always in that order.) He soon learns that whereas football is a physical sport with obviously viewed results, Bridge is just as challenging mentally, and when you finally sort of understand it, can be just as thrilling.
As his family pushes him to ask Trapp about his will, Alton realizes that he is actually beginning to care for this uncle he has never really known. Alton and Trapp talk about everything from old age, to religion, to love. Trapp has always seemed like a miser to Alton, someone whose heart is made of stone, but Alton slowly begins to discover that Trapp has a past and a secret that may be the cause of his callous nature.
And we can’t forget Trapp’s protege, the pretty, shy, and possibly crazy Toni Castenada who Alton is falling for faster than he is comfortable with.
This book is so well written and perfectly put together. I found myself having to stop and say to myself “Why didn’t I ever think about that that way before? That makes perfect sense!” I have a new-found love for Louis Sachar and his writing, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this book in the awards list next year. But don’t take my word for it; come fall in love with it for yourself!
Sachar also just did an interview with Publisher’s Weekly here and it is really interesting to see how this book came about.
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