The Cardturner :a novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar.
The Cardturner : A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a book about bridge, and it is for teens. Bridge the card game – know it?



Alton Richard’s great-uncle Lester Trapp is rich and ailing, a combo that leads Alton’s parents to hatch a plan for the teen to cozy up to the old man and carve out a chunk of inheritance. Though blind, Trapp is a brilliant, world-class bridge player and needs someone to read him his cards and make his plays. Enter Alton, who gets roped into serving as a card turner. He withstands the constant barbs from his uncle and grows more intrigued by the game (in no small part due to the cute, girl who also plays). The pages are filled with detailed commentary on the basics and then nuances of the game, and a little whale image appears when the bridge talk is about to get deep so readers can skip right ahead to a wrap-up. But don’t be fooled: it is astonishing how Sachar can make blow-by-blow accounts of bridge not only interesting but exciting, treating each play like a clue to unravel the riddle of each hand. It is also a book full of understated humor and shows the many and varied funny foibles of humankind.







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