Color of Money [Mass Market Paperback]

Walter Tevis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1984

After 20 years of hibernation, former pool champion "Fast" Eddie Felson is playing exhibition matches with former rival Minnesota Fats in shopping malls for prizes like cable television. With one failed marriage and years of running a pool hall, Eddie is now ready to regain the skills needed to compete in a world of pool that has changed dramatically since he left it behind. The real challenge comes when Eddie realizes that in order to compete successfully, he must hone his skills in the game of nine-ball as opposed to the straight pool that had once won him fame. With a new generation of competitors, fear and doubt and the daily possibility of failure arise, giving Fast Eddie a new challenge to overcome. The Color of Money is the source of the 1986 film starring Paul Newman in the role he had originated in The Hustler.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tevis emerges as a writer of considerable range and imagination, capable of bringing an almost mystical sense of wonder to the low-life poolroom scenerios." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Edition edition (August 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446323535
• ISBN-13: 978-0446323536
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master of the craft delivers, July 5, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Color of Money (Hardcover)

The color of money is, as a novel, far superior to the filmed version starring Cruise and Newman. The film is underrated, and has many fine points but when compared to the book it is very, very disappointing. The novel starts slowly, retracing the last 25 years of hustler Eddie Felson and him building a new future for himself. By the last chapter the book is absolutely galloping along. The final tournament scenes show off probably some of the best writing on pool that has ever been accomplished, really taking you into each game and feeling what Eddie feels, from his jealousy at the young stars to his own self-realization at and through the green felt. Not only a book for pool enthusiasts, rather for anyone who enjoys good pacey writing and literature as art.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vince T-Shirt Was Scorcese's Invention!, June 17, 2005

By 

R. Kim (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Color of Money (Paperback)

I have to admit I'm a fan of Scorcese's film sharing the same title, but these are two completely different stories. I was shocked at how little the two have in common, which is almost nothing.

Tevis's book paints a very different picture of Fast Eddie in the 80's. Tevis shows us a dejected man who let years of his life just pass by idly while he ran a small pool hall, as opposed to Scorcese's Fast Eddie who had become a successful liquor salesman (ironically, Tevis's Felson failed as a salesman). Not only that, the Vince character (and his t-shirt) does not really exist in Tevis's book - Felson does not take on a prodigy at all. Even Fats is back in the book.

All this drivel I've written here is to encourage you to read the book. A completely different story than what the movie offers, but one more plausibly in line with The Hustler (the book). As usual, Tevis is deft at writing the intricacies of pool and the psyche that surrounds it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FORGET THE MOVIE, READ THE BOOK!!!!, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Color of Money (Hardcover)

Don't let the movie fool you, this novel(completely different!) is vastly more enriching, entertaining and exciting.

Bear in mind also that this novel was written years before the film. The author Walter Tevis was sorely disappointed with how Hollywood completely butchered his original story.

The film was really just a vehicle to showcase Tom Cruise with Paul Newman and nothing much else. The book on the other hand is a deeper exploration of "Fast" Eddie that includes his childhood, a reunion with Minnesota Fats (yes, Fats is back!), and a desparate plan to come out from under a mountain of bills and broken dreams. The "Tom Cruise" character is actually a cocaine-sniffing, hyper-manic badboy/nememis NOT PROTEGE to Fast Eddie. And the pool action is many times more riveting than anything in that very often boring movie. This is not about glitz and glamor Hollywood style, it's about a desparate, aging man trying to reclaim what was lost and what was denied in order to redeem himself.

I first read this book as a teenager and was enthralled. If you liked the original Hustler, you'll love this, and if you didn't care all that much for the movie then by all means check it out!!! I also recommend Tevis' The Queen's Gambit. After back to back reads of Tevis chess and Tevis pool, you're guaranteed to be left reeling, drained, jolted, and then clamoring for more. But then of course sadly, Walter Tevis is a writer deceased. If only Hollywood could've gotten it right!