Customer Reviews

The Hustler

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If art forces the participant to see reality from an unexpected point of view, or if art takes a generally accepted point of view and sharpens the edges with a light that is so bright that it is almost painful, then "The Hustler" is not just a work of art but a compelling tour de force of astounding power. "The Hustler" is not about pool players, but about how we look at life, how we make the simplest decisions. What is an acceptable performance? In our jobs? With our relationships? What compromises should we make? Must we make? How do we look at ourselves? Why and how do we lie to ourselves?

"The Hustler" is a simple book, well crafted, elegantly written, with memorable characters and compelling situations. This is art at it's best. No pretensions, just a craftsman's use of time honored techniques that reinforce the message without intruding.

Tevis presents life's dilemmas plainly, tells us what is unacceptable, makes us self-satisfied, then like all great artists, presents a little more complex dilemma, then asks us to make the choice again. Except it's not so easy this time...

Reading "The Hustler" should be a rite of passage for any person that feels every decision we make, or don't make, is important. A must read.

On a more personal level, I met Walter Tevis in a room called Hanger's in Pittsburgh in the early 60's. I was about 15, an unusual combination of voracious reader and aspiring 9 ball player. He told me I had a talent, that he loved the game, that he was addicted to it and its characters. He also told me he was a writer. I didn't know who he was at the time and we didn't do anything more than pass a pleasant 10 or 20 minutes. I saw the movie later, loved it, was a little too young and callow to appreciate it as much as I should have. The book has been out of print and difficult to find; I'm embarrassed to say I just read it yesterday for the first time. Let me just say it not only asks questions, but the right questions. I know, I've been trying to answer them for 35 years. Walter wherever you are, (and I believe you died a few years back), thank you.

PS: Walter played pool and wasn't bad, what we'd call a good local player.

PPS: The Minnesota Fats, (real name: Rudolph Wanderone)you all saw on TV wasn't the real Fats. The real Fats wasn't a jerk and a 2 bit hustler with a good agent. But that's another story.

Surely Walter Tevis' strongest novel, "The Hustler" explores the timeless struggle of man against himself, against a backdrop of gray, decaying, post-war billiard rooms and characters on the edge of society's moral perimeter. In a world of illegal billiard gambling, where matchups between road players is a winner-take-all proposition, Tevis shows us that winning can weigh heavy on a man's soul, and is lonelier by far than joining the always-populated ranks of the lost and defeated.

Tevis introduces us to "Fast Eddie" Felson, an extraordinarily gifted pool hustler with a penchant for bourbon - J.T.S. Brown - and for high stakes action. Loosely modeled after billiard master Willie Mosconi, Tevis' "Fast Eddie" takes on "Minnesota Fats" (at the time, a fictional character, who's identity real-lfe pool huster Rudolph Wanderone later assumed) in a series of thousand dollar a game matches. It is a competition that changes both his life and that of the woman he enlists in his struggle against the demons within.

"The Hustler" remains one of only two books - "The Color of Money" being the other - to truly capture the intensity and excitement of professional high-stakes pool without excessive moralizing.

The movie version of The Hustler, released in 1961 and produced by Robert Rossen, starred Paul Newman as Fast Eddie, Piper Laurie as Eddie's femme fatale, and George C. Scott as Eddie's deadly effective but morally bankrupt instructor on the ways of big money pool.
Nominated for several academy awards, the movie, like Fast Eddie, had the misfortune of bad timing and an unwinnable matchup: "West Side Story" swept the awards and relegated Tevis' story to cult classic status.

Sure, rent the movie... but buy the book. The plot differs from the movie in one critical aspect, which I will leave the reader to discover..

More than a story about pool players (although the inside look at the green felt world is fascinating), this is a perceptive study of how we talk ourselves into losing because it's much easier than paying the price to win. Beautifully written with numerous memorable characters, far superior to the movie, this is one novel you'll never forget.

Excellent book! After reading I learned so much I had to rewatch the movie because I thouught they left so much out; most of the profound ideas are there but very subtle and lost in the film, which I also adore. Tevis is a wonderful writer and this is one book that you can enjoy and learn from both. Each have much to offer so don't choose one... have the best of both; read the book AND see the movie.

I have a BA in English literature and am an avid pool player, and I enjoyed The Hustler on both levels. Tevis' well written treatment of winning and losing as it happens on the green cloth and in the gray matter is realistic and detailed. The book goes into more detail about the psychology of competition than the movie does and differs from the movie at a few points in the plot. I thought the book was better than the movie, but I recommend them both.

If you are even mildly interested in pool, this book is the definitive work. The descriptions are so vivid both in the physical and emotional sense that your mind will put you there. The physchology of winning (and losing) are clearly portrayed. The euphoria of winning - yes, you can feel it. And the gut-wrenching of losing, you can feel that too. As Bert says 'We've all been there' WARNING - don't lend this book to anyone you wouldn't trust alone with your true love. I'm on my 3rd copy because the first 2 never came back!

This is a great novel, and Tevis is a very good writer. It is a morality tale brought down to the level of the worst aspects of American capitalism (that is, the seediest levels, which remain with us today). But hidden in Tevis' story of gambling, alcoholism and identity crisis is an empathy for people that redeems their worst habits. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

This gripping tale presents "Fast" Eddie Felson and the shady world of hustling pool. Eddie is young and immensely talented, but flawed by arrogance and naivety. After hustling small-timers in hundreds of backwater taverns and billiard parlors, Felson heads to Chicago with his partner Charlie. Their destination is Bennington's, where Minnesota Fats reigns as the nation's top player. Eddie and Fats duel in a classic high-stakes match that lasts nearly two days. When Fats eventually cleans Eddie out, the young man's life changes drastically. Broke and beaten, Eddie now struggles for his own soul - complicated by his troubled new girlfriend and their dual love for the bottle. Eddie also must return to scuffling pocket money from small-timers in cheap bars. After a serious injury, Eddie teams up with a sharpie named Bert. A shrewd judge of character, Bert knows when to bet big and when to walk away. With Bert as his stake horse, Eddie learns some psychology on winning and losing, vital lessons for the road towards another crack at Minnesota Fats.

Author Walter Travis (1928-84) used his work experience in a pool hall to write this remarkable 1959 novel. The book is somewhat different from the classic 1961 movie with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, so it should hold your suspense even if you saw the film. Overall, this is a superbly gritty, fast-reading novel.

great book for a pool player or gambler that wants to read about it

also follow up with color of money.

from poolhall chuckie @ plush pocket billiards nothridge ca

One of those few books that one can say the movie was much more livelier. In the book we never know whether Fast Eddie pays Bert the money that he wins in the final game and of course Sarah does not go with Bert and Eddie to Lexington. On the whole it was a lifeless novel. It seems the reputation of Tevis is based more on the success and acting of Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason , Piper Lori as well as the direction of Robert Rossen than anything that he wrote. I was not impressed by his writing. I loved the movie.