Reviews

The Hustler by Walter Tevis

puzzled_pagan's review against another edition

4.0

A solid little noir, like a shot of whiskey. The sad fate of Fast Eddie Felson, damned to spend his life chasing the highs and lows of professional pool sharking is a hell of a thing to experience.

maiopony's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

danjk's review against another edition

5.0

The Hustler explores the dingy, low class world of the American pool hall with a minimalist style that reminded me of John Fante. Tevis delves into psyche of a sport where money and self worth are intertwined. Beautiful drawn and seedy characters litter the pages in-between poetic descriptions of pool.

I was hustled into giving this book 5 stars.

pookykun's review against another edition

5.0

Occasionally despicable, almost entirely brilliant, The Hustler is a thrilling, weird, delightful story, and is one of the best books I've read this year. I love a book that can focus on one thing, in this case pool, with such attention and make it interesting to people like me who know nothing about the sport, or indeed about hustling. But the arcs, the lessons, they are applicable to competition as a whole, and indeed to the pursuit of art. Though the characters can be old fashioned at times, which is a rather polite way of putting it, the writing is full, vibrant, and easy going, while the plot is well paced. You can't help but root for fast Eddie.

bbboeken's review against another edition

4.0

Tevis writes (wrote) the kind of books I absolutely love to read. And I have the ability to immediately read the sequel. The theme --in essence-- is not dissimilar to _The Queen's Gambit_ or at least contains some of the same issues.

tomhill's review against another edition

4.0

Between The Hustler and The Queen's Gambit, I'm beginning to understand Tevis as a writer interested in obsession, particularly obsession when it comes to extremely talented people who excel at a very specific activity. In this case, pool, in the other, chess. And like in Queen's Gambit, Tevis is really successful at building tension and immersing the reader in a very specific world. I know even less about shooting pool than I do about playing chess, but I was once again enthralled. Just as Beth was committed to becoming the world's best chess player, Eddie is on a mission to become the world's best pool hustler. And he's not always a great guy, but a lot of that has to do I think with his inability to put energy towards anything besides hustling pool. It's really all you know about his character, but it's also all you need to know to be invested.

ladainton's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.25

Well written, very literaturey, think other people would be interested but not the most interesting topic to me. Felt like Travis, in the main character driven to win and win completely with hints of addiction, loses to wins, and large stakes.

emmay's review against another edition

funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

3.0

Fast Eddie is hustles pool for money, and is determined to be the best pool player in America. In his first novel, Walter Tevis is already concerned with themes he would study in later novels: addiction, isolation, winning and losing, talent and focus. It's interesting to see how strong his prose style is here, too, and how tight and well-managed his narrative is. However, his grasp of character isn't as compelling as in the later novels of his I've read, and I didn't find this as poignant or as compelling. Definitely gripping and passes the time, but not memorable.

iabouzied's review against another edition

4.0

The Hustler follows the story of a talented pool player on a quest to prove that he's the best player to ever do it. I picked up this book because it was said to be a parable on the importance of playing to win. It was fascinating to see Tevis explore the different complexes characters had to keep them from winning, whether it be relaxing whenever they had a lead, protecting their ego, feeling like they have to win a certain way, etc.

The book is filled with pool jargon than flew over my head. I imagine it would have been better if I understood what was happening in the games, but I was still able to read the journey through the characters reactions.

Tevis has a distinct writing style. His scenic and character descriptions are incredibly descriptive, going as far as to describe how a character might sigh or set down a glass of water. It feels busy for me, but I can see others falling in love with his style.

The romantic subplot completely eluded me. I could not understand it nor make sense of how it served the story.

I would recommend this book to any fans of pool, or anyone interested in a fictional exploration of sport psychology. Upon finishing the book I found out that the Tevis also wrote The Queen's Gambit, but despite the success of the Netflix adaptation, Tevis didn't leave me excited to rush to his other works. But if he had written a book about a sport I was into, I would be all over it.