Walter Tevis’ first novel. Tevis wrote this after working in a pool hall while working towards his degree in English literature at the University of Kentucky. The story is fairly interesting, but what really sticks out to me is the way Tevis creates characters. You quickly get a clear picture in your head of every character he brings to the pages. He keeps the number of characters to a digestible number as well. I count only five in the entire book, with the exception of a bartender, a very minor character, he hustles in the first chapter.
The main character is “Fast” Eddie Felson, a traveling pool hustler circa 1947. The book starts with Eddie and his partner, Charlie, who puts up the money that Eddie gambles with, traveling by car to their eventual destination in Chicago. They pretend to be salesmen who are just passing through town. They start off playing one another for money and eventually try to lure in a local with a chance to win some easy money from an inebriated Eddie. Drunk or not, Eddie is always holding back until the real money becomes available, at which point, the hapless victim appears to lose on a luck shot on Eddie’s part. They part ways and Eddie and Charlie move to the next town to play their hustle.
The story takes a sharp turn when Eddie arrives in Chicago and tries to engage with a known player by the name of Minnesota Fats. What Eddie is attempting now is not really a hustle. Eddie and Minnesota Fats are well-aware of each other’s skill level. This is to be a series of big money games until someone gives up. They shoot pool for 40 hours straight. Initially, Eddie wins most of the games, but Fats does not give in. Eventually, Eddie wilts under the grueling pressure of playing for high stakes for many hours on end. Eventually, Eddie taps out, being $6000 down. This is a huge sum of money for 1947.
Despondent, and feeling guilty for losing most of Charlie’s money. Eddie leaves Charlie sleeping in the hotel with their car keys and half the remaining cash. He wanders off on foot to a nearby bus station where he encounters a quirky young woman named Sarah. Sarah is a literature student at a nearby college. Sarah is an insomniac who lives alone, likes to drink to excess, and is a little bit older than a typical college student, due to having had polio as a child. Eddie enjoys some time at the bus station’s diner with Sarah, but they part ways early in the morning and Eddie heads to the local Y for a room. While staying at the Y he is able to hustle up some money playing games at local pool halls. With some money in his pocket, he heads back to the bus station diner to look for Sarah. As luck would have it, he finds her and he eventually gets invited to her apartment. They begin a relationship and Eddie continues hustling for money at local pool halls. One night, he raises the stakes and manages to collect a pretty big windfall. The person he beat pays up, but Eddie has both his thumbs badly broken by local who decide to teach a “pool shark” a lesson.
Eddie, with his thumbs badly mangled, goes back to Sarah’s place and she cares for him while he tries to heal. After an extended period and a number of doctor’s visits, Eddie’s thumbs begin to mend. He resumes playing pool again, but has to modify the way he plays because his thumbs still hurt badly. He is eventually able to hustle again for a little bit of money, but is clearly not going to be able to make money he is accustomed to.
During one of his playing sessions, he encounters a man named Bert who engages in card games at pool halls. He appears to be a man of means and he likes everyone to know it. Bert seems to be familiar with all of Eddie’s exploits. He offers Eddie an opportunity to travel to Louisville to play in games that Bert is offering to back. Bert will pay all expenses and put up the money, but will take 70% of winnings.
Eventually, Eddie sees that he is not going to make any real money doing what he is currently doing and seeks out Bert, to accept the offer. Bert initially declines, saying the offer is no longer available, but you sense he is doing this just to make Eddie want it more. Shortly afterward, they head off to Louisville, with Eddie telling Sarah he may be gone for a while. He leaves things pretty open and implies that he may or may not return.
Eddie and Bert stay at a lavish hotel, drink, and eat fine meals. When the time comes to play, Eddie learns that the game is snooker. A game that Eddie is not that familiar with. The wealthy socialite he is playing, Findlay, is not a player of Eddie’s level, but he is far more familiar with snooker. Findlay is also a better player than he initially lets on. His stroke becomes noticeably more refined as the stakes increase. Eventually, Eddie is able to best Findlay after an exhaustive marathon of games. His share of the winnings amounts to $3000. This, again, is in 1947. It would be something in the neighborhood of $50,000 today.
Eddie returns to Chicago with Bert and returns to Sarah, showering her with gifts and a fancy night out. Things look like they are turning around for Eddie, but Eddie is still tormented by his loss to Minnesota Fats. He now has some money, so all he thinks about is getting a re-match. Eddie is able to find Minnesota Fats – he’s not hard to find, he’s at Bennington’s pool hall every night, and challenge him.
Eddie puts up his own money and gives Minnesota Fats a great challenge, but Eddie eventually runs out of money. Surprisingly, Charlie, Eddie’s old traveling mate, reappears. He tells him that he had withheld some of his previous winnings. He gives it to Eddie so that he can continue to challenge Minnesota Fats. Bert also shows up to witness the games. Eddie plays Minnesota Fats for hours and eventually wins a large sum from Fats. Upon winning, Bert tells Eddie that, as his manager, 70% of the money is his and if he doesn’t like it, he’ll never be able to play anywhere again. They engage in a stalemate and the book ends. There was a Paul Newman film made from this novel, but it finishes with a much darker ending, with Sarah killing herself.
There was also a sequel, released decades later, The Color of Money. This was also made into a movie, with Paul Newman reprising his role as Eddie and Tom Cruise playing Vincent, his apprentice. It was a very successful movie, with Newman winning an academy award for best actor, but the author, WalterTevis, passed away shortly before its release, succumbing to lung cancer at just 56 years old.
Tevis also wrote the novel that the recent Netflix limited series, The Queen’s Gambit, was based on.
