Last week I was reading about the (insane) World of Rock Climbing and the (dangerous) World of Nashville Country Music, and this week it’s the (philosophical) World of Duplicate Bridge. I must warn would-be readers that there is a LOT of bridge in this YA fiction book about a boy and his curmudgeonly, rich uncle. Uncle Lester, or as he’s affectionally known, Trapp, is an expert bridge player. He’s also blind. So Alton, his nephew, becomes Trapp’s “cardturner.” Basically, Alton plays the cards, and Trapp tells him what cards to play.

The only reason I got through all the technical jargon and card-game-play-by-play in this book was that I have a secret history that I’ve never told anyone, at least not lately and not on this blog. Nope, I’ve never played bridge. However, back in the day, when I was in college, I used to hang out at the Baptist Student Union. And at the BSU there were almost always two games going: a game of spades and a game of 42. Spades is a card game, and 42 is sort of like spades, but with dominoes. well, it turns out that Spades is a much-simplified version of bridge. According to Wikipedia, “Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh, Hell.” I played a lot of spades and 42 in between classes, while skipping classes, and before and after classes. So, since I used to know how to play both spades and 42 about thirty years ago, I could sorta, kinda, follow the very long, involved, complicated explanations about specific hands of bridge and how they were played, won, and lost.

And I thought the whole book was fascinating. I’m funny like that. I like being introduced to worlds I never knew existed. I’ve heard of bridge, but I thought it was just something blue-haired little old ladies and retired army colonels played in Agatha Christie murder mysteries. I had no idea there were bridge clubs, and national championships, and master points to be gained, and mastery levels to be attained. Did you know that you can become a Grand Life Master bridge player if you rack up enough points? And did you know that people who play competitive duplicate bridge scorn the casual living room players who discuss other things while playing bridge? If you’re going to play bridge with the big boys (and women) apparently you have to behave and concentrate on the game. Did you know that the sides of the table in bridge are named for the cardinal directions: East, West, North and South?

Louis Sachar is the author of the Newbery Award-winning book, Holes, which means he’s got a good readable style and kind of quirky characters. But don’t expect a story like Holes if you decide to give The Cardturner a try. As I said, I liked The Cardturner a lot, but I can see that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. There’s a plot, about Alton and the uncle developing a relationship and bonding over bridge, and there’s a theme, about life being a lot like bridge and about synchronicity. But this book really is about the bridge. It was worth all the bridge (I admit to skimming through some of the play by play) to get to chapter 76 (short chapters) which encapsulates the moral of the story. I was going to quote it, but I think I’ll let you work a little to get there. And I’m not sure how meaningful the lesson would be in isolation anyway. Suffice it to say by the end of the book I think Alton’s on to something in relation to faith, coincidence, synchronicity, and the meaning of life.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar has been nominated for a Cybil Award in the 2010 Young Adult Fiction category.

Other reviews:
Presenting Lenore: “After reading this novel, I’m convinced Sachar can make any subject fascinating. I went in knowing next to nothing about bridge, and I put the novel down at the end not only with a rudimentary understanding of the game, but a healthy appreciation for it.”

Melissa at Book Nut: “It works, primarily, because of the narration. For starters, because Alton’s about as clueless at bridge as we are (I’m assuming you’re as clueless as I am), it helps that he stops and explains it as we go. Amazingly, it doesn’t halt the plot, but it’s woven into it almost pretty seamlessly.”

TheHappyNappyBookseller: “By the time the game of bridge was introduced, Sachar already had me with Alton. His parents were very interesting, at times inappropriate and always funny. Alton’s, 11 yr old sister, Leslie was smart, sweet and a natural at bridge. I really liked the brother sister dynamic in this story.”

So you see, even if you don’t think you’d like to read a book that’s mostly about bridge, a game that’s mostly played by old people and people in books, you might want to give The Cardturner a try. Oh, the subtitle is pretty good, too: A Novel About a King, a Queen, and a Joker.