The Cardturner

Description

When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise!

Promotion info

A truly original romance, coming of age and mystery novel by the bestselling, award-winning author Louis Sachar Louis Sachar's first new novel since Small Steps will delight all his fans and introduce a different readership to his wonderful books

Reviews

'Louis Sachar is one of the few masters of American fiction' Independent on Sunday

'This is Sachar, owner of the most distinctive, clever, funny, philosophical voice in children's fiction ... a whale symbol on the page warns of forthcoming bridge analysis, which the readers can skip if they want. But they probably won't. Because this is Sachar' The Telegraph

'In Alton Richards, Sachar has created a credible and funny teenage lead ... The human drama is gripping' Financial Times

'The genius of Sachar's prose is that it's so plain and unshowy you don't notice the daredevil artistry of his storytelling until it's too late. You don't know you've been cut in half until you try to walk away ... As Uncle Lester might say, nicely played, Louis' Frank Cottrell Boyce, Guardian

Author description

Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, where he writes his novels and plays quite a lot of bridge. His novel Holes has sold over 1.5 million copies in the Bloomsbury edition alone and Louis is the recipient of many of the world's most well-regarded book prizes, including the National Book Award and the Newbery Award. Holes was the first Liverpool City Read title and won the Sheffield Book Award in the UK.