The Cardturner

I love Sachar’s books. This one is good but heavy on bridge play. I like bridge , too so that was great for me.

Louis Sachar is quite simply a genius. I remember reading the Wayside School series when I was a child, and now I use them for my youngest students. Over two decades later, they are still funny! And who can forget Holes? Stanley Yelnats was a hero to so many of us. So it only seemed appropriate for The Cardturner to be just as amazing. If you agree, I promise you won't be sorry!Alton has a rich uncle. Uncle Lester Trapp. Alton's family have been trying to ingratiate themselves to Trapp for years, but he ignores all their pleas for visits and dinners. Instead he spends all his time with his ex-wife's "crazy" niece Sophie and her daughter Toni (well, Alton's parents swear they are crazy, but he isn't completely convinced). When Trapp starts to get sicker from his diabetes, Alton's parents actually seem anxious for him to die in hopes of inheriting all his wealth. When Trapp needs a "cardturner" for his bridge games because his diabetes left him blind, they are quick to volunteer Alton.Alton doesn't mind spending time with Trapp. In fact, he grows to really love the cantankerous old bird. He even starts to understand bridge, which seemed impossible at first. The more time he spends with Trapp, the more he learns his mother's information about Sophie, Toni and Annabelle (Sophie's mother) is just plain wrong (and quite frankly, mean spirited). His mother never knew the real story behind the King women, or perhaps she wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss them as gold diggers. In fact, Alton has really gotten to like Toni.When Trapp passes away suddenly before the national bridge championship, Alton and Toni feel they have to go anyway- as Trapp and Annabelle. Since Trapp and Annabelle were partners and cared very deeply for one another, it only seems right that Alton and Toni would enter the contest as Trapp and Annabelle. They sneak off to Chicago and take on some of the best bridge players in the world. But it seems Trapp and Annabelle are with them more than just in memory- they seem to be playing through Alton and Toni, taking one last shot at the championship like they couldn't so many years ago.This was such an interesting story. I will admit, my family are gin and rummy players, so bridge is totally lost on me, as I imagine it would be on most young kids and adults as well. But the cool thing Sachar does is explain the rules as though Alton were explaining them- as simple as such a complicated game could be. It made me actually want to start playing bridge! I think the challenge of figuring the game out with these simple and exciting lessons straight from Alton would interest those students who love a puzzle or are good at math. The game is all about strategy and thinking multiple steps ahead of the hand you are on, so it would definitely keep that kind of student a puzzle to crack!This is a perfect book for any middle school through high school student. As I said, it would be great for that kid who likes to solve puzzles and figure things out. The characters are typical Sachar characters- unpredictable, deep, and lovable. The story about Alton really caring for Trapp and learning about his parents' faults is a difficult lesson for him to learn, but it is handled well. I can't explain how much I loved this book, and I am sure you will too!

I’m a senior bridge player and book lover. Even though this book was designed for young adults I really enjoyed it. The humorous notes and the self deprecating thoughts of Alton added just the right touch, and the observations about the habits of bridge players were also entertaining. Recommended

**Warning: spoilers**Alton is a teenager who is living a difficult life. His parents don't trust him, even though he doesn't do anything wrong. His girlfriend ditched him for Cliff, his so-called best friend. And he also has no job-- so his parents make him call his uncle Lester Trapp, who they only like because of his money. He has to drive his blind uncle to bridge club four times a week. This book was written in first person perspective and it felt like a casual conversation, which I liked. It's not a challenging read, but it is full of "bridge gibberish". Although it isn't part of a series, I wish it was, so I could find out how Alton's bridge career turns out!I learned a lot about the game of bridge, and even some about philosophical change. It was cool how the character Alton learned bridge, just like the reader did. I liked this book because it was filled with funny and weird scenes, like going to a national bridge tournament without getting parent permission. My favorite part was how at the tournament, no one recognized the names on the leadership board. However, it was very unexpected when Trapp died suddenly partway through the book, and Alton's greedy parents still keep trying to get his money (it didn't work). Also, it was hard to believe that Trapp could memorize all those different hands of cards!This book would be good for 8th graders and up, due to some swear words and mature content. Don't be afraid to read it even if you don't like bridge, or are a new learner-- but if you're a novice and want to learn more, this can be a good book for you.

Without giving any spoilers... Ia story that takes you on journey of a young man spending time with his ailing (and rich) and recently blinded uncle turning and reading cards for him playing the game of Bridge.The journey goes through several twists and turns and I really wanted to keep reading.I really enjoyed the authors comments at the end of the book on writing and getting the story published too.

A rich, mysterious, cantankerous uncle. A hint about cards. Was I the only reader who, forgetting the blurb on Amazon, briefly thought I was about to read a book about a magician (stage or otherwise)?But nope, this is a book about the card game Bridge. It also has a story - a very neat and nice story about a teenager and the uncle he is meant to endear himself to for the inheritance. But primarily, this is a book trying to get young people interested in the idea of Bridge.Well, I thought a lot of the Bridge stuff went way above my head. It's a bit like the latter chapters of Cory Doctorow's  Little Brother  in that regard: you sort of feel you've been learning and understanding a lot, some of it quite complicated to envision in your head, and then it just breaks through the threshold of "I can follow this" and into the territory of "I'm a bit lost, but carried along by the story".There are various questions that formed in my mind (how much dialogue can there really be, in the bidding process - it only goes through two or three iterations in all the examples in this novel, so hardly enough to make meaningful communication possible! And how can it be rewarding to play a turn based strategic battle game that can only last through 13 turns? Etc.) - but there is enough excitement in the story, and a sense of the panache involved in some of the Bridge manoeuvres, that I really enjoyed the novel.OK, so like  Holes (the other Louis Sachar novel I've read), there seems to be a bit too much affection for neatness. Holes had various back stories that all tidy up nicely in a way that makes the novel feel like destiny. The cardturner allows itself a rather large dollop of creative freedom in its interpretation of schizophrenia / ghosts...But it's a beautiful novel, nonetheless. It's for young people, but I loved reading it, even if I felt that the story was a little too neat and cute for its own good. (That said, there were some jolts that I felt quite acutely as a reader, moments when the story had big impact in not entirely the expected way).One flaw were the asides to the reader - each time the author writes something like "if I were a better writer, I'd have..." or otherwise acknowledges the writer / reader interface, I feel a little annoyed.Still, I'd recommend this book. It's a cracking read. Little BrotherHoles

Louis Sachar surprises the reader with every book. This one gives a fascinating glimpse into playing bridge but as usual the Sachar humour is there. The boy is encouraged by his parents to be polite to his wealthy uncle - 'tell him he is your favourite uncle' but the uncle shows absolutely no interest in his nephew until he needs a 'cardturner' to enable him to play bridge after he loses his sight. Louis Sachar offers the reader the chance to actually understand the rules of bridge or alternatively he allows you to skip over the technical bits with a warning symbol. The boy gradually learns to love and respect his uncle's skill in bridge and secretly masters the rules with the help of his little sister and we experience him growing up and escaping from his lonely life with rather obtuse and insensitive parents. His uncle never shows him any affection and only needs him to pursue his bridge career, but this is not quite the whole story. Towards the end of the novel there is a long quote from John Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row' and I went straight to the library to borrow a copy of that book and in a way that quote sums up the essence of Sachar's message in The Cardturner.

This book seems like another classic by louis sacher but what it dosent say on the blurb is that if you havent heard of brige than this book is pretty much a different languge . Half of the book is Alton and Trapps gameplay and (no offence) it makes no sense to me whatsoever. Unless you are an avid bridge player or someone looking for a cheap book on the basics of bridge or someone looking for a story inbetween all the bridge chit-chat i wouldnt recommend it. I feel that too much the story drifts away from the point and goes on about bridge all over again. I know its a book about bridge but in my opinion not the best written by louis sacher

Looking for a book as a gift I picked up the Cardturner and read it in one sitting. I really liked it. Unusual, both unexpected and attractive which may seem an odd word for a book. Even knowing nothing about bridge I was on the edge of my seat. I also read there is a boy in the girls' bathroom which was oddly satisfying - love Louis Sachar's originality!Obviously I had to buy the cardturner a second time for the gift...