The Hustler (novel)

First edition (Publ. Harpers)

The Hustler is a 1959 novel by American writer Walter Tevis. It tells the story of a young pool hustler, Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges the legendary Minnesota Fats (a fictional character, not to be confused with Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, who later adopted the nickname as his own).^[1]

The Hustler was adapted into a 1961 film of the same title, starring Paul Newman as Fast Eddie. The film was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. It remains widely regarded as a classic.

Plot summary

After losing to Fats, Eddie could spiral down to the scrapheap, but he meets Bert Gordon, a stakehorse. Bert teaches him about winning, or more particularly about losing. Tautly written, it is a treatise on how someone, with all of the skills, can lose if he "wants" to lose; how a loser is beaten by himself, not by his opponent; and how he can learn to win, if he can look deeply enough into himself.

The book was followed by the sequel The Color of Money.

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Printing history

Available editions include:

• 1976: ISBN 0-380-00860-2
• 1979: ISBN 1-56849-044-5
• 2006: ISBN 1-56025-473-4

References