A review by tomhill
The Hustler by Walter Tevis

4.0

Between The Hustler and The Queen's Gambit, I'm beginning to understand Tevis as a writer interested in obsession, particularly obsession when it comes to extremely talented people who excel at a very specific activity. In this case, pool, in the other, chess. And like in Queen's Gambit, Tevis is really successful at building tension and immersing the reader in a very specific world. I know even less about shooting pool than I do about playing chess, but I was once again enthralled. Just as Beth was committed to becoming the world's best chess player, Eddie is on a mission to become the world's best pool hustler. And he's not always a great guy, but a lot of that has to do I think with his inability to put energy towards anything besides hustling pool. It's really all you know about his character, but it's also all you need to know to be invested.