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Eddie Felson #2
The Color of Money
"Tevis in unequaled when it comes to creating and sustaining the tension of a high stakes game. Even readers who have never lifted a cue will be captivated." -- Publishers Weekly
Twenty years after he conquered the underground pool circuit as The Hustler, "Fast" Eddie Felson is playing exhibition matches with former rival Minnesota Fats in shopping malls for prizes like cable television.With one failed marriage and years of running a pool hall behind him, Eddie is now ready to regain the skills needed to compete in a world of pool that has changed dramatically since he left. The real challenge comes when Eddie realizes that in order to compete with a new wave of young players, he must hone his skills in the unfamiliar game of nine-ball as opposed to the straight pool that had once won him fame. With a new generation of competitors, a higher-profile series of matches, and a waning confidence in his own abilities, "Fast" Eddie faces new challenges with unpredictable outcomes. The Color of Money is the source of the 1986 film starring Paul Newman in the role he had originated in The Hustler.
Twenty years after he conquered the underground pool circuit as The Hustler, "Fast" Eddie Felson is playing exhibition matches with former rival Minnesota Fats in shopping malls for prizes like cable television.With one failed marriage and years of running a pool hall behind him, Eddie is now ready to regain the skills needed to compete in a world of pool that has changed dramatically since he left. The real challenge comes when Eddie realizes that in order to compete with a new wave of young players, he must hone his skills in the unfamiliar game of nine-ball as opposed to the straight pool that had once won him fame. With a new generation of competitors, a higher-profile series of matches, and a waning confidence in his own abilities, "Fast" Eddie faces new challenges with unpredictable outcomes. The Color of Money is the source of the 1986 film starring Paul Newman in the role he had originated in The Hustler.
301 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
Walter Tevis
46 books1,145 followersWalter Stone Tevis was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Man Who Fell to Earth. The Queen's Gambit has also been adapted in 2020 into a 7-episode mini-series. His books have been translated into at least 18 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
April 24, 2021
5 Stars for The Color of Money: Eddie Felson, Book 2 (audiobook) by Walter Tevis read by Michael Butler Murray.
This book really seems like the second book in a trilogy to me. It takes place in a interesting part of the character’s life where he makes a comeback and regains his greatness. And then the movie ends the trilogy where he passes the torch to the next generation.
Walter Tevis is an amazing storyteller. I love how he can put novice readers into the worlds of pool and chess at the highest levels and the stories are still understandable and enjoyable.
Now I need to rewatch the movie.
This book really seems like the second book in a trilogy to me. It takes place in a interesting part of the character’s life where he makes a comeback and regains his greatness. And then the movie ends the trilogy where he passes the torch to the next generation.
Walter Tevis is an amazing storyteller. I love how he can put novice readers into the worlds of pool and chess at the highest levels and the stories are still understandable and enjoyable.
Now I need to rewatch the movie.
January 30, 2023
Rating: 4.55
For those who have seen the Paul Newman, Tom Cruz film, it has absolutely NOTHING in common with the book.
Character driven, this is the story of Fast Eddie Felson who gained notoriety in the previous story titled "The Hustler". For those familiar it takes place in the 1950's and pits Eddie, an arrogant young pool hustler against and older, wiser icon, Minnesota Fats. Eddie learns that humility is more valuable than talent.
Now we're 30 years later, and we learn Eddie's marriage fell apart along with the pool hall he was running. Soon after a small network offers him an opportunity for a broadcast pool tour if he can convince Fats, who's actual name is George Hegerman. Eddie visits in him FL and negotiates and as always, Fats gets the better of him. They play a number of games but Fats grows bored. In need of money, Eddie reverts to what he knows best, but he's not what he used to be.
He meets Arabella, a lovely Brit widower who'd been through two disastrous marriages. A writer and art appreciator she opens up worlds Eddie never knew and they soon become lovers. Her recently deceased ex was a college professor. Eddie accompanies her to a university function and is introduced to an administrator who eventually offers Eddie an opportunity.
I'm not a fan of spoilers nor detailing plot points, character changes or outcomes. Unlike the film, the Tom Cruz character is absent; the only element from the film is competitive pool tournaments of which most are focused on nine ball. The story educates us about the game, stakes and mindsets and driven by themes of maturing, coping and redemption. This being the fourth book by this author, I found it to be more engaging and paced to perfection. Whether you're familiar with The Hustler or not, the twists and turns of the plot and how a pool player makes the best of things make it well worth the time.
For those who have seen the Paul Newman, Tom Cruz film, it has absolutely NOTHING in common with the book.
Character driven, this is the story of Fast Eddie Felson who gained notoriety in the previous story titled "The Hustler". For those familiar it takes place in the 1950's and pits Eddie, an arrogant young pool hustler against and older, wiser icon, Minnesota Fats. Eddie learns that humility is more valuable than talent.
Now we're 30 years later, and we learn Eddie's marriage fell apart along with the pool hall he was running. Soon after a small network offers him an opportunity for a broadcast pool tour if he can convince Fats, who's actual name is George Hegerman. Eddie visits in him FL and negotiates and as always, Fats gets the better of him. They play a number of games but Fats grows bored. In need of money, Eddie reverts to what he knows best, but he's not what he used to be.
He meets Arabella, a lovely Brit widower who'd been through two disastrous marriages. A writer and art appreciator she opens up worlds Eddie never knew and they soon become lovers. Her recently deceased ex was a college professor. Eddie accompanies her to a university function and is introduced to an administrator who eventually offers Eddie an opportunity.
I'm not a fan of spoilers nor detailing plot points, character changes or outcomes. Unlike the film, the Tom Cruz character is absent; the only element from the film is competitive pool tournaments of which most are focused on nine ball. The story educates us about the game, stakes and mindsets and driven by themes of maturing, coping and redemption. This being the fourth book by this author, I found it to be more engaging and paced to perfection. Whether you're familiar with The Hustler or not, the twists and turns of the plot and how a pool player makes the best of things make it well worth the time.
September 2, 2019
Like The Hustler, I never saw the movie of The Color of Money but I knew it was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Tom Cruise along with Paul Newman, reprising his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson. So I looked it up on IMDB after reading this book thinking Cruise’s character was Babes Cooley, the cocky young upstart who’s Eddie’s nemesis in this book and… nope! He plays someone called “Vincent Lauria”, a character who’s not in the book at all, while Babes, and other key characters like Fats Minnesota and Arabella, are all seemingly absent and the plot is about Eddie training Vincent up as his protege. So basically: the book and the movie share a title and a main character and nothing else!
I can see why Scorsese changed things up though (and maybe the movie is good given the talent involved - I might watch it one day) as Walter Tevis’ only sequel and final book is unfortunately not great.
It starts slow with Eddie, twenty years after The Hustler, heading down to Florida to talk the retired Fats Minnesota into playing exhibition pool with him for a TV show. Eddie’s not that great as he’s basically been managing a pool hall for the last two decades and not really playing much - hmm, not exactly gripping. And that lasts for over 100 pages!
There’s a lot of meandering without any real direction. Eddie gets back into serious pool training, he meets and falls in love with an English wannabe actress, Arabella, (unsurprisingly his previous marriages didn’t last) and gets into collecting and selling folk art?! That folk art crap was so tedious and utterly pointless - the literary version of Pawn Stars years before that shite appeared on TV. Eventually he winds up at the Lake Tahoe tournament to face Babes Cooley and prove that he’s still got it at 50 over all the young up-and-comers.
The Color of Money is definitely not as exciting or snappy as The Hustler. There’s a lot of material here that could’ve been cut and not affected the story whatsoever. Part of me wonders if Tevis was writing about himself through Eddie, which in part drove him to write this book: “I’ve been in a goddamned fog for twenty years” (p.95) and “You sat on your talent for twenty years” (p.141) as references to the nearly twenty years Tevis didn’t publish anything due to his alcoholism.
Still, the writing is very strong, as always with Tevis, and the scenes where Eddie starts getting back into it, travelling to these backwater towns to hustle pool, were entertaining. Like Eddie, once Tevis finds focus, he is an enthralling storyteller. And it was a cute touch towards the end that Eddie winds up the victim of a hustle. It’s just a shame that the pacing is so leisurely - perhaps to reflect Eddie’s character who’s no longer the hungry young man he was - as the ambling storyline had me easily putting the book down frequently whereas The Hustler had me gripped almost the whole time.
This isn’t a reflection of Tevis but the edition of this book I read - the W&N Modern Classics paperback - is so riddled with typos, it’s unbelievable. It’s so unprofessionally edited, I felt embarrassed for this publisher - sort it out, W&N!
It’s definitely not as fast-paced or as inspired as The Hustler but I still enjoyed parts of The Color of Money. It’s not among Walter Tevis’ best books and I wouldn’t even say it’s worth reading to find out what happened next to these characters (the answer: not much!) if you liked The Hustler - definitely a dedicated-fans-of-the-author-only novel.
I can see why Scorsese changed things up though (and maybe the movie is good given the talent involved - I might watch it one day) as Walter Tevis’ only sequel and final book is unfortunately not great.
It starts slow with Eddie, twenty years after The Hustler, heading down to Florida to talk the retired Fats Minnesota into playing exhibition pool with him for a TV show. Eddie’s not that great as he’s basically been managing a pool hall for the last two decades and not really playing much - hmm, not exactly gripping. And that lasts for over 100 pages!
There’s a lot of meandering without any real direction. Eddie gets back into serious pool training, he meets and falls in love with an English wannabe actress, Arabella, (unsurprisingly his previous marriages didn’t last) and gets into collecting and selling folk art?! That folk art crap was so tedious and utterly pointless - the literary version of Pawn Stars years before that shite appeared on TV. Eventually he winds up at the Lake Tahoe tournament to face Babes Cooley and prove that he’s still got it at 50 over all the young up-and-comers.
The Color of Money is definitely not as exciting or snappy as The Hustler. There’s a lot of material here that could’ve been cut and not affected the story whatsoever. Part of me wonders if Tevis was writing about himself through Eddie, which in part drove him to write this book: “I’ve been in a goddamned fog for twenty years” (p.95) and “You sat on your talent for twenty years” (p.141) as references to the nearly twenty years Tevis didn’t publish anything due to his alcoholism.
Still, the writing is very strong, as always with Tevis, and the scenes where Eddie starts getting back into it, travelling to these backwater towns to hustle pool, were entertaining. Like Eddie, once Tevis finds focus, he is an enthralling storyteller. And it was a cute touch towards the end that Eddie winds up the victim of a hustle. It’s just a shame that the pacing is so leisurely - perhaps to reflect Eddie’s character who’s no longer the hungry young man he was - as the ambling storyline had me easily putting the book down frequently whereas The Hustler had me gripped almost the whole time.
This isn’t a reflection of Tevis but the edition of this book I read - the W&N Modern Classics paperback - is so riddled with typos, it’s unbelievable. It’s so unprofessionally edited, I felt embarrassed for this publisher - sort it out, W&N!
It’s definitely not as fast-paced or as inspired as The Hustler but I still enjoyed parts of The Color of Money. It’s not among Walter Tevis’ best books and I wouldn’t even say it’s worth reading to find out what happened next to these characters (the answer: not much!) if you liked The Hustler - definitely a dedicated-fans-of-the-author-only novel.
February 22, 2021
The Color of Money is Walter Tevis’s 1984 sequel to The Hustler, written 25 years earlier, in 1959. Hustler was made into a classic movie featuring Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats and Paul Newman as "Fast" Eddie Felson. The Man Who Fell to Earth was also a hit soon after, with another movie featuring David Bowie. Could he do wrong?! Tevis got a teaching job at Ohio University (also a good thing) but then battled the booze (a hard thing to live and work with) for twenty years, writing nothing.
After twenty years he managed to get his life together and wrote a few books, the last of which, published just after his death from lung cancer, was The Color of Money, the title most people know because of the movie adaptation featuring Newman and Tom Cruise, which bore little resemblance to the book. Richard Price's adaptation went young (Cruise) and lighter than either book.
I wondered what Tevis hoped to accomplish in a sequel to a terrific book. What don't we know about Walter? What new information is available? Most of time, while enjoying Tevis's lean writing, I couldn't see why he needed to write it. Fast Eddie has slowed down, now Slow Eddie, married, owning a pool hall, then gets divorced and gets an offer to do some exhibition pool events in shopping malls with Minnesota Fats, who is doing poorly but has seemingly not lost a step with his cue. Still, eh. How the mighty have fallen to mall culture!
Eddie finds a woman somewhat like Sarah from the Hustler, who was a graduate student, literary critic, slumming with the high school drop-out pool shark; fast forward twenty years and here is (similar) art critic and dealer Arabella Weems (British, with requisite "classy" British accent, natch). Both women have "culture" and "class" the world may not associate pool with High Art in any way. So Arabella and Eddie explore the buying and selling of folk art. Money is important to Eddie, as in the first book, but again, eh, this is not what he really wants to do. So what's new or interesting!? I think it's this:
"He had lived a life without drama for twenty years, remembering from time to time the games of straight pool he had played as a young hustler."
I think The Color of Money is a pretty autobiographical novel, Tevis like Fast Eddie returning to the exciting life and work and passion of a quarter of century ago, and sure enough, Eddie finds some success on the nine ball tournament circuit as Tevis does again with writing (Mockingbird, Queen's Gambit, this book). So the book is about aging--he's tired, sore, he needs glasses--and seeing if one who is getting older can recover the old skills, and sure enough both of them do it! It's not nearly the book that The Hustler, or even The Queen's Gambit, is, but when we are on the table with him, following the game, it is terrific.
Tevis died just before the book came out, but it is an emblem of author and main character as Lazarus, rising from the ashes of a former life. I did like it; it's worth reading if you liked The Hustler and Eddie and Tevis, which I do.
After twenty years he managed to get his life together and wrote a few books, the last of which, published just after his death from lung cancer, was The Color of Money, the title most people know because of the movie adaptation featuring Newman and Tom Cruise, which bore little resemblance to the book. Richard Price's adaptation went young (Cruise) and lighter than either book.
I wondered what Tevis hoped to accomplish in a sequel to a terrific book. What don't we know about Walter? What new information is available? Most of time, while enjoying Tevis's lean writing, I couldn't see why he needed to write it. Fast Eddie has slowed down, now Slow Eddie, married, owning a pool hall, then gets divorced and gets an offer to do some exhibition pool events in shopping malls with Minnesota Fats, who is doing poorly but has seemingly not lost a step with his cue. Still, eh. How the mighty have fallen to mall culture!
Eddie finds a woman somewhat like Sarah from the Hustler, who was a graduate student, literary critic, slumming with the high school drop-out pool shark; fast forward twenty years and here is (similar) art critic and dealer Arabella Weems (British, with requisite "classy" British accent, natch). Both women have "culture" and "class" the world may not associate pool with High Art in any way. So Arabella and Eddie explore the buying and selling of folk art. Money is important to Eddie, as in the first book, but again, eh, this is not what he really wants to do. So what's new or interesting!? I think it's this:
"He had lived a life without drama for twenty years, remembering from time to time the games of straight pool he had played as a young hustler."
I think The Color of Money is a pretty autobiographical novel, Tevis like Fast Eddie returning to the exciting life and work and passion of a quarter of century ago, and sure enough, Eddie finds some success on the nine ball tournament circuit as Tevis does again with writing (Mockingbird, Queen's Gambit, this book). So the book is about aging--he's tired, sore, he needs glasses--and seeing if one who is getting older can recover the old skills, and sure enough both of them do it! It's not nearly the book that The Hustler, or even The Queen's Gambit, is, but when we are on the table with him, following the game, it is terrific.
Tevis died just before the book came out, but it is an emblem of author and main character as Lazarus, rising from the ashes of a former life. I did like it; it's worth reading if you liked The Hustler and Eddie and Tevis, which I do.
April 1, 2015
I was aware that this book followed The Hustler, but since I was holding it in my hand at the Attic , used book store, I thought I would read it first anyway. I had seen the movies based on both books and The Color... Seemed kind of off-base, not really about Fast Eddy, more about Tom Cruise. I was right, the book really tells Eddy's story twenty years after the tale told in The Hustler, which I am now reading and loving. Tevis' prose is spare and exact. His description of the pool games are visual and exciting.
I Highly reccomend this book and would say you should read the Hustler first but they read very well in reverse order as well!
I Highly reccomend this book and would say you should read the Hustler first but they read very well in reverse order as well!
April 11, 2011
I read a Gene Wolfe quote in which he stated that his intentions were to create works that needed to be revisited multiple times to fully understand, that this was necessary for all great fiction. Each of the Tevis novels I have read contain some of the simplest and clearest prose I have ever come across. Even while describing intricate actions on the pool table (or the chess board in "Queens Gambit") there is no obfuscation. All is understood.
Not to crap on Wolfe (I do mightily enjoy some of his works), but I am already dying to re-read this book, while I could go a couple more years before re-visiting "The Book of the New Sun."
Not to crap on Wolfe (I do mightily enjoy some of his works), but I am already dying to re-read this book, while I could go a couple more years before re-visiting "The Book of the New Sun."
December 18, 2010
It is always interesting to read a book that has since become a movie. That said, "The Color of Money" has always been one of my all-time favorite films. Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in what was (deservingly but incredibly) his only Best Actor Oscar win and Tom Cruise dancing to "Werewolves of London" makes for great entertainment.
The reason I read - especially these days - is for inspiration, for motivation and to feel kinship with the characters.
Fast Eddie, now 50 years old and 20+ years after the events of "The Hustler", finds himself in a trance, walking through a meaningless life. He looks up, has little left and certainly has paid little respect to his own talents. Pool - absolutely - is a talent, but his lie more deeply: understanding people, winning money and aging well.
The book is nothing like the movie; Minnesota Fats plays prominently in Felson's decision to re-focus on his pool greatness. The people are different but the theme is the same: at any age, at any time, we can be presented opportunities to shine. We have to seize every one of them, lest we will one day look back and regret not doing so. But, by then, it is too late.
"The Color of Money" is a tremendous book with a great story; Walter Tevis's incredible descriptions and detail make you feel like you are watching a whole another movie. You see the pool table, you can hear the chants and the nine balls landing in their pockets and you feel yourself rooting for Fast Eddie to realize - once again - his gift.
The protagonist distanced himself from pool over the years, but it was always there. And when he reclaimed it, the result was enthralling for all 294 pages.
On the snap!
The reason I read - especially these days - is for inspiration, for motivation and to feel kinship with the characters.
Fast Eddie, now 50 years old and 20+ years after the events of "The Hustler", finds himself in a trance, walking through a meaningless life. He looks up, has little left and certainly has paid little respect to his own talents. Pool - absolutely - is a talent, but his lie more deeply: understanding people, winning money and aging well.
The book is nothing like the movie; Minnesota Fats plays prominently in Felson's decision to re-focus on his pool greatness. The people are different but the theme is the same: at any age, at any time, we can be presented opportunities to shine. We have to seize every one of them, lest we will one day look back and regret not doing so. But, by then, it is too late.
"The Color of Money" is a tremendous book with a great story; Walter Tevis's incredible descriptions and detail make you feel like you are watching a whole another movie. You see the pool table, you can hear the chants and the nine balls landing in their pockets and you feel yourself rooting for Fast Eddie to realize - once again - his gift.
The protagonist distanced himself from pool over the years, but it was always there. And when he reclaimed it, the result was enthralling for all 294 pages.
On the snap!
September 14, 2023
Tre stelle e mezza
March 27, 2018
Within a year he'd be dead.
He taught writing at Ohio University for a while, drank and smoked and didn't write a word for fifteen years. He'd been a phenom, publishing The Hustler when he was 31 and working for the Kentucky Highway Department, The Man Who Fell to Earth four years after that, but got comfortable and lazy and forgot what he was for.
He tore himself away from academic life, put himself into a New York apartment, and wrote Mockingbird in 1980, The Queen's Gambit in 1983, and this book, The Color of Money in his final year, 1984, which feels to me like the most autobiographical fiction ever written.
This book, about Eddie Felson rediscovering who he is, is also about Walter Tevis rediscovering himself as well. He had lived a life without drama for twenty years, but shook himself loose for four final years of brilliant return to his storytelling core, for which we can all be grateful. It's a message to us all: do the thing you're made to do. Here, at length, is Tevis' anthem to honest work in a dishonest world:
The excellence had to be delivered. It could not be faked. And for those first few years, and then again for the final few, Walter Tevis—fully, vividly alive—delivered it.
He taught writing at Ohio University for a while, drank and smoked and didn't write a word for fifteen years. He'd been a phenom, publishing The Hustler when he was 31 and working for the Kentucky Highway Department, The Man Who Fell to Earth four years after that, but got comfortable and lazy and forgot what he was for.
He tore himself away from academic life, put himself into a New York apartment, and wrote Mockingbird in 1980, The Queen's Gambit in 1983, and this book, The Color of Money in his final year, 1984, which feels to me like the most autobiographical fiction ever written.
He had lived a life without drama for twenty years, remembering from time to time the games of straight pool he had played as a young hustler...[41]
This book, about Eddie Felson rediscovering who he is, is also about Walter Tevis rediscovering himself as well. He had lived a life without drama for twenty years, but shook himself loose for four final years of brilliant return to his storytelling core, for which we can all be grateful. It's a message to us all: do the thing you're made to do. Here, at length, is Tevis' anthem to honest work in a dishonest world:
People thought that pool hustling was corrupt and sleazy, worse than boxing. But to win at pool, to be a professional at it, you had to deliver. In a business you could pretend that skill and determination had brought you along when it had only been luck and muddle; a pool hustler did not have the freedom to believe that. There were well-paid incompetents everywhere living rich lives. They arrogated to themselves the plush hotel sites and Lear jets and American provided for the guileful and lucky far more than it did for the wise. You could fake and bluff and luck your way into all of it... The world and all its enterprises could slide downhill through stupidity and bad faith, but the long gray limousines would still hum through the streets of New York, of Paris, of Moscow, of Tokyo, though the men who sat against the soft leather in back with their glasses of twelve-year-old Scotch might be incapable of anything more than looking important, of wearing the clothes and the haircuts and the gestures that the world, whether it liked to or not, paid for and always had paid for. Eddie would lie in bed sometimes at night and think these things in anger, knowing that beneath the anger envy lay like a swamp. A pool hustler had to do what he claimed to be able to do. The risks he took were not underwritten. His skill on the arena of green cloth—cloth that was itself the color of money—could never be only pretense. Pool players were often cheats and liars, petty men whose lives were filled with pretensions, who ran out on their women and walked away from their debts; but on the table, with the lights overhead beneath the cigarette smoke and the silent crowd around them in whatever dive of a billiard parlor at four in the morning, they had to find the wherewithal inside themselves to do more than promise excellence. Under whatever lies might fill the life, the excellence had to be there. It had to be delivered. It could not be faked. But Eddie did not make his living that way anymore. [186-88]
The excellence had to be delivered. It could not be faked. And for those first few years, and then again for the final few, Walter Tevis—fully, vividly alive—delivered it.
January 11, 2022
Unlike the other Tevis novels (only 1 more to go!) this one took a little while to grab me.
I was about 1/3 in before I fell into the rhythm of the story.
Enjoyed it.
I was about 1/3 in before I fell into the rhythm of the story.
Enjoyed it.
August 22, 2023
While the main character is more likeable in this book over the previous one, this one felt as though a lot of the sub-plots had little to no impact on the overall story. That, with the feeling that the big change for the main character at the end was rushed and not earnt meant this one didn't hit anywhere near the previous one.
May 25, 2023
Reading a Walter Tevis novel is like reading different versions of my past life.
He wrote The Hustler (1959)
'Fast' Eddie Felson is the best pool hustler you ever saw. And he'd be somebody in the world. If it weren’t for the fact that he's a born loser.
"You lost your head and grabbed the easy way out. I bet you had fun, losing your head. It's always nice to feel the risks fall off your back. And winning: that can be heavy on your back too, like a monkey. You drop that load too when you find an excuse. Then, afterward, all you got to do is learn to feel sorry for yourself - and lots of people learn to get their kicks that way. It's one of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry. A sport enjoyed by all. Especially the born losers."
- Bert Gordon
He wrote The Queen's Gambit (1983)
Through sheer passion, focus, and love for the game, Beth Harmon overcomes her childhood trauma, addiction, and the male dominated establishment of Chess.
"It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it; I can dominate it. And it's predictable. So, if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.”
- Beth Harmon
“She did not open her eyes even to see the time remaining on her clock or to look across the table at Borgov or to see the enormous crowd who had come to this auditorium to watch her play. She let all of that go from her mind and allowed herself only the chessboard of her imagination with its intricate deadlock. It did not really matter who was playing the black pieces or whether the material board sat in Moscow or New York or in the basement of an orphanage; this eidetic image was her proper domain.”
- Beth Harmon
And in his final novel - The Color of Money (1985) - we once again meet up with Eddie Felson.
He's 50 years old. And after a life spent on the sidelines, he wants to make a comeback to professional pool. Against an America of the 1980s, where games like Chess and Pool are no longer valued. Against regrets and aging and the quiet desperation that comes when there may not be much time left.
‘Eddie, I wish I had a talent like you have. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working in an office doing what some man tells me to do.’
‘I’ll teach you how to play nine ball.’
‘It isn’t funny Eddie. If I could shoot pool like you, I’d be rich.’
‘Buy yourself a cue stick.’
‘I mean it, Eddie. You sat on your talent for 20 years.’
‘I’m not sitting on it now.’
- Arabella & Eddie Felson
When Walter was 9 years old he suffered from a rheumatic heart condition. His family had lost all their money in the great depression, and moved from California to Kentucky without him. For a year, he was left alone to convalesce in the hospital.
“I was…given heavy drug doses in a hospital. That's where Beth's drug dependency comes from in the novel. Writing about her was purgative.”
- Walter Tevis
In Lexington, Walter befriended Toby Kavanaugh, a fellow high school student at whose mansion he learnt to shoot pool. This was the inspiration behind The Hustler (1959), Walter Tevis’s debut novel. It was adapted into an iconic Paul Newman film.
“This was a genuine man’s pool table that his [Toby's] father had bought from the Lafayette hotel. And Walter hung around Toby’s house a lot. And that’s where he learnt how to shoot pool.”
- Eleanora Walker, Walter Tevis's second wife
Walter Tevis took the rights money and moved his family to Mexico. His intention was to write there unencumbered. However, he spent the better part of 8 months drinking.
He barely finished his second novel, The Man Who Fell To Earth (1963), a story about an alien who comes to Earth to build a spaceship to save the inhabitants of his home planet. However, he finds himself lost in the hedonism now available to him.
“The novel is about falling into alcoholism. It was written in the time this was beginning to happen to me.”
- Walter Tevis
From 1965 until 1978 Walter Tevis taught English Literature and Creative Writing at Ohio University. Interestingly, he was a professor there at the same time as Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers For Algernon (1966). His students said they enjoyed his lectures. But for 10 years, he didn't write anything. Between classes and booze, he didn't have the bandwidth.
"I was a quiet drinker. I never went to a classroom drunk. But I would quietly souse myself almost every night in my armchair at home, then fall in bed and pass out. It was all very quiet and the sort of thing nobody would mention publicly. But it was getting really bad."
- Walter Tevis
The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) got adapted into a successful movie starring David Bowie. Walter Tevis visited the set and something in the conversation between him and Bowie made him want to write again.
He quit his professorship. He enrolled into Alcoholics Anonymous. He ended his 20 year marriage with his first wife (Jamie Griggs Tevis). He fell in love with Eleanora Walker, a woman who worked at his publisher's. And moved to New York with her.
“When I first read his Hustler and The Man Who Fell To Earth I was just bowled over. I fell in love with the way he wrote before I fell in love with Walter as a man.”
- Eleanora Walker
His comeback was Mockingbird (1980), a sci-fi dystopia set in the 25th century. The novel follows a professor who moves from Ohio to New York, where most of the population is pleasurably doped up and cannot read or write.
"It's a novel about sobering up. Everyone is drugged all the time. And the main character stops taking drugs. Learns how to read. And his mind and soul begin to undergo changes because of this breath of wind blowing through his spirit."
- Walter Tevis
Mockingbird (1980) earned an advance of $100,000 and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.
In the following years, Walter Tevis wrote:
Far From Home (1981), a short story collection.
Another sci-fi novel titled The Steps of The Sun (1983)
The Queen's Gambit (1983),
and The Color of Money (1984), which was adapted into a major film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Tom Cruise & Paul Newman.
"Hey, I'm back. *breaks 9 balls*"
- Paul Newman as Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986)
I think the best compliment you can give a writer is that they got better with time. The Color of Money (1984) made me feel just that. It's also why I was heart broken when I turned the last page. Because Walter Tevis died in 1984, shortly after publication. It was lung cancer. He was only 56.
Writing is terrifying and difficult. If it wasn't, proficiency for it would be as widespread as Microsoft Excel. And Walter Tevis wrote terrifyingly about himself.
His characters were loners and losers. His characters found safety from anxiety through substances. His characters fell into dark failures and somehow someway - because of love or grit or just the enraged urge to show they're not done yet - they came back from defeat. And most charmingly, his characters were obsessed with being excellent.
His characters were pieces of himself. And in those pieces, readers found parts to complete themselves.
He wasn't a wordsmith. There's nothing snobbish about Walter's prose. But there was one extraordinary thing he did that's so rare, you'd have to read a thousand masters to find a comparable example.
He made characters that - like diamonds - flashed so many themes, so many human values, and none of it seemed contrived for commentary.
There are writers you read and feel they are mentors. Others feel like airhead friends or strangers.
To me, Walter Tevis is a person I wish I could sit down with. Have a coffee with. Have a beer with if it wouldn't destroy either of us.
And just talk about how beautiful it is to focus on the things us loners love.
He wrote The Hustler (1959)
'Fast' Eddie Felson is the best pool hustler you ever saw. And he'd be somebody in the world. If it weren’t for the fact that he's a born loser.
"You lost your head and grabbed the easy way out. I bet you had fun, losing your head. It's always nice to feel the risks fall off your back. And winning: that can be heavy on your back too, like a monkey. You drop that load too when you find an excuse. Then, afterward, all you got to do is learn to feel sorry for yourself - and lots of people learn to get their kicks that way. It's one of the best indoor sports, feeling sorry. A sport enjoyed by all. Especially the born losers."
- Bert Gordon
He wrote The Queen's Gambit (1983)
Through sheer passion, focus, and love for the game, Beth Harmon overcomes her childhood trauma, addiction, and the male dominated establishment of Chess.
"It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it; I can dominate it. And it's predictable. So, if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame.”
- Beth Harmon
“She did not open her eyes even to see the time remaining on her clock or to look across the table at Borgov or to see the enormous crowd who had come to this auditorium to watch her play. She let all of that go from her mind and allowed herself only the chessboard of her imagination with its intricate deadlock. It did not really matter who was playing the black pieces or whether the material board sat in Moscow or New York or in the basement of an orphanage; this eidetic image was her proper domain.”
- Beth Harmon
And in his final novel - The Color of Money (1985) - we once again meet up with Eddie Felson.
He's 50 years old. And after a life spent on the sidelines, he wants to make a comeback to professional pool. Against an America of the 1980s, where games like Chess and Pool are no longer valued. Against regrets and aging and the quiet desperation that comes when there may not be much time left.
‘Eddie, I wish I had a talent like you have. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working in an office doing what some man tells me to do.’
‘I’ll teach you how to play nine ball.’
‘It isn’t funny Eddie. If I could shoot pool like you, I’d be rich.’
‘Buy yourself a cue stick.’
‘I mean it, Eddie. You sat on your talent for 20 years.’
‘I’m not sitting on it now.’
- Arabella & Eddie Felson
When Walter was 9 years old he suffered from a rheumatic heart condition. His family had lost all their money in the great depression, and moved from California to Kentucky without him. For a year, he was left alone to convalesce in the hospital.
“I was…given heavy drug doses in a hospital. That's where Beth's drug dependency comes from in the novel. Writing about her was purgative.”
- Walter Tevis
In Lexington, Walter befriended Toby Kavanaugh, a fellow high school student at whose mansion he learnt to shoot pool. This was the inspiration behind The Hustler (1959), Walter Tevis’s debut novel. It was adapted into an iconic Paul Newman film.
“This was a genuine man’s pool table that his [Toby's] father had bought from the Lafayette hotel. And Walter hung around Toby’s house a lot. And that’s where he learnt how to shoot pool.”
- Eleanora Walker, Walter Tevis's second wife
Walter Tevis took the rights money and moved his family to Mexico. His intention was to write there unencumbered. However, he spent the better part of 8 months drinking.
He barely finished his second novel, The Man Who Fell To Earth (1963), a story about an alien who comes to Earth to build a spaceship to save the inhabitants of his home planet. However, he finds himself lost in the hedonism now available to him.
“The novel is about falling into alcoholism. It was written in the time this was beginning to happen to me.”
- Walter Tevis
From 1965 until 1978 Walter Tevis taught English Literature and Creative Writing at Ohio University. Interestingly, he was a professor there at the same time as Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers For Algernon (1966). His students said they enjoyed his lectures. But for 10 years, he didn't write anything. Between classes and booze, he didn't have the bandwidth.
"I was a quiet drinker. I never went to a classroom drunk. But I would quietly souse myself almost every night in my armchair at home, then fall in bed and pass out. It was all very quiet and the sort of thing nobody would mention publicly. But it was getting really bad."
- Walter Tevis
The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) got adapted into a successful movie starring David Bowie. Walter Tevis visited the set and something in the conversation between him and Bowie made him want to write again.
He quit his professorship. He enrolled into Alcoholics Anonymous. He ended his 20 year marriage with his first wife (Jamie Griggs Tevis). He fell in love with Eleanora Walker, a woman who worked at his publisher's. And moved to New York with her.
“When I first read his Hustler and The Man Who Fell To Earth I was just bowled over. I fell in love with the way he wrote before I fell in love with Walter as a man.”
- Eleanora Walker
His comeback was Mockingbird (1980), a sci-fi dystopia set in the 25th century. The novel follows a professor who moves from Ohio to New York, where most of the population is pleasurably doped up and cannot read or write.
"It's a novel about sobering up. Everyone is drugged all the time. And the main character stops taking drugs. Learns how to read. And his mind and soul begin to undergo changes because of this breath of wind blowing through his spirit."
- Walter Tevis
Mockingbird (1980) earned an advance of $100,000 and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.
In the following years, Walter Tevis wrote:
Far From Home (1981), a short story collection.
Another sci-fi novel titled The Steps of The Sun (1983)
The Queen's Gambit (1983),
and The Color of Money (1984), which was adapted into a major film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Tom Cruise & Paul Newman.
"Hey, I'm back. *breaks 9 balls*"
- Paul Newman as Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986)
I think the best compliment you can give a writer is that they got better with time. The Color of Money (1984) made me feel just that. It's also why I was heart broken when I turned the last page. Because Walter Tevis died in 1984, shortly after publication. It was lung cancer. He was only 56.
Writing is terrifying and difficult. If it wasn't, proficiency for it would be as widespread as Microsoft Excel. And Walter Tevis wrote terrifyingly about himself.
His characters were loners and losers. His characters found safety from anxiety through substances. His characters fell into dark failures and somehow someway - because of love or grit or just the enraged urge to show they're not done yet - they came back from defeat. And most charmingly, his characters were obsessed with being excellent.
His characters were pieces of himself. And in those pieces, readers found parts to complete themselves.
He wasn't a wordsmith. There's nothing snobbish about Walter's prose. But there was one extraordinary thing he did that's so rare, you'd have to read a thousand masters to find a comparable example.
He made characters that - like diamonds - flashed so many themes, so many human values, and none of it seemed contrived for commentary.
There are writers you read and feel they are mentors. Others feel like airhead friends or strangers.
To me, Walter Tevis is a person I wish I could sit down with. Have a coffee with. Have a beer with if it wouldn't destroy either of us.
And just talk about how beautiful it is to focus on the things us loners love.
August 10, 2012
I was curious to read this book after reading "The Hustler". I wanted to know what happened to Fast Eddie after he walked out of that pool hall. I was a bit disappointed. It was nice to see Minnesota Fats again and it was interesting watching Eddie get back into pool after all those years. I felt that book didn't have enough of a plot to keep my interest, though, as it was rather low key. That certain something that The Hustler had was missing from this book - maybe the rawness, the desperation, maybe just the time in which it was written. Being inside Eddie's head in The Hustler was quite a trip; being inside Eddy's head in The Color of Money was different - he's sad, he's older, he's a bit more jaded. That's a big difference in the books.
I watched the movie which has very little in common with the book. No Tom Cruise character in the book. I understand why the movie version had to "shake it up a bit". Loved Paul Newman though, can't fault him in that role.
I watched the movie which has very little in common with the book. No Tom Cruise character in the book. I understand why the movie version had to "shake it up a bit". Loved Paul Newman though, can't fault him in that role.
December 22, 2020
I saw The Queen's Gambit advertised on Netflix and stumbled on a 99p Deal of the Day Kindle copy of The Colour of Money while looking for TheQ'sG.
I haven't seen the film and can't actually believe I've just read a book about shooting pool, a topic in which I have no interest whatsoever.
It really is a remarkable book dominated by strong writing of the central characters. The author's insights into relationships and effect of choices on the way lives develop makes for compulsive reading.
One of the best novels I've read in ages.
I haven't seen the film and can't actually believe I've just read a book about shooting pool, a topic in which I have no interest whatsoever.
It really is a remarkable book dominated by strong writing of the central characters. The author's insights into relationships and effect of choices on the way lives develop makes for compulsive reading.
One of the best novels I've read in ages.
January 22, 2022
How much you enjoy this book might depend on how much the intricacies of pool interest you. I loved it, not just for the pool action, but the character of the aging Fast Eddie Felson, trying to find that spark of youth one last time. I don't think I've rooted for a character to win and overcome as much as I wanted to see Eddie win by the end of this book. And obviously, picturing Fast Eddie as Paul Newman helps. Superb, and best read with The Hustler together as a series.
January 4, 2021
The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Hustler, previous Tevis works, both started out as solid novels and ended in stunning fashion. The Color of Money, while satisfying, merely stays solid throughout, and a certain Tevis formula is becoming apparent, though one is never quite sure which facet of the formula will shine through.
January 20, 2021
Twenty years after Eddie Felson beat Minnesota Fats, he coerces his former adversary into a series of exhibition matches for cash in order to get back into the game he loves.
Tevis still has the knack of bringing the game to life on the page, making this an exhilarating reading experience.
Tevis still has the knack of bringing the game to life on the page, making this an exhilarating reading experience.
October 19, 2021
It's not as good as The Queen's Gambit but I love Tevis's character development (he gets these sad sack characters and writes them with clarity and empathy) and his commitment to understanding his topic, whether it's pool or chess. The competitive pool scenes are great.
June 29, 2012
Strong, clear prose. Would've given 5 stars, but I'm trying to give fewer of those.
September 25, 2020
I really enjoyed this sequel!!!
April 12, 2023
This is another great work in the "Books For Guys Who Love Books" genre. In this one, an aging pool hustler looks into the mirror and doesn't like what he sees: a proud man who once led life by his own rules is now weak, sad, and pretty much empty inside. It's not until he starts trying again at the pool tables that he regains a semblance of his past self and thereafter does not go gently into that good night, as the saying goes.
Tevis has, as my Goodreads friend Mark Miano notes in his review, a deceptively simple style. Yet, at the same time he has an expert knack for using his pen to unravel the truth in one's soul the same way a skilled surgeon might open you up to take a look deep inside your physical existence. Through the main character of Fast Eddy he reminds the reader that glorious dreams of one's youth, some fulfilled and others abandoned, are too often buried deep within us in exchange for some level of comfort and domestic tranquillity. Those early dreams never die, however, and can be reignited should one have the courage and desire to once again pursue them.
That being said, the itinerant life of a drifting pool player eeking out a modest living among people of very questionable character certainly strikes me as a dark and bleak existence but, whatever, to each their own. Personally, I'd be happy with simply roaming the globe having no fixed schedule or expectations...just taking it as it comes!
Looking forward to reading The Queen's Gambit and The Man Who Fell to Earth authored by Tevis as well.
Tevis has, as my Goodreads friend Mark Miano notes in his review, a deceptively simple style. Yet, at the same time he has an expert knack for using his pen to unravel the truth in one's soul the same way a skilled surgeon might open you up to take a look deep inside your physical existence. Through the main character of Fast Eddy he reminds the reader that glorious dreams of one's youth, some fulfilled and others abandoned, are too often buried deep within us in exchange for some level of comfort and domestic tranquillity. Those early dreams never die, however, and can be reignited should one have the courage and desire to once again pursue them.
That being said, the itinerant life of a drifting pool player eeking out a modest living among people of very questionable character certainly strikes me as a dark and bleak existence but, whatever, to each their own. Personally, I'd be happy with simply roaming the globe having no fixed schedule or expectations...just taking it as it comes!
Looking forward to reading The Queen's Gambit and The Man Who Fell to Earth authored by Tevis as well.
Read
December 1, 2022This shares virtually nothing beyond the title with the Scorsese picture but it was a breezy, enjoyable read. Pure vice for me, guilty pleasure without too much guilt. Tevis was a talented writer who has fortunately gotten a lot of posthumous attention in recent years thanks to The Queen’s Gambit.
This one was not as good as The Hustler but Tevis’ ability to make reading a game of pool exciting is really impressive. It’s a shame two decades of drink kept him from writing more. Still, his slim bibliography is an impressive collection of highly entertaining literature.
This one was not as good as The Hustler but Tevis’ ability to make reading a game of pool exciting is really impressive. It’s a shame two decades of drink kept him from writing more. Still, his slim bibliography is an impressive collection of highly entertaining literature.
May 29, 2018
If I were to summarize this book in one word it would be ‘blah’ because I’m not sure if ‘snooze-fest’ counts as one word or two.
I gave it two stars instead of one only because the narrative of pool play, both straight pool and nine ball, were descriptive and interesting. This book had no relation to the movie starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. The plot really was nonexistent. And, in case you are a fan of the movie, there was no pool hustling done by the Tom Cruise character with him parading around like a fool lipsyncing to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” The Tom Cruise character didn’t even exist in the book. They are two different stories.
I say if you like the character ‘Fast Eddie’ Felson, skip the book, which had no real plot and stick to the movie instead. A-ooooooo!
I gave it two stars instead of one only because the narrative of pool play, both straight pool and nine ball, were descriptive and interesting. This book had no relation to the movie starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. The plot really was nonexistent. And, in case you are a fan of the movie, there was no pool hustling done by the Tom Cruise character with him parading around like a fool lipsyncing to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” The Tom Cruise character didn’t even exist in the book. They are two different stories.
I say if you like the character ‘Fast Eddie’ Felson, skip the book, which had no real plot and stick to the movie instead. A-ooooooo!
February 17, 2024
I had read and enjoyed The Queen's Gambit so was really looking forward to delving into another one of the same author's works, however, maybe due to the subject matter, I did not connect to these characters as quickly. The book seemed slow at times and virtually stopped at others, I found myself skipping pages of descriptions of events that held no interest to me or furthered the story. The novel was well written with characters that were colourful and had depth - I just found myself wanting to finish and be done rather than savouring the storytelling.
May 13, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded up.
September 21, 2022
Weird. Things were going fine, as expected. Eddie’s character is *slightly* more likeable in this one. Arabella is kind of a saving grace. I have many unanswered questions about this though. The art gallery plot line came out of nowhere. Who burned it down? w h y ? We’re Cooley and Borchard working together? Did Borchard ever take more…steroids?? Was he a sociopath? TCoM left much to be desired.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2022
I loved the drama of the games of pool---described in intricate detail---the minute behaviours that make a difference between winning and losing. This book was another winner.
8.5/10
8.5/10
August 27, 2023
Yup. Loved it just as much as the first.
It's basically the same, but more washed up.
It's basically the same, but more washed up.
December 20, 2023
Should have been the second in a trilogy rather than the only sequel to The Hustler. I want to hear more about the folk art shop!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2024
these 2 books made me think I could play pool
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