A Review By Frances Smith

When the author Louis Sachar mentioned to his friends and family that he wanted to write a children’s book about his favourite card game, Bridge, they all told him it wouldn’t work.  Typically he went ahead and wrote it anyway, and it is a wonderful book.  I wanted to get my cards out and follow many of the hands described, even though I don’t play Bridge myself.  However, it is also a beautiful story about expectations, misunderstandings, greed and knowledge.  Even if you don’t get the card bits, it is still a good book.

 

When 17-year-old Alton is asked by his parents to drive his elderly Uncle to Bridge tournaments, he reluctantly agrees because he needs the money and his social life is at a low ebb.  His Uncle is a champion Bridge player but has recently become blind through illness.  However, his blindness does not seem to prevent him “reading” Bridge hands to perfection and Alton gradually comes to realise that there is more to his uncle than he at first thought and that his “mad” cousin, Toni, is cleverer than his parents would have him believe.  Highly recommended to readers 13 and above.