The Cardturner

The author of Holes is back! This novel examines the relationship between seventeen year-old Alton and his seventy-six year-old great uncle Lester.

During the summer vacation, Alton has been unwillingly forced by his parents into being his irrascible, blind, bridge-mad uncle’s cardturner, in the hope that the family will be beneficiaries of the old man’s will.

Alton is a reserved boy, whose relationships with his peers are uncertain, and who initially resents his new role as cardturner, but gradually warms both to his uncle’s personality, and to his passion for bridge. In doing so he becomes more confident, and realises that he can control his own life.

Sachar includes considerable detail about bridge: the game, the hands, and how to play.