The inspiration for the legendary Paul Newman film, THE HUSTLER is a hardboiled tale of a beautiful talent for life in smoky poolrooms.

A classic hardboiled tale of a beautiful talent for life in smoky poolrooms

'A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance' TIME OUT

'This book sees the poetry of the pool game ... Fast Eddie's ascent up the ladder from pool shark to full-time hustler is the story of the will to power, told in cool fifties style' GUARDIAN

Fast Eddie Felson has a reputation as a pool hustler to be feared, but his ambitions go far beyond taking small-town punks for a few bucks here and there. He has the talent to make big money, but he soon learns that it takes more than natural ability to become a real winner. He heads to Chicago to test himself against the legendary Minnesota Fats in more than forty-hours of high-stakes pool. Can he find the will to overcome his failings and fulfil his potential as the best there is?

"This book sees the poetry of the pool game . . . Fast Eddie's ascent up the ladder from pool shark to full-time hustler is the story of the will to power, told in cool fifties style" - GUARDIAN

"If Hemingway had the passion for pool that he had for bullfighting, his hero might have been Eddie Felson" - TIME

"A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance" - TIME OUT

"A fine, swift, wanton, offbeat novel" - THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Tevis writes a stark, cut-down prose that admirably suits his tale of people who live on the edge of desperation in fifties Chicago" - IRISH TIMES