Book 78 - The Cardturner by Louis Sachar - USA

I know nothing about cards, I don't play cards - well other than solitaire. This book features the card game 'bridge' and what an appropriate metaphor for life, for the complexities of the characters and their lives, for understanding and misunderstanding. 

Alton Richards is not having the best of summer vacations. His girlfriend is now dating his best friend, his family is not able to go anywhere and before he even starts to look for part time work his mother's favourite uncle decides to sack his regular card turner and insist that Alton step in to fill her place. Uncle Lester is a cantankerous, self made millionaire who is only his family's favourite uncle because of what he might leave them in his will. Uncle Lester needs a card turner because he is blind. He plays bridge, he plays like a genius and he plays to win. In this story the card game bridge becomes an arena in which the tactics and strategies echo the real life manipulations of Alton's family, close and extended. Alton's  mother thinks she knows everything about the hands that have been dealt to her Uncle, his wife, his wife's sister and so on but as Alton gets to know his uncle and his bridge partners he discovers the truth.

Not knowing anything about bridge was not a problem as Alton has a method for describing the features of the game without letting it get in the way of the story. I enjoyed this book and can thoroughly recommend it.

Guardian Book Review

Book 50 - Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi - Gulf Coast, USA

Nailer may be about 15 years old (he is not sure how old he is) but he is tough and able to fend for himself. He lives in a post apocalyptic world of destroyed cities and  ruined environment. His job is to crawl into abandoned ships and remove the copper wire before the heavy crews take the ship apart for scavenge. His father is a drunk who beats him up and his mother died some time ago. In this harsh world Nailer has to fend for himself and at the same time work so that his crew makes quota.

After a massive storm wipes away much of the industry Nailer makes a discovery of his own - a swank clipper ship broken up. He has an opportunity to strip the ship and finally break away from his life of poverty and hard labour. Yet in the midst of the ship he discovers a girl who is in need of his help. Does he risk losing this opportunity to help someone who means nothing to him?

This futuristic book seems to paint such a bleak picture. People who in living in the harsh environment seem to lose much of what makes for civilisation, half dog, half humans who know only loyal servitude to their masters and still the privileged trader class who are themselves in a war of betrayal and take over. Nevertheless the character of Nailer is admirable. He faces his own vulnerabilities and questions whether he will follow after his father's violent and extreme ways.

Guardian review