Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hustler | 1959 | Walter Tevis | Buy |
| 2 | The Color of Money | 1984 | Walter Tevis | Buy |
The Eddie Felson books follow Fast Eddie Felson, a pool hustler. The Hustler (1959) tells the story of Eddie’s obsessive quest to beat Minnesota Fats, and The Color of Money (1984) finds him twenty years later, mentoring a talented but reckless young player. Both were adapted into acclaimed films starring Paul Newman.
Walter Tevis wrote The Hustler early in his career, and the novel became a classic of American fiction. The pool hall settings feel lived-in, and Eddie’s self-destructive pride gives the story real weight. Twenty-five years passed before Tevis returned to the character in The Color of Money, which finds Eddie older, wiser, and wrestling with what he lost along the way.
The 1961 film of The Hustler starred Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, while the 1986 adaptation of The Color of Money paired Newman with Tom Cruise. Newman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the sequel. Tevis, who also wrote The Man Who Fell to Earth and The Queen’s Gambit, died in 1984, the same year The Color of Money was published.