Review of The Hustler (1961) by Gavin P — 11 Apr 2015

I'm reminded of when I was a young teenager. There was a narrow, dead-end alleyway sandwiched between two tall buildings. Men would always hang around there in the shadows swearing, spitting, smoking cigarettes, selling drugs, and flirting with every woman who walked by.

At the end of the alley was a door leading to a pool hall and arcade. I was allowed in because they didn't serve alcohol. It was a seedy, smoke-filled bar without the bar. The whole thing was a rectangle room and at the back end there was an exit only door with nothing obstructing its view of the sunshine.

Walking through the dark, crowded alley, through the pool hall with its depressed and cynical atmosphere, then emerging with the bright sunlight in my eyes was like walking through another world. An adult world that seemed both lifeless and filled with life because it was so real and so hard for me to understand at such a young age.

I saw many Fast Eddies at that pool hall. Expert pool players with a losers luck.