The Noble Hustle is Pulitzer finalist Colson Whitehead’s
hilarious memoir of his search for meaning at high stakes
poker tables, which the author describes as “Eat, Pray, Love
for depressed shut-ins.”
On one level, The Noble Hustle is a familiar species of
participatory journalism--a longtime neighborhood poker
player, Whitehead was given a $10,000 stake and an
assignment from the online online magazine Grantland to see
how far he could get in the World Series of Poker. But
since it stems from the astonishing mind of Colson Whitehead
(MacArthur Award-endorsed!), the book is a brilliant,
hilarious, weirdly profound, and ultimately moving portrayal
of--yes, it sounds overblown and ridiculous, but
really!--the human condition.
After weeks of preparation that included repeated bus trips
to glamorous Atlantic City, and hiring a personal trainer to
toughen him up for sitting at twelve hours a stretch, the
author journeyed to the gaudy wonderland that is Las Vegas –
the world’s greatest “Leisure Industrial Complex” -- to try
his luck in the multi-million dollar tournament. Hobbled
by his mediocre playing skills and a lifelong condition
known as “anhedonia” (the inability to experience pleasure)
Whitehead did not – spoiler alert! - win tens of millions
of dollars. But he did chronicle his progress, both literal
and existential, in this unbelievably funny, uncannily
accurate social satire whose main target is the author himself.
Whether you’ve been playing cards your whole life, or have
never picked up a hand, you’re sure to agree that this book
contains some of the best writing about beef jerky ever put
to paper.
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