gambler's anatomy

A Gambler's Anatomy is by Jonathan Lethem. I don't know him, but it seems as though he's been cranking away, writing books, in spite of that. 

This is a character driver story and the backgammon that it hangs on it interesting tack. I played a bunch of backgammon when I was a kid, after we got a neat little kit that closed up like a briefcase, and had red and black leather (or leatherette) triangles on green felt on the board, and sweet little dice cups to roll the dice, and heavy, dense checkers (also called stones, pieces, or men) made of some kind of composite. I had a rude awaking when I played a teacher in high school during a study period and everything I had done, over and over again against my siblings, fell to ruin.

I was continually surprised, every time this story jigged and jagged. When I first met Bruno Alexander, I felt like I understood him, and where he was headed in life, altho I didn't have good idea where the overall story was headed. If you had told me where Bruno would end up, or had suggested some of the ways that he got there, I would have said you were crazy. 

In the end, I'm not sure why I met Bruno Alexander, or why I even cared about his story, but I did, so good on you Jonathan Lethem. On a side note, I was driving by the local church while I was reading this book,* and they had finished a tag sale earlier in the day and had left the remnants on the curb for free. I stopped with my son to look, and what did I find? A handsome wooden backgammon set made in Syria. No checkers, but perhaps I'll make those on the lathe out of wood. This was a fun and interesting read.

 

* No, I wasn't reading while driving. It normally takes a few weeks for me to read a book, so I have plenty of time to eat, sleep, work, or stop by a free tag-sale giveaway during that period.