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The Big Blind
The daughter of a legendary card player with skills of her own, Claire doesn t want to go into the family business. She s heard the call, and she desperately wants to become a nun. But when her convent comes under financial threat, Claire must leave what she loves to save what she loves and enter an international poker tournament.
Both a poker novella and a meditation on faith, The Big Blind is a taut, heartfelt and compelling new book from multiple award winner Lavie Tidhar.
Both a poker novella and a meditation on faith, The Big Blind is a taut, heartfelt and compelling new book from multiple award winner Lavie Tidhar.
164 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2020
21 people want to read
About the author
Lavie Tidhar
391 books735 followersLavie Tidhar was raised on a kibbutz in Israel. He has travelled extensively since he was a teenager, living in South Africa, the UK, Laos, and the small island nation of Vanuatu.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 28, 2021
I ordered the signed edition of The Big Blind last Autumn and forgot all about it. Then it arrived as a very welcome surprise in February, I leafed through it to remind myself what it was... and found I was sitting there at midnight finishing it.
All that despite it being a close study of a poker player and poker games - something I know almost noting about (cowboys in saloons? Something something raise you? Poker face?)
Tidhar's story follows Claire, a young Irishwoman whose father was a legendary poker player. She was introduced to the tables young, given a bit of money and left to get on with it. Later she ran wild (though, I have to say, she doesn't sound VERY wild - drinking and smoking seems to be the sum of it). Now she's considering life as a nun (she's a novice, she hasn't taken final vows yet: still time to decide what she really wants) but sneaks out and night to play for money, which she donates anonymously to the convent.
Or perhaps, Claire can't bear to lose all of her former life, and she's found a way to play and yet satisfy her conscience?
That question hovers over this book. What is Claire really at? In conversations - with Mikey (who she meets over cards), with her mother (who's aghast that Claire may be going the way of her father), with the other nuns, with a priest at Confession - Claire dodges round and round this issue. Told to stop playing, she absconds by bus to play the Big Game, which could lead to a place at a televised London championship. Aghast at what she's done, explaining it to that priest, has she accepted that she can't go back? Is she inside looking out, or outside looking in? Tidhar handles this spiritual dilemma delicately, embedding it in a compelling story that's driven by a succession of poker games.
I don't, as I have said, know the first thing about poker, so the detail here is lost on me. Yet it's still clear from Tidhar's commentary where we are in the game, who's going down and what the risks are. This is as nail-bitingly portrayed an account of an epic contest as you could wish for (I assume that if you know your poker it's even more than that!) The depiction of the relatively tight, closed and familiar world of the professional and aspirant players (it, too, has its novices and its sworn members) is also good, showing us a community, a little world. The championship itself is interpreted and commentated by a pair of slightly cheesy TV presenters (complete with fourth-wife jokes) who act as a kind of chorus, further clueing-in the reader to what's just happened and why it might, just might, be rather remarkable.
A really enjoyable book, different from anything I'd read by Tidhar before (but then, I think that every time I open one of his books). Recommended.
All that despite it being a close study of a poker player and poker games - something I know almost noting about (cowboys in saloons? Something something raise you? Poker face?)
Tidhar's story follows Claire, a young Irishwoman whose father was a legendary poker player. She was introduced to the tables young, given a bit of money and left to get on with it. Later she ran wild (though, I have to say, she doesn't sound VERY wild - drinking and smoking seems to be the sum of it). Now she's considering life as a nun (she's a novice, she hasn't taken final vows yet: still time to decide what she really wants) but sneaks out and night to play for money, which she donates anonymously to the convent.
Or perhaps, Claire can't bear to lose all of her former life, and she's found a way to play and yet satisfy her conscience?
That question hovers over this book. What is Claire really at? In conversations - with Mikey (who she meets over cards), with her mother (who's aghast that Claire may be going the way of her father), with the other nuns, with a priest at Confession - Claire dodges round and round this issue. Told to stop playing, she absconds by bus to play the Big Game, which could lead to a place at a televised London championship. Aghast at what she's done, explaining it to that priest, has she accepted that she can't go back? Is she inside looking out, or outside looking in? Tidhar handles this spiritual dilemma delicately, embedding it in a compelling story that's driven by a succession of poker games.
I don't, as I have said, know the first thing about poker, so the detail here is lost on me. Yet it's still clear from Tidhar's commentary where we are in the game, who's going down and what the risks are. This is as nail-bitingly portrayed an account of an epic contest as you could wish for (I assume that if you know your poker it's even more than that!) The depiction of the relatively tight, closed and familiar world of the professional and aspirant players (it, too, has its novices and its sworn members) is also good, showing us a community, a little world. The championship itself is interpreted and commentated by a pair of slightly cheesy TV presenters (complete with fourth-wife jokes) who act as a kind of chorus, further clueing-in the reader to what's just happened and why it might, just might, be rather remarkable.
A really enjoyable book, different from anything I'd read by Tidhar before (but then, I think that every time I open one of his books). Recommended.
April 9, 2023
I entered this book without realising it was partly set in Ireland. Once I grapsed the setting, I gleefully searched for inconsistencies. We Irish love crucifying things set in Ireland by non Irish people. I had my cross, my nails and my hammer at the ready. Even a crown of thorns, creatively composed of playing cards. Yet all I could give him was a groan or two, at some ropey dialogue (a Dublin mammy calling her girl 'lass'?!!?!) and errors in geography. He doesn't make a complete pig's ear of it, and in the final analysis I suppose that's something.
Regarding the story, it's predictable and frequently clichéd, but damn it all I was still entertained. Moved even, at the end. Perhaps I'm being over generous, because it was exactly what I wanted: a short, easy palette cleanser between better, more nuanced novels.
It's far from his best work, and he doesn't seem to be trying overly hard, but if you're looking for something quick, somewhat forgettable but nonetheless enjoyable, you could do alot worse.
Regarding the story, it's predictable and frequently clichéd, but damn it all I was still entertained. Moved even, at the end. Perhaps I'm being over generous, because it was exactly what I wanted: a short, easy palette cleanser between better, more nuanced novels.
It's far from his best work, and he doesn't seem to be trying overly hard, but if you're looking for something quick, somewhat forgettable but nonetheless enjoyable, you could do alot worse.
February 15, 2021
In my first poker game, at age seven, I took the neighborhood gang for all they were worth and walked away with a huge bag of candy, which my mother promptly confiscated and doled out to me gradually over the course of the next year.
It was the start of an early interest in poker. My father had a copy of Hoyle and I consulted that to see how many versions of this game there were. My friends know me as a reliable but not very flashy player.
I've only played social poker, not tournament (although one of my sons has), and generally don't watch it on TV. They play Texas Hold'em, which I never played. Seven card stud and five card draw were my strengths, but they were always games with antes, not blinds.
“The Big Blind” features a poker-playing novice nun who decides to enter tournament play to save her convent. The daughter of a professional player, she has skills at managing cards and reading others that are disconcerting because she is so reserved.
This novella is a quick and fun read. It helps to know the game, or to read up on the rules beforehand if you don't. The slang runs fast and furiously. It's a novella for aficianados.
While somewhat predictable, it has a few clever twists. The character of the nun is well drawn, and her inner turmoil at playing cards to save the convent is well done. The last hand is particularly well described.
It was the start of an early interest in poker. My father had a copy of Hoyle and I consulted that to see how many versions of this game there were. My friends know me as a reliable but not very flashy player.
I've only played social poker, not tournament (although one of my sons has), and generally don't watch it on TV. They play Texas Hold'em, which I never played. Seven card stud and five card draw were my strengths, but they were always games with antes, not blinds.
“The Big Blind” features a poker-playing novice nun who decides to enter tournament play to save her convent. The daughter of a professional player, she has skills at managing cards and reading others that are disconcerting because she is so reserved.
This novella is a quick and fun read. It helps to know the game, or to read up on the rules beforehand if you don't. The slang runs fast and furiously. It's a novella for aficianados.
While somewhat predictable, it has a few clever twists. The character of the nun is well drawn, and her inner turmoil at playing cards to save the convent is well done. The last hand is particularly well described.
June 5, 2023
Tidhar, Lavie - The Big Blind
Her expression impassive, Claire studies the others round the table.
After a late night of card playing, gambling for small stakes, she returns home quietly. Donates her winnings, creeps to her chamber, dons her habit.
Day job, Sister Claire, convent nun.
I had grabbed this from a recent stack, ignored the cover art, and thus this turn came as a surprise. I mean, a poker playing nun?
Midway through this short novel, I must confess how much I was enjoying it. I started replaying scenes and moments as if this were already a film adaptation. Like those rollicking Irish comedies between 1995 and 2005.
The book itself is an effective crowd pleaser, whether or not you know a call from a flop from a river.
Entertaining beach read – which I mean as a compliment.
Her expression impassive, Claire studies the others round the table.
After a late night of card playing, gambling for small stakes, she returns home quietly. Donates her winnings, creeps to her chamber, dons her habit.
Day job, Sister Claire, convent nun.
I had grabbed this from a recent stack, ignored the cover art, and thus this turn came as a surprise. I mean, a poker playing nun?
Midway through this short novel, I must confess how much I was enjoying it. I started replaying scenes and moments as if this were already a film adaptation. Like those rollicking Irish comedies between 1995 and 2005.
The book itself is an effective crowd pleaser, whether or not you know a call from a flop from a river.
Entertaining beach read – which I mean as a compliment.
March 25, 2021
Without doubt a great read - it could do for poker what The Queen's Gambit did for chess, and if it hasn't been optioned for TV adaptation already, then it should be post haste.
A succinctly written tale, and a slight change of style from Lavie Tidhar's usual (of late) alternate takes on history. Set in a convent in Dublin, a young novice uses her talents for poker to help safe the order and the building from ruin.
The storyline is simple, the chapters short, and you'll breeze through the book effortlessly, but Tidhar fills the narrative with believable characters, the Troubles, and a young woman battling her religious calling with what is considered a sinful practice.
Thoroughly recommended.
A succinctly written tale, and a slight change of style from Lavie Tidhar's usual (of late) alternate takes on history. Set in a convent in Dublin, a young novice uses her talents for poker to help safe the order and the building from ruin.
The storyline is simple, the chapters short, and you'll breeze through the book effortlessly, but Tidhar fills the narrative with believable characters, the Troubles, and a young woman battling her religious calling with what is considered a sinful practice.
Thoroughly recommended.
June 16, 2021
Entertaining short novel about a nun playing poker.
A good option for poker players to take a break from strategy books and have some fun rooting for a nun in a big tournament in Europe similar to the EPT circuit. The author makes some mistakes in the poker terms and actions, but the atmosphere of live tournaments is well represented.
If you are looking for more good poker novels I recommend "The Only Way To Play It" (Peter Alson), "CARDS" (Jonathan Maxwell), "A Poker Story" (Greg Winick), "Shut Up and Deal" (Jesse May) and "King of a Small World" (Rick Benett).
A good option for poker players to take a break from strategy books and have some fun rooting for a nun in a big tournament in Europe similar to the EPT circuit. The author makes some mistakes in the poker terms and actions, but the atmosphere of live tournaments is well represented.
If you are looking for more good poker novels I recommend "The Only Way To Play It" (Peter Alson), "CARDS" (Jonathan Maxwell), "A Poker Story" (Greg Winick), "Shut Up and Deal" (Jesse May) and "King of a Small World" (Rick Benett).
February 5, 2021
Lavie Tidhar is probably the most interesting genre writer currently working, and he is a wonderfully talented writer who genuinely seems able to do everything a writer can do. This book is unlike anything else he has written, and beautiful and compelling. A complete jewel of a book.
April 10, 2021
A quiet meditation on faith, poker, and finding a calling. Claire, a young Irish novitiate, turns to a poker championship to save her convent.
June 13, 2022
Nice, quick read. Would have given 5 stars if I was a poker fan and understood more of the insider terms. Claire is an interesting protagonist and contrast of religious faith and poker worked well.
May 11, 2024
A bit cheesy but was able to make me teary eyed!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews