This is yet another book that I took my own time getting round to. I do not know what part of the blurb tempted me to request because it had a very different storyline than my usual reads.
A group of septuagenarians have been playing poker for decades and managed to refrain from personal conversations. Once chance mention of a divorce being finalized, and everyone starts to question their relationship. Some of them want a deeper relationship than they have had previously. Each has a different story, as well as a different type of secret. The secrets change their lives in small and big ways. They are colourful characters with no two people being the same or suffering through identical issues.
I found the narrative style a little clunky, and the characters are like caricatures with the most obvious of behavioural traits based on where their ancestors were from. This might have been done purposefully to drive their differences and similarities home, but it made it hard for me to appreciate the seriousness of what was being discussed. Once I got used to the writing style, I managed to finish the book with some warmth for all involved and the way things turn out.
I would not read another like this, but I am glad I gave this one a shot. I would recommend it to anyone looking out for something different and straightforward.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

The Poker Players is an opportunity to delve into the very deep interpersonal relationships that people didn't know they had with the folks with whom they have been closest for many years. Each and every one of us has secrets held very close to our chest, ones that they never thought they could share. Some of the secrets are mind-blowing and some just an experience that one never forgets. Dr. Dreyfus has the ability to gather up his many years of experience as a wonderful psychologist and just a plain old good guy. I read the book and continue to think of its content several weeks after. I recommend this book without hesitation.

The Poker Players are 5 acquaintances who have been playing poker for more than 30 years. Learning that one of them had gotten divorced several months ago, the players realize how little they know about one another. Dave, a poker player and professor of psychology, suggests that they get away for a weekend in an effort to learn more about one another.
Everyone has secrets and the members of this group are no exception. By sharing they learn that their own fears of sharing their secrets have magnified their impact. The men become closer together and eventually achieve unfilled goals by working on a project together.
Dreyfus is a psychiatrist and does a great job of explaining the motivations and fears that can only be successfully confronted by being expressed.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read this captivating novel.

Five guys in their seventies play a weekly game of poker. They alternate the venue, always using the home of one of the players with the host providing drinks, snacks and a light meal. The game is low stakes but competitive and although they’ve been meeting up for over thirty five years they actually know relatively little about each other. This is because the time spent together is all about the poker – keep your cards close to your vest and keep your personal life even closer seems to be the working maxim. But one evening a player discloses that he’s been divorced for a while – where did this come from the others say, why didn’t we know about this?

This is really two books in one: it’s a simple tale of five older guys getting to know each other and in the process learning about themselves and it’s also a more serious psychological study of how secrecy and the way men often choose to interact can have unintended negative consequences. The author was previously a psychological practitioner for many years and he states in his author’s note that this book was inspired by his observations of how men, in general, tend to struggle to attain emotional intimacy in their relationships.

The characters are an interesting mix of retired and semi-retired guys: a lawyer, an architect, a deli owner, a dentist and – yes – a professor of psychology. After the shock of learning about the divorce of a member of the group they start to open up a bit and one by one they disclose secrets that they’ve hidden, and not just hidden from the group. These revelations are picked at and chewed over and suggestions are made as to what actions the ‘owner’ might take. The story is really virtually all dialogue and I could easily see this performed as a play.

As a story of five guys opening up and becoming closer as a result it’s a nice feel good story but as a reflection of real life I really did start to see parallels with people I know and interact with. And with myself! Yes, it’s true – the interactions my wife has with other women are much more likely to get into the nitty gritty of life and explore real issues than the get togethers I have with friends. Men do tend to focus on the task and then add a good dose of banter to proceedings. A discussion of real life issues impacting a member of the group is rare.

So why is this and is it really a problem? The author discusses this a little in his note and I think he’s right in saying that it’s largely a result of upbringing, how we were trained as a child - we’ve been taught to hide our emotions, except maybe anger. Consequently, we all miss out on the opportunity to share and potentially resolve, or at least explore options to resolve, issues and problems. Another, consequence of this behaviour is that there is a tendency to pass judgement on people based on limited information. Well, if limited information is what we have then I suggest this is very true. The answer must therefore be that it is a problem, but it’s clearly not one that’s easy to resolve.

A book to enjoy as a light read but also one to appreciate for it’s central message.

The cover and concept really intrigued me and I was very interested in reading this book. Unfortunately when I tried to download it, it kept showing an error message. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This book had me thinking. More then just some men playing poker . With out spoilers it was a very interesting read and I loved how the story unfolded. Not my usual genre but I loved it!

A book with a very interesting setting and an intriguing and well written story. The dialogue gets a little naive, however, and as I'm greedy, I want more drama or suspense.