The complexity of Ed is that he is someone that wants to solve
the mystery of the cards. He ends up
doing good things for others who can’t do for themselves. He starts out as
someone who no one knows (except for his friends) and he ends up by being
someone known all around town because of the actions that he takes during the
course of solving the mystery. Audrey is one of Ed’s friends, and she uses love
to get what she wants out of it.
Eventually she comes around to Ed’s way of thinking about love. Marv wants
to save money for some unknown reason, only to later find out that he is saving
it to support the daughter that nobody but him knows he has. Ritchie wants to
do something with his life but feels stuck.
He doesn’t want to be bored and live with his parents forever. He envies Ed because Ed has a job and Ritchie
doesn’t.
The main theme of this novel is that you don’t have to be
important or known, to do good things. When you do good things to help others you don’t
do it for glory or for thanks. You do it
because you can and it’s the right thing to do.
Ed doesn’t ever know exactly what to do, but eventually the people he
helps thank him and become his friends.
The book is organized like a deck of cards. The main parts
of the book (and when he gets the cards) are Aces, alternating between red,
black, black and red. In four sections, there are 13 parts with each part going
in order from Ace to King. There is also one last section, starting with a
Joker and the last part of it is also a Joker, therefore making the book
ordered like a full deck of cards.
