Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

7 reviews

classicsandcocoa's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was wonderful. Any chess lover would be doing themselves a favour by picking this up. The suspense was incredible, and the visualization was on point. The character building was excellent, and while there were a few plot holes/cliffhangers, it was overall a read 100% worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Drug use, and Addiction

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Car accident, and Vomit

ivy_camilla's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment

theremightbecupcakes's review against another edition

I wanted to finish this novel. The narrator, Amy Landon, has a soothing voice, and understood Beth’s emotional remove from others and what that might sound like. The author, Walter Tevis, has given us other important American stories turned into landmark films such as The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Man Who Fell to Earth. 

But.

I truly believe you need to understand chess to follow this novel’s progression. Many of Beth’s plays, and tournaments’ rules and activities, are given without any explanation, which is frustrating. Plus, there is so much alcohol abuse, without it pressing forward the story. Both Beth and her mother drink beer like mother, often in physically impossible quantities and in a method of communication with each other and with other people. I am not sensitive to alcohol abuse or alcoholism per se, but even I became very uncomfortable with the frequency of it. I became so hyperaware of it that it took me out of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Forced institutionalization

marianneiriss's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Sexual content, and Abandonment

claudiam's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

tubegeek's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tough to avoid comparisons to the excellent miniseries made from the book. Both have their merits - the series is quite faithful to the book overall. Beth's inner world is more detailed in the book but she is not a character given to much introspection.

The strength of both versions is Beth's survival instinct, and its deployment in service of her extraordinary gift for playing chess. Anna Taylor-Joy was lucky to find the character Beth and Beth was lucky to find A T-J to play her.

All the secondary characters support the story well and are well-drawn and evocative.

I enjoyed this book (I loved the miniseries and saw it first.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization

nicolaparty's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

There are a lot of detailed descriptions of chess matches in this book. The character's story is interesting, but the description of the games themselves wasn't enjoyable for me as someone who doesn't play chess. I'd think that for someone who understands the game, these parts would be really good, however.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, and Addiction

Minor: Racial slurs, Infidelity, and Adult/minor relationship