Scan barcode
samidemonster's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
flordemaga's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’ve never read a book that was written so straightforwardly, I think. I like it.
I diagnose Beth Harmon as autistic.
I diagnose Beth Harmon as autistic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, and Death
merricatblackwood's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexism
nickoliver's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I absolutely adored the TV adaptation and had been close to buying the book several times, so when I found it by chance at the library, I was very excited to pick it up immediately! And while it wasn't the best thing I've ever read, I'm definitely happy to finally having done so.
First of all, the book just reminded me how faithful the adaptation was. I pretty much had the show play in my mind while I was reading, which was pretty nice (and also a bit surprising, since it's been almost six months since I had actually seen it). There were only a few differences to the show as far as I could tell, and most of them were either so minor they didn't matter, or they were positive. For example, Townes being gay and Beth being bisexual weren't book-canon. And even more importantly, in the book, Jolene sexually assaulted Beth when she was eight, and Beth retaliated by calling her the N-word. Both were things that they didn't have on the show.
Just like the adaptation, the book also had its boring moments. The chess games often could be easily skipped. As a matter of fact, they were even more tedious in the book because on the show, I at least got to watch it and didn't have to just merely read it. (Though to be fair, I'm saying this as someone who likes chess enough to know how to play it, but not enough to understand all the phrases.) Towards the end of the book, I actually did skip a lot because I just wanted to be done with it and it was hard. The font was small and the paragraphs long; I just didn't have the concentration or the interest to read every single word.
Character-wise, I definitely enjoyed Beth's voice. I had loved her on the show, because Anya had done such a good job at portraying her, so it was interesting to me to actually get to dive deeper into her psyche. Beth had a very single-minded focus on chess and an absolute trust in her abilities, which was fascinating and admirable. She knew exactly what she wanted and tried everything she could to achieve said goal. At the same time, you could also see that her utter concentration on the game made her appear a bit cold sometimes, since nothing else seemingly mattered. Also, I really liked the way Tevis portrayed her alcoholism and drug addiction, and the way it both helped Beth at playing chess but also hindered her. Personally, I headcanoned her as asexual too, just because she didn't seem to care about sex at all. And the few times she wanted to have it, it was with specific people and only after she knew them for a while. So maybe demi?
Moreover, I really loved Benny. I had also loved him on the show, but here, it was a bit clearer how frustrating he found to be around Beth, who only thought about chess. It showed that being someone who loved her wouldn't be an easy task. I do wish we got to see a less ambiguous ending to their relationship, though.
Overall, it was a bit exhausting and tedious to read this, and I do have to say I probably would have liked it a lot less if I hadn't had the show in my mind at the same time. But I liked delving into Beth's character more and to see her thoughts that the show obviously couldn't show on the same level, and it excited me to see how faithful (to my eyes) the adaptation was.
First of all, the book just reminded me how faithful the adaptation was. I pretty much had the show play in my mind while I was reading, which was pretty nice (and also a bit surprising, since it's been almost six months since I had actually seen it). There were only a few differences to the show as far as I could tell, and most of them were either so minor they didn't matter, or they were positive. For example, Townes being gay and Beth being bisexual weren't book-canon. And even more importantly, in the book, Jolene sexually assaulted Beth when she was eight, and Beth retaliated by calling her the N-word. Both were things that they didn't have on the show.
Just like the adaptation, the book also had its boring moments. The chess games often could be easily skipped. As a matter of fact, they were even more tedious in the book because on the show, I at least got to watch it and didn't have to just merely read it. (Though to be fair, I'm saying this as someone who likes chess enough to know how to play it, but not enough to understand all the phrases.) Towards the end of the book, I actually did skip a lot because I just wanted to be done with it and it was hard. The font was small and the paragraphs long; I just didn't have the concentration or the interest to read every single word.
Character-wise, I definitely enjoyed Beth's voice. I had loved her on the show, because Anya had done such a good job at portraying her, so it was interesting to me to actually get to dive deeper into her psyche. Beth had a very single-minded focus on chess and an absolute trust in her abilities, which was fascinating and admirable. She knew exactly what she wanted and tried everything she could to achieve said goal. At the same time, you could also see that her utter concentration on the game made her appear a bit cold sometimes, since nothing else seemingly mattered. Also, I really liked the way Tevis portrayed her alcoholism and drug addiction, and the way it both helped Beth at playing chess but also hindered her. Personally, I headcanoned her as asexual too, just because she didn't seem to care about sex at all. And the few times she wanted to have it, it was with specific people and only after she knew them for a while. So maybe demi?
Moreover, I really loved Benny. I had also loved him on the show, but here, it was a bit clearer how frustrating he found to be around Beth, who only thought about chess. It showed that being someone who loved her wouldn't be an easy task. I do wish we got to see a less ambiguous ending to their relationship, though.
Overall, it was a bit exhausting and tedious to read this, and I do have to say I probably would have liked it a lot less if I hadn't had the show in my mind at the same time. But I liked delving into Beth's character more and to see her thoughts that the show obviously couldn't show on the same level, and it excited me to see how faithful (to my eyes) the adaptation was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Alcoholism
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Racial slurs
5aru's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Sexual assault warning: there is a scene in Beth's room at the orphanage wheremarrowe's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Sexism
pseudoliterature's review against another edition
Ever since I finished the series I wanted to read the book, and now I'm conflicted. I do love the series, and I really like the changes they did with the character of Townes, and the development of Beth's relationship with her adoptive mother.
However, TW// sexual assault, there is a scene in the beginning of this book that is a very explicit sexual assault to a minor, and i know it got cut from the show, but the rest of the story didn't, it left a bad taste in my mouth, and this is full spoilers but it is also an important topic, he used the only character of colour in this book to reinforce a incredibly harmful stereotype, it didn't add anything to the story, it wasn't explore later, it was never mention again, it wasn't something to explore abuse in orphanages, it was him thinking the best way to show Beth's vulnerability was through sexual assault, and he chose the character who was going to commit it, villainized it, and then abandoned it. it was unnecessary, only harmful.
I'm a believer that you can enjoy things, but must also be able to recognize its problematic aspects and critique them, specially when it's straight up racism dressed as "commentary".
I'm not saying you should just ignore this book, there are good scenes in here, but it is also full of problematic things outside the main story and heavily integrated in it.
But that it's also what the book is about, destruction, determination, ambition. The mind of a teen through the lens of an adult man.
However, TW// sexual assault, there is a scene in the beginning of this book that is a very explicit sexual assault to a minor, and i know it got cut from the show, but the rest of the story didn't, it left a bad taste in my mouth, and this is full spoilers but it is also an important topic, he used the only character of colour in this book to reinforce a incredibly harmful stereotype, it didn't add anything to the story, it wasn't explore later, it was never mention again, it wasn't something to explore abuse in orphanages, it was him thinking the best way to show Beth's vulnerability was through sexual assault, and he chose the character who was going to commit it, villainized it, and then abandoned it. it was unnecessary, only harmful.
I'm a believer that you can enjoy things, but must also be able to recognize its problematic aspects and critique them, specially when it's straight up racism dressed as "commentary".
I'm not saying you should just ignore this book, there are good scenes in here, but it is also full of problematic things outside the main story and heavily integrated in it.
But that it's also what the book is about, destruction, determination, ambition. The mind of a teen through the lens of an adult man.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
bec22's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it fast paced and wanted to know what happened next. There is a scene I found graphic (see below, have enclosed as a spoiler in case anyone does think it is important to the plot) but does only happen once and early on. The rest of the book I enjoyed, I can't believe how on the edge of my seat I was about chess games!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Racism
bibliophilehag's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. The pacing throughout was impeccable and although I had seen the Netflix series and knew what happened, I couldn’t put the book down. I was incredibly disappointed and disgusted by a couple of pages in chapter one which shows the book’s age (and perhaps the fact that it is authored by a white male) and throughout the book this soured and dampened my perspective on it - it would have been flawless otherwise. These two instances add absolutely nothing to the plot and they created a moral dilemma for me as a reader. On one hand I don’t want to rate this book and I want to cast it aside and never think of it again, and on the other hand the rest of the book was brilliant and I was very engaged with it. I will say for certain that the Netflix adaptation and Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of Beth are flawless. Taylor-Joy is Beth. Netflix do a wonderful job of modernising the plot whilst sticking very close to the original text. Beth’s story will drag you in; I loved experiencing her highs and lows, and ultimately being the best and beating a bunch of old white dudes at something they’re masters of 🤷♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, and Racial slurs
booshy's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Oof. I really disliked the writing style and overall the characters felt really flat. I’m glad I watched the series first, because if I had read this first I don’t think I would have been interested in the show. For me this story works much better as a show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism