Reviews

The Gambler is my favourite Dostoyevsky so far. It has a solid story that leads to the outmost disaster of its main character. All in all, the book is a vivid representation of the fall of the character, of the gambling addiction and the society of the time. As it's quite small, it's easy to read, lighter than other Dostoyevshy books for sure and nicely written. So, I highly reccomend this one to anyone who wants to read Dostoyevsky but finds it hard to do so.

oftboolt's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

4.25

catarinaduarte30's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

brg101010's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No

2.0

budderboy's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective tense

3.5

murinius's review against another edition

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3.0

Not Dostoyevsky gambling the rights to publish his previous works by dictating a novel in three weeks which he called The Gambler... I was having so much fun reading this that I was thinking "Oh! Fyodor Mikhailovich wrote a comedy of errors. This feels like a normal book. It's actually quite humorous!" Then you reach the end and realise that, yeah, this is certainly the comedy of errors that Dostoyevsky would write.

zeibeat's review against another edition

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4.0

Dostoyevski wrote this short novel under humongous pressure from his editor as he made a deal that would help him repay gambling debts if he delivered the story on time. There it is. A tormented book about love and addiction.

I loved the chapter where Alex goes gambling with the stubborn widow and I didn't like much the affair with Paulina, tainted with a highly dramatic tone like other works from the century

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