You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This is one of the best written books I’ve read recently. Tevis writes so smoothly that you get lost in his lines even when you don’t know anything about chess. I couldn’t get enough of the book.
My biggest regret is to have watched the tv show before reading the book. I would love to imagine all myself. But I’ll definitely watch it again.
My personal opinion: when you restrict someone from doing the things they love, they always surprise you. We see Beth here from not being allowed to play chess in the basement with Mr Shaibel to forcing Borgov to resign in Moscow. Unbelievable. I would love to know where it goes later, yet I am sure she would win the next one as well.
My biggest regret is to have watched the tv show before reading the book. I would love to imagine all myself. But I’ll definitely watch it again.
My personal opinion: when you restrict someone from doing the things they love, they always surprise you. We see Beth here from not being allowed to play chess in the basement with Mr Shaibel to forcing Borgov to resign in Moscow. Unbelievable. I would love to know where it goes later, yet I am sure she would win the next one as well.
This was actually a bit of a letdown. Sort of well written, but with a quite uninteresting main character, who doesn't develop the slightest bit throughout the book. The plotline was entirely predictable, because her issues, which was the most interesting sides about her, didn't develop to a point where they actually affected her life at all.
3,5/5.
3,5/5.
Like every else, I got addicted to the Netflix series. I listened to the audiobook of this because it was free on Audible and I thought, “why not?” I wondered if I’d have cared about the chess moves if I hadn’t gotten the visuals first, but I did enjoy them. I find Beth that be a very likable heroine, but there were also times I want to shake her, so that makes a good story for me.
The Netflix series was pretty darn faithful to the book, with a few exceptions, like how her adopted mother plays piano and how Jolene seeks her out. They are all good choices for the change in media, so the book is worth reading on its own.
The Netflix series was pretty darn faithful to the book, with a few exceptions, like how her adopted mother plays piano and how Jolene seeks her out. They are all good choices for the change in media, so the book is worth reading on its own.
Året börjar starkt med en fempoängare! Första boken jag läser av Walter Tevis, men jag har sett The Color of Money någon gång i tonåren (av Tom Cruise-skäl).
Beth Harmon växer upp på ett barnhem, där hon lär sig att spela schack, något som hon visar sig ha extrem talang för. Mer handling än så kan jag inte berätta, för att undvika spoilers.
Jag gillar verkligen att boken gav en skön känsla både under läsning (när jag väl vant mig vid att det inte skulle vara en hemsk historia där alla utnyttjar det stackars barnhemsbarnet) och efteråt. Schackdragen var så klart svåra att förstå för någon som bara lärt sig reglerna och spelat som barn, men inte så svårt att man inte förstod ”vad som hände”.
Nu ser jag fram emot att se miniserien, och det blir verkligen intressant att se vad de har valt för vinkel på det hela. När alla serier försöker överträffa den förra med våld, sex eller både och kan det vara svårt att vara trogen den här boken i manus. (Självklart blir det som i alla serier någon typ av sex i första avsnittet
Beth Harmon växer upp på ett barnhem, där hon lär sig att spela schack, något som hon visar sig ha extrem talang för. Mer handling än så kan jag inte berätta, för att undvika spoilers.
Jag gillar verkligen att boken gav en skön känsla både under läsning (när jag väl vant mig vid att det inte skulle vara en hemsk historia där alla utnyttjar det stackars barnhemsbarnet) och efteråt. Schackdragen var så klart svåra att förstå för någon som bara lärt sig reglerna och spelat som barn, men inte så svårt att man inte förstod ”vad som hände”.
Nu ser jag fram emot att se miniserien, och det blir verkligen intressant att se vad de har valt för vinkel på det hela. När alla serier försöker överträffa den förra med våld, sex eller både och kan det vara svårt att vara trogen den här boken i manus. (Självklart blir det som i alla serier någon typ av sex i första avsnittet
This was an excellent read. Beth Harmon is a fascinating character, and her world and the world of her passion of her game and chess is surprisingly engaging. As tight and engrossing as the recent Netflix miniseries adaptation is visually, this story is on the page.
Reads like the work of a born storyteller, moving relentlessly through its story, eliminating all the excess.
A lot of other reviewers have talked about how hard the book is to put down. I didn’t have that experience, though the writing does draw you in through its sheer ease and confidence. At first I thought that this difference was due to watching the TV show first, which seems to be a near paragraph-by-paragraph retelling of the source material. On further reflection, I think this story just doesn’t do a whole lot for me.
There’s a lot of energy that Trevis mines from the theme of using victory and gamesmanship to triumph over trauma, and the power-fantasy of Beth going from strength to strength is appealing. But I didn’t take much from it in the way of atmosphere or any greater ideas, and for as brilliantly as Trevis turns the act of chess-playing into satisfying action, the sheer volume of it eventually made my eyes glaze over.
I will always admire this novel for the way it is written, but that precision of prose also highlights my disconnect. It’s an obviously consummate work: strong and confident; neat and mechanical.
A lot of other reviewers have talked about how hard the book is to put down. I didn’t have that experience, though the writing does draw you in through its sheer ease and confidence. At first I thought that this difference was due to watching the TV show first, which seems to be a near paragraph-by-paragraph retelling of the source material. On further reflection, I think this story just doesn’t do a whole lot for me.
There’s a lot of energy that Trevis mines from the theme of using victory and gamesmanship to triumph over trauma, and the power-fantasy of Beth going from strength to strength is appealing. But I didn’t take much from it in the way of atmosphere or any greater ideas, and for as brilliantly as Trevis turns the act of chess-playing into satisfying action, the sheer volume of it eventually made my eyes glaze over.
I will always admire this novel for the way it is written, but that precision of prose also highlights my disconnect. It’s an obviously consummate work: strong and confident; neat and mechanical.
I enjoyed reading the Queen's Gambit, although I'm guessing a key part of enjoying this book is being an avid chess player! I enjoyed the story without that, but thought I might have enjoyed it more if I had sat down with a chess board to check out the moves mentioned AND if I had been a knowledgeable chess aficionado. If I had been, I would have enjoyed the references to all the historical chess figures that were mentioned in the book. Still a fun read.
Totally picked this up after watching the TV series, the adaptation was good and made a couple of solid choices. A lot of the great of the TV series can be found in the original book.
Izaziva ovisnost, ne može se prestati čitati, dobila sam želju odigrati partiju šaha
It was like watching the series all over again! I was amazed that the dialogue was exactly the same in the series.
Book was great and took me only 2-3 days to read. I wish the author delved a little more into the emotions of the characters, but other than enjoyed his direct, descriptive and well-paced prose. (The descriptions of the chess games went a little long, but I appreciate Tevis's clear passion and knowledge of the game.) I also like that he doesn't always spell things out. He doesn't interpret things for you and lets the reader fill in some of the blanks. (show, not tell)
Book was great and took me only 2-3 days to read. I wish the author delved a little more into the emotions of the characters, but other than enjoyed his direct, descriptive and well-paced prose. (The descriptions of the chess games went a little long, but I appreciate Tevis's clear passion and knowledge of the game.) I also like that he doesn't always spell things out. He doesn't interpret things for you and lets the reader fill in some of the blanks. (show, not tell)