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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This book had me losing track of time every time I cracked it open. Excellent storytelling and character development. I don’t understand a lick of chess but I was absolutely mesmerized by Beth’s games and the way she approached her sport. I feel so inspired by this book.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“She heard someone whisper, ‘Thirteen fucking years old,’ and immediately the thought came into her mind, along with the exultant feeling the whispered voice had given her: I could have done this at eight.”
Every time I finish a Walter Tevis novel, the last page always leaves me reeling after having my mind blown. The Queen’s Gambit was no different. I was a little peeved when the show came out, because I was perfectly happy for this book to live on my TBR forever until I eventually got to it… and then the show lit a fire under the necessity of reading the book. But I didn’t want this to be my first Tevis book, since I was first aware of him from The Man Who Fell to Earth, which used to be Tevis's best known work until just two years ago, probably because of the 1976 movie with David Bowie. Well, finally having finished that, I couldn’t resist getting into this one after I finished my review. I’m glad I didn’t let it sit around on my TBR forever! Unfortunately, I did run into a reading slump in the middle of reading this, in part due to my studying procrastination, but I won't fault the book for that since it is entirely of my own making.
Despite being a book that revolves around chess, Tevis makes the reader feel completely at home—no chess experience required, thankfully. The novel follows Beth Harmon, chess prodigy, from the age of about 8 to 19, as she makes her way up in the elite chess world during the 1960s. I noticed that this was the reverse of The Man Who Fell to Earth, which was set in the 1980s to 1990s but written in the 1960s. In the few decades in between, Tevis’s writing style definitely sharpened up, but his characteristic breezy style is the same. What I love about his works is that he tends to write in scenes, small snapshots of moments here and there that build an overarching plot. It makes for quick, fast-paced reading and engrosses you into the story before you even realize it. Because of that, the plot moves along swimmingly—and by the time you get to the climax, it feels like an adrenaline rush, but in a good way. Tevis has a tendency for abrupt endings, but the one in this one worked a lot better than the one in The Man Who Fell to Earth, at least for me.
The characters are also quite well done in this book. Though the book focuses on Beth, the secondary characters are fairly distinct—I quite loved the subtle ways Mrs. Wheatley develops, though she never plays a huge role in the book. Similar things could be said for the other secondary characters. I do wish some were given more time and others less, though. As for Beth, her own development and progress (and struggles) are one of the key highlights of the book. Just like The Man Who Fell to Earth, addiction is a key theme in this book, just as it was a key ‘theme’ for Tevis himself. The Queen’s Gambit is also similarly set in Kentucky. But if the former is a sci-fi look at humanity as a whole, the latter is a more realistic portrayal of individual humanity—how one person can strive for a particular goal, and how she obtains that achievement (or not); and, of course, at what cost? It almost makes one feel glad for being mediocre.
There were a few scenes towards the beginning of the book that did give me pause, and while Tevis’s style leaves little room for extraneous material, these scenes did leave me wondering what purpose they served. I don’t want to highlight them in my review but if you’ve read the book you’ll know what I mean, most likely. I can’t wrap my head around why Tevis included them, or what purpose they play in the story. On the other hand, other scenes are quite well-written and memorable—Beth’s classic moment with the jar of pills, for instance. Still, the book sneaks in subtle themes and ideas along the way—I liked the reference to racial workplace discrimination, class differences, and the looming spectre of the Cold War, as always. All in all, Walter Tevis has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and I eagerly look forward to reading Mockingbird and his other books.
…And I suppose now I can finally watch that Netflix show. I know that they could not have adapted everything in the novel, just because there is so much more in the way of subtle plot deviations and events, but it would be nice just to see how the chess moves are supposed to work. Not being able to visualize and not knowing chess intimately aren't dealbreakers for enjoying this book, but they sure would have helped. I just hope that the Netflix series has inspired a more… shall we say ‘faithful’ adaptation in the upcoming The Man Who Fell to Earth TV series; if it does, I’ll forgive it for coming out before I could read the book.
Memorable highlights:
“There was nothing in front of her now but the sixty-four squares and the shifting architecture of pawns—a jagged skyline of imaginary pawns, black and white, that flowed and shifted as she tried variation after variation, branch after branch of the game tree that grew from each set of moves.”
“She stared for a moment at the candle. It was a lavender upright wax penis with a pair of glossy testicles at its base. The wick came from the glans, and most of the glans had already melted away. Something in her was shocked.”
“‘If you win, what will you do afterward?’ He looked puzzled. ‘I don’t understand.’ ‘If you’re World Champion at sixteen, what will you do with the rest of your life?’ He still looked puzzled. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said.”
“Philidor was doing blindfold exhibitions and burning out his brain, or whatever it was they thought you did in the eighteenth century. Diderot wrote him: ‘It is foolish to run the risk of going mad for vanity’s sake.’ I think of that sometimes when I’m analyzing my ass off over a chessboard.”
“You’ve been the best at what you do for so long you don’t know what it’s like for the rest of us.”
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
I will confess that I did not really like the main character of this book and I do not play chess. You'd think this combination would doom the book, but it was well written and interesting. I'd recommend it!
Read to complete the Book to Screen category of the 2022 SPL Book Bingo.
Read to complete the Book to Screen category of the 2022 SPL Book Bingo.