Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

158 reviews

sarah2438's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

2.5

This is a book about chess, more than anything else, which is why I struggled with it. Of course I knew that would be a major piece, but I expected (and spend the whole book hoping) that we could focus on some of the other themes that were in the background. Beth being pretty clearly not neurotypical, her processing the deaths of her parents, the nitty gritty of her addiction. But just like Beth herself, this book just... didn't really care about any of that. I kept waiting for some real introspection on Beth's part, or a contemplation of her life beyond chess, but it just never happened. I respect the amount of research the author put into creating this book, but there is just so much time spent using technical jargon of chess that is never actually explained to the reader. It got to the point where I was skimming through the paragraph  and paragraphs of actual gameplay. I think this book is fine but you really need to be a chess fan to enjoy it, and unfortunately that's just not me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent

madelinekramer2021's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Racism, and Sexism

chiqui's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry

annaf1tz's review against another edition

dark informative tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual assault and Racism

bubblyfemme's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this book because of the Netflix show, which I absolutely adore. 
The show kept very true to the story, which I enjoyed because I felt as if I was doing my normal rewatch of the show. I loved getting to see a little more of Beth’s internal thoughts, and a little bit more about her time in the orphanage.
However, there was a scene taken out in the show (rightfully, in my opinion.) of childhood sexual assault, which is completely brushed over, something I that I think was really irresponsible of the author. Plus the racial slurs which may have been ‘historically accurate’, but were unneeded. the story was written by a white man, so I don't think it was his place to write racism into a story like this. 
This is why the story in my opinion does not warrant five stars despite the rest of story, being one of my all-time favourites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Racism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Bullying

aguattery's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It was good but I probably wouldn't read it again. If I didn't have the visuals from tv show I would have had a pretty difficult time following it. 

I did like that the author was able to almost write this like a thriller. Each game has me at the edge of my seat. It was also a bit of an emotional roller coaster with some really high high and some really low lows. 

Also it's not listed high in the trigger warnings so there are racial slurs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexism

nicole_rietveld's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

 Am reușit cu greu să trec de primul capitol din cauza unor scene ciudate. Prima încercare s-a soldat cu un DNF, dar am zis să îi mai dau o șansă pentru că protagonista e încadrată în același arhetip mbti ca și mine. Am găsit foarte puține lucruri în comun, de aceea mi s-a părut un personaj mai mult stereotipic.

Nu am simțit vreo conexiune cu personajul principal, nu am simpatizat-o în vreun fel. Mi s-a părut puțin cam prea rațională. Ar fi fost mai ok ca povestea să fie narată la persoana întâi pentru a vedea și care sunt sentimentele tinerei. Cred că singurul lucru pe care l-am înțeles e dorința ei de a fi mai bună, de a arăta că succesul într-un anumit domeniu nu este destinat doar genului masculin. 

Cu siguranță, este o lectură mai potrivită pentru cei pasionați de șah pentru că sunt descrise multe strategii și jocuri. În plus, stilul de scriere e destul de slab, iar pentru mine contează foarte mult cum e scrisă o carte ca să îmi placă povestea. Am văzut și o parte din serial înainte de a citi cartea, dar pe mine nu m-a vrăjit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident and Death of parent

anapthine's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content

sophiapi's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Racism