A review by enidcoleslaw
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

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? It's complicated

2.5

The writing is quite stilted which could be jarring but I think adds to Beth’s character in the book. Beth as a character however is a little unbelievable as a woman, over and over clothes are mentioned of no real importance (maybe as a signifier of her switch to sobriety) but I feel it was mostly added as a cool girl staging. Beth scoffs at being regarded as a woman player yet theres not really connection between her and other women (besides briefly Jolene). It feels as though the author chose to write a woman playing chess in order to create conflict or draw to the plot, and then no conflict was created. Jolene is also portrayed quite disgustingly honestly, her being the only black character and
almost preying on Beth when they were young. At the end it felt like the point of Beth’s character as a woman was moot when Benny called her up with possible solutions to the final game with the Russian world master.
The long drawn out chess scenes would probably be more interesting to me if I actually knew how to play so I can’t find any faults in them, I think they’re written in a way that can draw tension without knowing a thing about the game. Overall I wish the author focused more on Beth’s background and maybe asked more women about how to write women. Weird conflations with chess and sexuality that are never mentioned or tied up again, leading me to believe that the author was just sexualizing a teen girl for no reason.
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