A review by wickedgrumpy
Chess by Stefan Zweig

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

I don’t know why I didn’t expect a book published in 1942 to include WWII.  It was quite dark and definitely reminded me of other stories involving idiot savants.

I half expected everything to take a violent turn but it ended on a rather premature and abrupt note.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Xenophobia, Addiction, Mental illness, Misogyny, Ableism, Body shaming, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Classism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Kidnapping, and Medical content