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

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-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

As someone who plays chess and has knowledge of the game, I very much enjoyed the Queen’s gambit, I loved the way it empowered woman in chess and showed Beth breaking a lot of stereotypes and a lot of glass ceilings down, I also enjoyed seeing a woman actually have a career in such an old book and given actual development and a voice. I think the book surprisingly actually dealt with racism and addiction quite well and it was extremely refreshing to see a black character not saved by the white characters but her own hard work and determination. It was also nice to see such an old book openly criticising racism and sexist ideology and stereotypes. I also enjoyed the games being played too and how the writer clearly had knowledge of chess as they are actual games that anyone could play today. I also throughly enjoyed seeing Beth go through addiction and beat it and how it connected to the plot, it added a hopeful positive message in what otherwise could’ve been very dark. I also liked that the prose and writing felt extremely disconnected from Beth when she was in her worse times but when she’s playing chess and in a happier space it connects more to her, it added a very lyrical and chess move prose style that felt like a knight or queen attacking a piece. Overall I highly enjoyed and would definitely recommend for people who have an interest in chess but haven’t played and the complete opposite. 
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