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

dark 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

The Queen's Gambit was a very different read from other books I have read. I honestly struggled in a sense with reading it as although my excitement to see what it was about pushed me to finish it, I could never really see where the plot was going and what was the author's aim in writing this. My constant thought was 'what was the climax?'. Is it the part where
Beth loses a competition due to her alcoholism
? Or maybe was it
all that was going on with Benny
? I just have such mixed feelings about the book despite being excited to read it with how highly praised the story and Netflix show was. In particular, the whole thing about
Townes
was particularly confusing to me because
why was he mentioned so often if in the end, he almost seemed pointless to the story
? Nevertheless, with Beth's
addiction to both drugs and alcohol
, I think that Tevis is able to provide an insightful view into the live of an orphan and those whose upbringing altered their lives in ways people would never understand unless they lived in their shoes. In a way though I must say, I almost
wished for Beth's failure at the end of the novel to in a way show that she isn't fully perfect and there is still so much more for her to learn
. Yet, with the
open ended nature of the novel
, I think it leaves room for me to still interpret that. A truly insightful and interesting read.
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