Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by nickoliver
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I absolutely adored the TV adaptation and had been close to buying the book several times, so when I found it by chance at the library, I was very excited to pick it up immediately! And while it wasn't the best thing I've ever read, I'm definitely happy to finally having done so.
First of all, the book just reminded me how faithful the adaptation was. I pretty much had the show play in my mind while I was reading, which was pretty nice (and also a bit surprising, since it's been almost six months since I had actually seen it). There were only a few differences to the show as far as I could tell, and most of them were either so minor they didn't matter, or they were positive. For example, Townes being gay and Beth being bisexual weren't book-canon. And even more importantly, in the book, Jolene sexually assaulted Beth when she was eight, and Beth retaliated by calling her the N-word. Both were things that they didn't have on the show.
Just like the adaptation, the book also had its boring moments. The chess games often could be easily skipped. As a matter of fact, they were even more tedious in the book because on the show, I at least got to watch it and didn't have to just merely read it. (Though to be fair, I'm saying this as someone who likes chess enough to know how to play it, but not enough to understand all the phrases.) Towards the end of the book, I actually did skip a lot because I just wanted to be done with it and it was hard. The font was small and the paragraphs long; I just didn't have the concentration or the interest to read every single word.
Character-wise, I definitely enjoyed Beth's voice. I had loved her on the show, because Anya had done such a good job at portraying her, so it was interesting to me to actually get to dive deeper into her psyche. Beth had a very single-minded focus on chess and an absolute trust in her abilities, which was fascinating and admirable. She knew exactly what she wanted and tried everything she could to achieve said goal. At the same time, you could also see that her utter concentration on the game made her appear a bit cold sometimes, since nothing else seemingly mattered. Also, I really liked the way Tevis portrayed her alcoholism and drug addiction, and the way it both helped Beth at playing chess but also hindered her. Personally, I headcanoned her as asexual too, just because she didn't seem to care about sex at all. And the few times she wanted to have it, it was with specific people and only after she knew them for a while. So maybe demi?
Moreover, I really loved Benny. I had also loved him on the show, but here, it was a bit clearer how frustrating he found to be around Beth, who only thought about chess. It showed that being someone who loved her wouldn't be an easy task. I do wish we got to see a less ambiguous ending to their relationship, though.
Overall, it was a bit exhausting and tedious to read this, and I do have to say I probably would have liked it a lot less if I hadn't had the show in my mind at the same time. But I liked delving into Beth's character more and to see her thoughts that the show obviously couldn't show on the same level, and it excited me to see how faithful (to my eyes) the adaptation was.
First of all, the book just reminded me how faithful the adaptation was. I pretty much had the show play in my mind while I was reading, which was pretty nice (and also a bit surprising, since it's been almost six months since I had actually seen it). There were only a few differences to the show as far as I could tell, and most of them were either so minor they didn't matter, or they were positive. For example, Townes being gay and Beth being bisexual weren't book-canon. And even more importantly, in the book, Jolene sexually assaulted Beth when she was eight, and Beth retaliated by calling her the N-word. Both were things that they didn't have on the show.
Just like the adaptation, the book also had its boring moments. The chess games often could be easily skipped. As a matter of fact, they were even more tedious in the book because on the show, I at least got to watch it and didn't have to just merely read it. (Though to be fair, I'm saying this as someone who likes chess enough to know how to play it, but not enough to understand all the phrases.) Towards the end of the book, I actually did skip a lot because I just wanted to be done with it and it was hard. The font was small and the paragraphs long; I just didn't have the concentration or the interest to read every single word.
Character-wise, I definitely enjoyed Beth's voice. I had loved her on the show, because Anya had done such a good job at portraying her, so it was interesting to me to actually get to dive deeper into her psyche. Beth had a very single-minded focus on chess and an absolute trust in her abilities, which was fascinating and admirable. She knew exactly what she wanted and tried everything she could to achieve said goal. At the same time, you could also see that her utter concentration on the game made her appear a bit cold sometimes, since nothing else seemingly mattered. Also, I really liked the way Tevis portrayed her alcoholism and drug addiction, and the way it both helped Beth at playing chess but also hindered her. Personally, I headcanoned her as asexual too, just because she didn't seem to care about sex at all. And the few times she wanted to have it, it was with specific people and only after she knew them for a while. So maybe demi?
Moreover, I really loved Benny. I had also loved him on the show, but here, it was a bit clearer how frustrating he found to be around Beth, who only thought about chess. It showed that being someone who loved her wouldn't be an easy task. I do wish we got to see a less ambiguous ending to their relationship, though.
Overall, it was a bit exhausting and tedious to read this, and I do have to say I probably would have liked it a lot less if I hadn't had the show in my mind at the same time. But I liked delving into Beth's character more and to see her thoughts that the show obviously couldn't show on the same level, and it excited me to see how faithful (to my eyes) the adaptation was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs