Take a photo of a barcode or cover
christineh87 's review for:
The Queen's Gambit
by Walter Tevis
I'm not the biggest chess fan so I was surprised by how exciting and captivating this novel was, as much of the prose was based around chess strategies and moves. Whilst Beth Harmon goes through many personal struggles, particularly addiction to substances, I felt the main drive of the story was Harmon's consuming love for chess and for winning, and how this drives her to excellence within the sport.
Whilst the story is compelling and exciting, I felt that Harmon's character doesn't develop fully, she has transactional relationships with almost everyone she meets and very rarely relies on others for assistance. I feel the TV series adaption played on the idea that Harmon learnt to rely on others, but in the novel I feel that this is somewhat lacking. Although I enjoy an imperfect character I would have liked to have seen a stronger development not just in her chess abilities, but also her ability to establish meaningful relationships.
Whilst the story is compelling and exciting, I felt that Harmon's character doesn't develop fully, she has transactional relationships with almost everyone she meets and very rarely relies on others for assistance. I feel the TV series adaption played on the idea that Harmon learnt to rely on others, but in the novel I feel that this is somewhat lacking. Although I enjoy an imperfect character I would have liked to have seen a stronger development not just in her chess abilities, but also her ability to establish meaningful relationships.