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

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. The pacing throughout was impeccable and although I had seen the Netflix series and knew what happened, I couldn’t put the book down. I was incredibly disappointed and disgusted by a couple of pages in chapter one which shows the book’s age (and perhaps the fact that it is authored by a white male) and throughout the book this soured and dampened my perspective on it - it would have been flawless otherwise. These two instances add absolutely nothing to the plot and they created a moral dilemma for me as a reader. On one hand I don’t want to rate this book and I want to cast it aside and never think of it again, and on the other hand the rest of the book was brilliant and I was very engaged with it. I will say for certain that the Netflix adaptation and Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of Beth are flawless. Taylor-Joy is Beth. Netflix do a wonderful job of modernising the plot whilst sticking very close to the original text. Beth’s story will drag you in; I loved experiencing her highs and lows, and ultimately being the best and beating a bunch of old white dudes at something they’re masters of 🤷‍♀️
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