The Queen's Gambit: A Book Review

Title: The Queen’s Gambit

Author: Walter Tevis

Genre: Fiction

Quick Review: Honestly, it is such a good book that is so well written. You really get a sense of character in the book, and her obsession with chess through this brilliant characterisation. I would highly recommend. It, to me, is better than the movie and I watched the movie first. Although, the movie had captivated the book well. I do not recommend for younger readers – SA.

I read The Queen’s Gambit purely because I enjoyed the movie. Again, it had been on my TBR list for quite some time and I saw it in my local library and took the gamble… get it? Well, it was a very intriguing read, but it did not make me want to be a chess player. But, I do have a new appreciation of the game.

Synopsis

Sadly, Beth , age 8, became an orphan during a car crash where both her parents had died. During her time in the orphanage, her innocence had been challenged and discovered two ways to remove herself from her surroundings. One way, is during chalk cleaning (secretly playing chess with the janitor) and another is taking pills that the orphanage gave the kids to keep them calm. Later, both are taken from her. The pills became illegal and they could not longer give them to children and Beth shows withdrawal symptoms. The orphanage stopped her spending time with the janitor. However, she was discovered to be a young prodigy and later became a US champion.

Review

The Queen’s Gambit is an excellent read, albeit minus the disturbing scenes in the orphanage. The writing is clear and in chronological order. We follow Beth as she develops into a young woman who becomes enthralled with the desire to become the queen of chess. She has qualities, where she continues to self-sabotage and self-indulge, but the writer has characterised her well to be a believable character. Do I like her? No, not really. But, I do like how she analyses her surroundings and registers social queues and acts upon it.

The overall plot is well constructed. It is a bildungsroman whereby we follow her growth and development closely as she navigates her new life outside of the orphanage. Tevis demonstrates a clear characterisation as she experiments with style, character, and hobbies as she tries to fit in at school. I found this to be a lot clearer than in the movie, as in the movie she seemed more sure of herself and arrogant, but here we get a sense of identity experimentation. Really well captivated.

Overall, I recommend the book to adults, not young people. It is a fascinating read that is well constructed of a young girl becoming the queen of chess… ahem… gambit. The Queen’s Gambit.