The Gambler - Softcover

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

3.91 out of 5 stars

97,664 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1523268557 ISBN 13: 9781523268559

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

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The Gambler is a riveting portrait of a desperate young man in the grip of gambling addiction, a compulsion that author Dostoyevsky knew about intimately. In this succinct but powerful novel, the Russian master examines the irresistible impulses in human nature that take us to the dark side. The heroine of the story, Polina, is based on Polina Suslova, Dostoyevsky’s lover in 1862-63.

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Review

The Gambler brilliantly captures the strangely powerful compulsion to bet that Dostoyevsky, himself a compulsive gambler, knew so well. The hero rides an emotional roller coaster between exhilaration and despair, and secondary characters such as the Grandmother, who throws much of her fortune away at the gaming tables, are unforgettable. The book's publishing history is equally so: Under the pressure of a deadline from an unscrupulous publisher, and with rights to his entire oeuvre at stake, Dostoyevsky dictated the book in less than a month to the star pupil of Russia's first shorthand school. Then he married her.

From the Inside Flap

In this dark and compelling short novel, Fyodor Dostoevsky tells the story of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young tutor working in the household of an imperious Russian general. Alexey tries to break through the wall of the established order in Russia, but instead becomes mired in the endless downward spiral of betting and loss. His intense and inescapable addiction is accentuated by his affair with the General's cruel yet seductive niece, Polina. In "The Gambler, Dostoevsky reaches the heights of drama with this stunning psychological portrait.

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