The Queen's Gambit
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4.6 • 815 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Netflix’s most watched limited series to date! The thrilling novel of one young woman’s journey through the worlds of chess and drug addiction.
When eight-year-old Beth Harmon’s parents are killed in an automobile accident, she’s placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. Plain and shy, Beth learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers she is a prodigy. Though penniless, she is desperate to learn more—and steals a chess magazine and enough money to enter a tournament. Beth also steals some of her foster mother’s tranquilizers to which she is becoming addicted.
At thirteen, Beth wins the chess tournament. By the age of sixteen she is competing in the US Open Championship and, like Fast Eddie in The Hustler, she hates to lose. By eighteen she is the US champion—and Russia awaits . . .
Fast-paced and elegantly written, The Queen’s Gambit is a thriller masquerading as a chess novel—one that’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
“The Queen’s Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years—for the pure pleasure and skill of it.” —Michael Ondaatje, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The English Patient
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Plenty of sports novels make us feel like we’re right there on the field or the gridiron. Get ready to feel that same excitement about the chessboard. Walter Tevis’ gripping story follows an orphan chess prodigy named Beth Harmon as she rises through the competitive ranks, constantly butting up against the sexism that runs rampant in the male-dominated chess world of 1950s America. Tevis makes Beth’s journey—and every high-stakes, white-knuckle match—as gripping as a thriller. He does an equally incredible job of getting us into Beth’s head, fearlessly exploring not only her staggering intelligence but the flaws and neuroses that make her such a real and relatable character. Beth’s brilliance is wildly compelling, but so are her struggles with addiction and bad relationships—things that even the sharpest mind can’t always fix. If you enjoyed the screen adaptation, don’t pass up this incredible read, which delves even deeper into the turbulent mind of a genius.
Customer Reviews
“The Queen’s Gambit” has a powerful affect that will stay with your for a lifetime.
This is my most favorite book since I was a young adult reader although it covers a very adult reality. It pulls you in through a young girls eyes. An inquisitive orphan girl finds respite in days spent staring at a chess board with the building’s janitor. He sees her gift. She knows her potential. Can she find it within herself to achieve it?
A Terrific Story
The Netflix series was very well done. The book is even better. See the series first, then read the book.
Ahead of its time
A wonderful read, engrossing book. I never thought I’d love a book based on chess, but this was great. The author creates a young woman protagonist I feel I now know. All the characters are interesting and complex.