Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20281 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Synopsis
A reissue of a collection of three stories by Dostoyevsky, of which THE GAMBLER ties in with the eponymous film to be released in the autumn.

About the Author
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-81) is regarded as one of the greatest prose writers of all time. Journalist and writer Jonathan Franzen is the author of three novels - The Twenty-Seventh City, Strong Motion, and The Corrections (which won the National Book Awards 2001). He has been named one of 'Twenty Writers for the 21st Century' by The New Yorker and one of the 'Best Young American Novelists' by Granta.

Customer Reviews

Dostoevsky Lite
Dostoevsky wrote 'TG' very quickly because he needed to pay of his own gambling debts during the period in which he was completing 'Crime and Punishment'. Consequently, although it contains all the classic motifs often found in Dostoevsky's work, it is very short and hurried, and reads like a 700 page novel condensed into a 100 page novella. It is 'Dostoevsky Lite', with all the elements but not the depth of his other books.
'TG' is the story of a few days in the life of the household of a Russian General who has relocated to a gambling town in Germany (Roulettenberg) and frittered his fortune away. The protagonist, a ward of the general's family, is a classic Dostoevsky lead man, feverish and passionate, as he becomes embroiled in complex love triangles and money wrangling within the general's entourage, and attempts to divert them from the twin disasters of financial and social ruin. The arrival of the general's mother (whose legacy is a potential source of redemption for the family) brings the family crises to a head. All of this, despite the brevity of the book, is told with the wonderful characterisations and relative complexity of Dostoevsky's other works.
Although I described 'TG' as 'Dostoevsky Lite', this isn't necessarily a negative. It didn't, for me, have anything like the impact of his longer novels, but conversely it was a quicker and easier read than his other books. I think that anyone wishing to dip their toe in Dostoevsky but who is intimidated by his reputation, could do a lot worse than starting with 'TG'. Likewise, anyone already a fan will not be disappointed. He has written better books, much better, but 'TG' was a very good book by anyone else's standards.

Excellent - don't miss it.
This is in my opinion the author's best book - a genuine masterpiece. Significantly shorter than other works such as "The devils" and "Crime and punishement", he achieved a rare perfection on this novel. I would certainly recommend it.

An easy read...... (also a deep and brilliant classic)
It's a gripping account of fate and of character. Hypocritical shallowness and transparencies are satisfyingly reversed. Humourously too - the arrival of the Grandmother.

Intelligent accounts of people and of social tendencies and addiction..... 'the Russian character'. Roulette the destroyer - pride that falls to its wheel. The balance of characters are slyly dependent or more honest and cutting - the Grandmother. All are vulnerable to the weaknesses of humanity. The narrator has our sympathies for his detachment / lack of interest...and his awareness.....A classic in pace and observation and truth.