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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Beth Harmon becomes an orphan when her parents are killed in an automobile accident. At eight years old, she is placed in an orphanage in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where the children are given a tranquilliser twice a day. Plain and shy, she learns to play chess from the janitor in the basement and discovers that she is a chess genius. She is adopted by Alma and Allston Wheatley and goes to a local school, but remains an outsider. Desperate to study chess and having no money, she steals a chess magazine from a newspaper store and then some money from Alma Wheatley and a girl at school, so that she can enter a tournament. She also steals some of the tranquillisers to which she is becoming addicted. At thirteen she wins the tournament, and by sixteen she is competing in the US Open Championship. Like Fast Eddie (in The Hustler), she hates to lose.
About the Author
Walter Tevis (1928-1984) was an American novelist and short-story writer. He is best known for his novels The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth which were adapted for film. He wrote three more novels -- Mockingbird, The Steps of the Sun and The Queen's Gambit - and a collection of short stories, Far From Home. He died in 1984.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this in my teens, and could thoroughly relate to Beth's character. I lost the book during one of several housemoves, but subsequently found the same in a charity shop in London, hurrah! Then I moved again, and once again this little gem of a book got lost. I have now bought this book for the 3rd time, and am determined to keep it in my collection permanently! It is one of those stories that sticks in your mind, years after reading it. If you didn't like chess before you started, you will after finishing the book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Beth Harmon lives in an orphanage, who exists on tranquilizers.
The janitor teaches her to play Chess and she soon surpasses his skill. It is a story about a girl growing up, feeling a misfit. At eighteen abandoned by her lover, destroyed by drink & drugs.
It is also about a skill, a supreme talent and a consuming obsession. This is a fantastic rare treat, that I have read again and again. No one could not relate to our heroine, the effect of life on a teenager. The fascinating black & white universe of International Chess competition, where in Moscow she has to play the greatest player in the world.
The janitor teaches her to play Chess and she soon surpasses his skill. It is a story about a girl growing up, feeling a misfit. At eighteen abandoned by her lover, destroyed by drink & drugs.
It is also about a skill, a supreme talent and a consuming obsession. This is a fantastic rare treat, that I have read again and again. No one could not relate to our heroine, the effect of life on a teenager. The fascinating black & white universe of International Chess competition, where in Moscow she has to play the greatest player in the world.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a man but still found this story of a loner girl, compelling and inspiring. I read it many years ago and a few times since. I was a bit of a loner once, and found a skill which I developed, in my case running, so maybe that is why I could empathise with Beth. Her determination to win and the way she picks herself up is inspiring.
After reading this, I did want to play chess.
After reading this, I did want to play chess.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book - Queen's Gambit
I read this book as a teenager years ago and never forgot the subtly and tension of the narrative. Unfortunately i did forget the title and the author. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2010 by Ms. S. J. Mackey
"Isn't it primarily a game for boys?"
Even though the notion expressed on the title of this review has been disproven throughout the years, chess is still a game where males vastly outnumber female players. Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2007 by Sebastian Fernandez
Queens Gambit ..You Wont be Sorry
I first read this book 20 yrs ago, while I was in the Merchant Marine and it was the last book in the ships library that I hadnt read. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2003 by Lloyd Mitchell
An unusual novel with a difference.
Beth Harmon lives in an orphanage, who exists on tranquilizers.
The janitor teaches her to play Chess and she soon surpasses his skill. Read more
The janitor teaches her to play Chess and she soon surpasses his skill. Read more
Published on 6 July 2003 by "camilla306"
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