The Gambler

A compulsive gambler himself at a certain period of his life, Dostoyevsky wrote this novel with real authority. Set in the appropriately named Roulettenburg, a German spa with a casino and an international clientele, it concerns the gambling episodes, tangled love affairs, and complicated lives of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young gambler; Polina Alexandrovna, the woman he loves; a pair of French adventurers, and other characters.
Although not as dark as some of Dostoyevsky's other works, The Gambler nevertheless offers a grim and psychologically probing picture of the fatal attractions of gambling. Among its strengths are its well-drawn characters -- Aunt Antonida, although lightly sketched in, is especially delightful -- and its faithful depiction of life among the gambling set in fashionable German watering holes. This edition reprints Constance Garnett's authoritative translation.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 05/20/1996
ISBN: 9780486290812
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.21lbs
Size: 8.26h x 5.21w x 0.34d