The Gambler (Modern Library Classics)
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 921)
Read in March, 2006
Algunas de las muchas razones por las que 'El jugador', y por extensión todo Dostoievski, es tan bueno:
- Es sorprendente. Prácticamente todas sus novelas son desconcertantes en un primer momento: no acabas de entender a los personajes y las relaciones que hay entre ellos, porque son tremendamente contradictorios; pero sobretodo porque no tienes ni idea de hacia dónde va a ir la trama y qué se propone Dostoievski con semejante enmarañamiento. Pero, al final, todo encaja de una manera mag...more
- Es sorprendente. Prácticamente todas sus novelas son desconcertantes en un primer momento: no acabas de entender a los personajes y las relaciones que hay entre ellos, porque son tremendamente contradictorios; pero sobretodo porque no tienes ni idea de hacia dónde va a ir la trama y qué se propone Dostoievski con semejante enmarañamiento. Pero, al final, todo encaja de una manera mag...more
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what if you lived in a beautiful house of talents (be it russian renaissance or arabic or whatsoever) and having no money at all?which would you prefer:a house with no food or food with no house?and which would bring you the other:the house would bring you the food or food would bring you the house?
and if you never had any feeling of belonging to your own body,how would you deal with your body and of those who are around you if you could not handle your own house(body-physique) when you could ...more
and if you never had any feeling of belonging to your own body,how would you deal with your body and of those who are around you if you could not handle your own house(body-physique) when you could ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I shall presently spiral toward an obsession with Roulette. Never have I so fantastically anticipated the next page (This line would be my quote found on the back of the book with this tag: " - J. Cristaldi, New York Times Never-Heard of Author"). In all sincerity, I begat the book with choppy reading and found myself rather lost, and that was a mistake because when I finally sat down to invest time in the read (a quick damn read too) the plot was so delicious that I had to go back an...more
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This book was good, but the critical introduction (which I read after reading the book) to it really helped me to get more out of it. While gambling certainly plays a central role to the whole thing, what is more interesting to me is the various ways people approach the gambling, and the type of "gambling" that goes on in their own day-to-day activities.
However, what appealed to me most was the idea of putting everything on the line in order to reach that exquisite moment when you...more
However, what appealed to me most was the idea of putting everything on the line in order to reach that exquisite moment when you...more
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Read in April, 2003
There are few writers like Dostoevsky. His life was as dramatic and intense as one of the novels he authored. The circumstances behind The Gambler illustrate this perfectly. Picture Dostoevsky in late 1866, lonely and sick. His wife died in 1864, and he continuously suffered from epileptic episodes. Fyodor was in debt way over his head, from a failed publishing venture and his assumption of his brother’s debts and his bouts with gambling. He was an addict of roulette—which became a s...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Dostoevsky Fans-Especially new ones
I have found this text surprisingly accessible. Constance Gardner--who translates almost all of the Russians I love-- has done a remarkable job. The forward at the beginning of this specific edition is quite enlightening. It brought my awareness to the brilliance and tonal accuracy of Gardner's translations, which furthers my adoration of Dostoevsky's masterful wordplay.
The plot is also interesting. I really recommend this to those wanting to tackle Russian lit without having to commit to 70...more
The plot is also interesting. I really recommend this to those wanting to tackle Russian lit without having to commit to 70...more
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Read in February, 2008
Apparently Dostoevsky wrote this book in 30 days so as to satisfy some debts and keep all the rights to his writings. I wish he wasn't on a deadline -- the writing is great, there's a lot of humor, but it just dies out at the end.
Reading the story, you feel the madness of gambling, both ups and downs, which is pretty remarkable. It's told in a journal-like style which gives you a very personal seat in the narrative, which works great. The characters are interesting, and have the hints o...more
Reading the story, you feel the madness of gambling, both ups and downs, which is pretty remarkable. It's told in a journal-like style which gives you a very personal seat in the narrative, which works great. The characters are interesting, and have the hints o...more
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I curse the Mickey Mouse Law, which is the reason why publishers continue to insult us with bad translations. Who could trust a translator who cannot even express herself well in her own native language? Here is an example of Constance Garnett in action. Page 57:
"A Frenchman is not often naturally polite. He is always polite, as it were, to order, with a motive."
And here is a more coherent translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky. Page 217:
"A Frenchman is rarely amiabl...more
"A Frenchman is not often naturally polite. He is always polite, as it were, to order, with a motive."
And here is a more coherent translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky. Page 217:
"A Frenchman is rarely amiabl...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Mark
I listened to this book on audiobook, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get into it. But I totally did, and I started looking for opportunities to listen to it, and I looked forward to driving and running. A fascinating and hilarious book, made even more interesting by the circumstances under which it was written. Basically, he had a crazy deadline to meet--if he didn't, then the bookseller would own all the rights to everything he'd already written, and everything he would write over the n...more
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A great read. Lots of manic warbling and failed sortings out. Includes a talking-to I'm hoping therapy will save me from.
"Yes, poor unfortunate," continued Astley. "She DID love you;
and I may tell you this now for the reason that now you are
utterly lost. Even if I were also to tell you that she still
loves you, you would none the less have to remain where you are.
Yes, you have ruined yourself beyond redemption. Once upon a
time you had a certain amount of talent, an...more
"Yes, poor unfortunate," continued Astley. "She DID love you;
and I may tell you this now for the reason that now you are
utterly lost. Even if I were also to tell you that she still
loves you, you would none the less have to remain where you are.
Yes, you have ruined yourself beyond redemption. Once upon a
time you had a certain amount of talent, an...more
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این کتاب در مورد مرد جوانیه که تو خونه ی یه ژنرال ورشکسته , مقروض و باز نشسته معلمه. به دختر خونده این ژنرال علاقه منده و سعی می کنه مفید باشه . اما زندگیش و روی قمار میزاره و قمار به قول یکی از شخصیت های داستان روح و جسمشو تسخیر می کنه
موقع خوندن این کتاب به یاد قهرمان کتاب ابله ا...more
موقع خوندن این کتاب به یاد قهرمان کتاب ابله ا...more
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Read in March, 2008
کتاب قمارباز، شما رو با خودش می بره به یه قمارخونه با تمام آدمهایی که مسخ اون شدن و باعث می شه وقتی داو رو می ذارن دست های شما هم شروع کن به لرزیدن و وقتی می برید شما هم کتاب رو پرت کنید بالا و وقتی می بازین طمع شما رو بگیره که ایندفعه دیگه عدد من میاد!
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Alright, so it's not Brothers Karamazov, and he wrote it quickly and for money. So what! It is my favorite by D, because it has what all the other books have in brief compass, grotesque Bosch-like adversaries, a real Russian woman and vixen in Polina, and a long-suffering protagonist, forced to one ridiculous gambit after another, but not willing to do evil like Raskolnikov. It's times like these that I think comedy is superior to tragedy.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Readers of Dostoevsky and those who enjoy roulette
I recently decided to start from (almost) scratch with Dostoevsky and boy am I glad I did. This is patent FD - as I like to refer to him - with intriguing setting, grin-while-reading humor, only-in-a-novel coincidence, unseen fortune followed by medicine-ball-in-the-stomach despair, all presented in confessional quality autobiographical detail. And in the end you, or at least FD, can still find some hope for mankind.
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Folks with patience
Wow, this guy likes his descriptive writing. He's good at it though. The Grandma is a great character, not only because she's called exactly that through the whole bit. I think there was a lesson here, but it's about being Russian or something and I don't really get it. This was one of those books that you're glad you read because it's a good story, but you don't spend the rest of the day imagining about it.
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This is a good, semi-autobiographical story by Dosteovsky. It may not be as deeply philosopical as his other works, but it is an easy read and entertaining. It is about addiction, in particular, regarding gambling. Interestingly, Dostoevsky finished this book (like many others) on a deadline in order to recieve money which he could use to payoff gambling debts.
Oh, the irony!
Oh, the irony!
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My only exposure to Dostoyevsky was reading Crime and Punishment in college - by candlelight, as per the assignment. It was a meaty study of the human psyche, and laborious by candlelight! So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dostoyevsky has a lighter side. His character development is full and rich, but the humor remains tongue in cheek.
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There isn't really much to say about this book in my opinion, I don't think i was ready to read this book, it was so confusing for me, for some reason. it seemed like a great topic before I read it. A man who is obssesed with gambling, and shows the dark side of it. Sounded like a great topic, but for some reason it just didn't fit me.
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I really enjoyed this book. I loved Dostoevesky's look into the mind of a gambler. I found the introduction to be quite helpful, especially with the background of Dostoevesky, and how he came to write this book.
This book was written in something like 30days to overcome a crazy gamble Doestoevesky had placed on himself and his writing.
This book was written in something like 30days to overcome a crazy gamble Doestoevesky had placed on himself and his writing.
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قمارباز را یک بار جلال آل احمد ترجمه کرده(1327)، بی تردید از زبان فرانسه، و بعد از آن ظاهرن دیگر هیچ مترجمی سراغ این کتاب نرفته است. نه گمانم که ترجمه ی پنجاه سال پیش آل احمد امروز یافت شود.
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