Brief Review for Brief Book
This post deserves a new title. I just wanted to quickly sing the praises of Stefan Zweig's novella (short story?) Le Joueur d'échecs, which can be equally known as Chess Story, since both of these are a translation from German. (I read it in French, but whatever, it's probably great in English too.) It was written in 1942, and is less than 100 pages. But what a 100 pages! I read it in a day, and I honestly couldn't put it down. Essentially, it's a psychological study of two chess players on a boat, both obsessed with chess for different reasons. We find out about both of them through two stories-within-stories, but the main plot point is centered around two chess matches (one much more serious than the other). It's kind of like Casino Royale (I'm talking about the book, not the movie!) in that it makes you want to read long passages about a game - not because the game is all that great, but because you know the stakes behind it. But unlike Casino Royale, the stakes aren't money: they're completely wrapped up in the players' sense of self, of pride, and even of sanity.
In sum: tightly-plotted, psychologically fascinating and very suspenseful. If it was any more than 100 pages, it wouldn't be as good - it's just enough to build you up for the most intense chess game ever. Even more interesting, knowing that Zweig and his wife apparently killed themselves shortly after he wrote this. I don't know what that means, but it sure makes the story darker.
In sum: tightly-plotted, psychologically fascinating and very suspenseful. If it was any more than 100 pages, it wouldn't be as good - it's just enough to build you up for the most intense chess game ever. Even more interesting, knowing that Zweig and his wife apparently killed themselves shortly after he wrote this. I don't know what that means, but it sure makes the story darker.