The Gambler

Based on Dostoevsky's own troubled experiences at the gaming tables, The Gambler is a brilliant and telling portrayal of a man crippled by the overwhelming powers of addiction and obsession. Stationed in the house of a tyrannical Russian general, Aleksei Ivanovich seeks solace in the hypnotic turn of the roulette wheel. Yet, what begins as an idle pastime soon becomes a dangerous obsession, as Ivanovich sinks deeper into debt. Observing his mental and financial ruin are his fellow gamblers—including the hilarious and stunningly observed Grandmama, frittering away her family’s inheritance while those who seek to gain from her death look on with ill-concealed horror. And as passion, hatred, and unadulterated greed rise to the surface, Dostoevsky creates a dark psychological novel of truly extraordinary proportions. Russian novelist and short story writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the greatest, most influential prose writers of all time.