The Gambler
I just started Dostoevsky’s The Gambler and I love it. Doing everything in the wrong order, as usual for me, I read Summer in Baden-Baden a couple of years ago which was partially about Dostoevsky’s addiction to gambling. The Gambler is fiction, but thinly veiled—this is someone who has been immersed in that world.
His psychological portrait of a gambling addict highlights the thrill of betting. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses, the bet is the thing. He lives for that intense feeling of risk. Dostoevsky describes the feeling of freedom that betting gives an addict, which conversely ends up enslaving him. There is much more going on in this short book and I highly recommend it.
This article by Theodore Dalrymple got me interested in the book (plus Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors). Another interesting look into the mentality of people hooked on gambling.
His psychological portrait of a gambling addict highlights the thrill of betting. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses, the bet is the thing. He lives for that intense feeling of risk. Dostoevsky describes the feeling of freedom that betting gives an addict, which conversely ends up enslaving him. There is much more going on in this short book and I highly recommend it.
This article by Theodore Dalrymple got me interested in the book (plus Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors). Another interesting look into the mentality of people hooked on gambling.
posted by Dwight at
8:05 AM
3 Comments:
Hey, Chrees, you are such a book nerd. I love it. I don't know very many people who read serious fiction. You've inspired me. I should put a "what I'm reading" link on my blog, too.
At the moment, I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice, after recently watching the BBC miniseries.
By
Tiredbuthappy, at 2:21 PM
Book nerd... that's the nicest thing I've been called in a long time *lol*.
The past two years I've been reading a lot of ancient Greek literature and history, and next up are the Greek tragedies and then more Roman stuff. I just had to take a break from it for a book or two before tackling it, though. I'm not a big Dickens fan, but I have wanted to read Bleak House now that it is on TV as well. I think that is going to have to wait.
I haven't read Austen in quite a while, but I'd also like to read a few again. Plus I've never read Mannsfield Park and I loved the movie. There have been some wonderful adaptations of her work.
OK, back to work...
By
Dwight, at 2:32 PM
I'm glad you choose to be flattered by being called a nerd!
A coworker once complimented me on my "nerdy chic" wardrobe. After I spluttered for a minute I realized that he was right. This is exactly how I dress. That was almost ten years ago and now I consciously choose clothes that say "nerdy chic".
Wow, Greek tragedies, though. I think you out-nerd me. I got enough of that stuff in college. Now I read novels. Novels novels novels. Roughly five a month. How do I manage it with a kid and two jobs? I sleep less than I should.
Okay, enough diversions. We're supposed to be talking about money here. And I better go or I'll be late for daycare pickup.
By
Tiredbuthappy, at 2:05 PM
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