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The Queen's Gambit

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About this listen

Engaging and fast-paced, this gripping coming-of-age novel of chess, feminism, and addiction speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four.

Eight-year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is, until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control.

By the age of 16, she's competing for the US Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting.

©2018 Walter Tevis (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Adaptation Chess Inspiring Thought-Provoking Biography
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After watching the episodes of this book that was filmed for Netflix I wanted to listen to the book. It is a very realistic story, and the film had stayed very true to the book, although there are a few more details in the book. I loved the story, about an orphan who has a gift for chess but an addiction problem (started in the orphanage by their policy in the 1950’s of dishing out sedatives to ‘calm’ children). But I wished the narrator had a voice that was less monotonous and able to characterise the individual part players ; she simply lowered the tone of her voice for the males, and kept her usual tone for females.

Great story, did not like the narrator, but listenable

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...I loved chess as a kid, but this book had me following options of the Sicilian defence on YouTube. it's intense and beautiful in equal measure, definitely worth reading...

so much better than the series...

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Very enjoyable. Narration good and in keeping with the books studied approach Will recommend to others

Queens gambit

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Loved the book and the narration. Restarted listening to the audiobook all over again as soon as it was over.

Great audiobook

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Once I got past the strange actress’s awful voice (thought it was A I for a while) I got really in to this story- surprised how much I enjoyed listening and now can’t wait to watch the Netflix series. Definitely recommend this to the impatient and intolerant listeners out there this is GREAT
:-)))

Fascinating

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