From the Bookshelf of Book Nerds Unite…

The Queen's Gambit

Walter Tevis

Start date: September 1, 2021

Finish date: September 30, 2021

Discussion: BOTMs

Discussion leader: Shawna Finnigan

Why we're reading this: Adult BOTM for September
[close] Adult BOTM for September

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What Members Thought

Sep 07, 2021 Shawna Finnigan rated it did not like it

TW// (view spoiler)

I’m going to start off by being completely honest… Thomas Sangster is my celebrity crush and he was in the Netflix adaptation of this show, so that’s why I decided to read this book. While I did like Benny (who Thomas plays in the series), I found this book to have major flaws and I have some very controversial opinions about this book.

Let’s start off with the big one: a man wrote this book. Before anyone comes to attack me, ho TW// (view spoiler)

I’m going to start off by being completely honest… Thomas Sangster is my celebrity crush and he was in the Netflix adaptation of this show, so that’s why I decided to read this book. While I did like Benny (who Thomas plays in the series), I found this book to have major flaws and I have some very controversial opinions about this book.

Let’s start off with the big one: a man wrote this book. Before anyone comes to attack me, how would you feel if a woman wrote about a man defying gender stereotypes by joining a cheerleading squad? How would you feel about a woman writing about a man’s struggle with testicular cancer? There’s just some topics that it’s better to have someone write about only if they’ve experienced that topic themselves and in the case of this book, this book would’ve been drastically improved if a woman had written it. This book involved a girl who joined a sport that was known mostly for men participating in it and not only that, she also started her period in this book. These two subjects are ones that are very unique to females, so not only did I feel uncomfortable reading these scenes, I felt that those scenes were somewhat inaccurate in parts, too. This book feels too much like a man who wants so badly to be a feminist that he overlooks the fact that to be a feminist, you’ve got to let women share their own experiences and stories. This is probably my most controversial opinion about this book, but someone needed to say it.

My second less controversial opinion that stripped my enjoyment away from the book was the complex chess language used in this book. I was a chess player for four years and competed in women chess tournaments, so I know quite a lot about the sport, but I still got lost in all the chess language and I wonder how people who don’t know much about the game could make it through this book.

The book was also a bit bland and boring. The main character Beth wasn’t a super interesting character and the plot felt like it inched along at a snail’s pace. I can see how people with a refined taste for classics might enjoy the book, but unfortunately I am not one of those people.

My final complaint involves Jolene. She was the only character of color with adequate time in the book, but she was not treated well. She was described as “the black one” and when Beth pictured who she wanted to be, she pictured “a white Jolene.” This screams racism and I wish I could say that this book was published in the 50’s so that I could forgive that more, but it was published in 1983. Jolene was also somewhat painted in a bad light. I expected there to be some racism, but having the only black character that played a role in the book sexually assault the main character didn’t set well with me. And yes, it was sexual assault. There’s no other words for it as Beth never said yes and Beth was only eight. Don’t even get me started on the other sexual things in this book - talk of young girls' breasts, a seventeen year old having sex with a college student, etc…

I still have yet to see the show, but I have higher hopes for the show. The lead actress seems like one who wouldn't put up with sexist and racist crap, so I’m hoping that the flaws in this book were fixed in the show. This book could’ve had potential, but it fell flat on too many elements for me. ...more

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