The Gambler

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Classic fiction. 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 financial and mental downfall are his fellow-gamblers - including the hilarious and brilliantly observed Grandmama, frittering away her family's inheritance whilst 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 darkly psychological novel of truly extraordinary proportions.