Reviews with content warning for Torture - Novela de ajedrez

I don’t know why I didn’t expect a book published in 1942 to include WWII. It was quite dark and definitely reminded me of other stories involving idiot savants.

I half expected everything to take a violent turn but it ended on a rather premature and abrupt note.

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rat_t0oth's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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generalmalfoy's review against another edition

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challenging tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I read this book in German.
I picked it up on a whim when I saw it in the library and saw its very short length. As I have previously heard about the title in class, I was intrigued.
The book opens with a short breakdown of one of the main characters' life up to the point when the story is told. The writing itself feels witty but to the point, with some humor behind it, even though the story itself is not funny.
As the title says, there is a lot of chess in the book. I was scared it would be rather dry, but this was not the case at all. The matches were fast-paced and the wording made me feel like I was there, cheering and struggling with the characters for the next move. One does not need to understand chess at all, as the excitement and struggle is written in such a thrilling way, that one gets excited without understanding the moves.
Reading the second main character's story and reading about him experiencing what he went through to become so great at chess felt very raw, and it captured the time it was written in very well.

I liked how the horrific deeds of the Nazi people were portrayed in a more unusual way, not like what one is used to from history lessons. For me, it is the first book that deals with this topic that I enjoyed and would read again (saying this as someone who is very sensitive when it comes to Nazi time and WW2 content).

All that goes down in the throwbacks comes together beautifully in the finale of the story,

a heated chain of chess matches. The tense nature of the situation was written so well, I felt tense too. The end is very abrupt, but it felt very fitting here. Usually, I prefer knowing more about what happens after the main story is finished, but just ending it without saying anything further felt just right here, especially after reading the author's biography in the appendix.

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