Chess Story, also known as The Royal Game, is the Austrian master Stefan Zweig's final achievement, completed in Brazilian exile and sent off to his American publisher only days before his suicide in 1942. It is the only story in which Zweig looks at Nazism, and he does so with characteristic emphasis on the psychological.
Travelers by ship from New York to Buenos Aires find that on board with them is the world champion of chess, an arrogant and unfriendly man. They come together to try their skills against him and are soundly defeated. Then a mysterious passenger steps forward to advise them and their fortunes change. How he came to possess his extraordinary grasp of the game of chess and at what cost lie at the heart of Zweig's story.
This new translation of Chess Story brings out the work's unusual mixture of high suspense and poignant reflection.
At first I was really excited to read the novella as I heard a lot about it and wanted to read it for quiet some time. But unfortunately Stefan Zweig's piece of literature could not live up to my expectations. The book is written very well but I never really got sucked in. The story didn't capture or thrill me in any way. Furthermore, the last third of the book was rather forseeable. For me it held no surprises. Having read another book by Stefan Zweig, "Fear", I was really expecting more from this novella. Considering the good reviews I read before and the level of awareness I didn't think this story would be so average. It is a decent read, neatly written and the plot is not to bad but I'd rather read one of Stefan Zweig's other stories than this one.
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
17 July, 2013:
Finished reading
-
17 July, 2013:
Reviewed