The Gambler — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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 mental and financial ruin are his fellow gamblers -- including the hilarious and stunningly observed Grandmama, frittering away her family's inheritance while 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 dark psychological novel of truly extraordinary proportions. Russian novelist and short story writer Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the greatest, most influential prose writers of all time.