The Gambler

[Worm]

I am reading 'The Gambler' now, by the way.  I'll post some thoughts in a few days.
I came here to read other people's ideas about it, but i find that this novel has basically not been discussed on this board.  

[ecks]

the version I checked out has two shorter stories in it as well, Poor Folk, I think, and something else.

That is the version that I read. It's probably a William Heinemann series, we have a bunch of them with Dostoevsky's short stories in our library. The third story was The Landlady, a very poorly wriiten, enigmatic short story. I would not recommend reading that story. The Gambler was also poorly written, but it had it's interesting moments. I especially liked the part where the grandma began gambling and would not stop.

[axon]

> but i find that this novel has basically not been discussed on this board.  <

meh, there is really not much to say about it. Its a great book as books go, but its a poor Dostoevsky, if ya know what I mean.  

[abutton]

The Gambler probably has Dostoevsky's funniest scene.

JA WOHL!

[underworld men]

Actually The Gambler is a very poorly written, yet fun, short novel. D hated it as soon he has written - er - dictated it

Has anyone seen the movie adaptation?

Do you mean the Kate Hudson movie?

[Daydreamer]

Hello everyone. I've read "The Gambler" yesterday ( in Polish translation ) and I want to share some thoughts.
First of all I didn't like the portrait of my nation that comes from the book - the Poles are simply described as frauds.
However, I really loved the story. It's fast and sometimes very funny ( yes - JA WOHL!!!   ). Another thing I liked very much was the relation between the main character and Polina, I've almost fallen in something like that in my life...

Please forgive my poor English ...

[Winston]

Hi Daydreamer,
     Your English is very well-written in my opinion.  I just read "The Gambler" the other day and I agree; that is a very intense book and I think it's underrated.  
     I've also been struck with the treatment of Poles by Dostoevsky.  I don't know any Poles myself, so I don't really know what the national character is or anything.  But I'm reading "Memoirs from the House of the Dead" right now, which is supposed to be autobiographical in many respects, and I think it might explain in some way how Dostoevsky's views about them were colored.  Apparently the Poles in his Siberian prison kept very aloof from the Russians, and there seems to have been a lot of ethnic chauvinism from both sides.  The Poles that he was around for those years were polite but very cold and perhaps, considering the length of his constant exposure to them, this led to a certain negative tint when he invented fictional Polish characters.  I don't know though; that's just a theory.  Cheers!
                                               Winston

[Daydreamer]

Hello Winston,

I think the more I write, the more flaws are visible in my English skills...
Your theory looks interesting to me.
I read "Memoirs from The House Of The Dead" a month ago and from what I've read this really seems to be possible..
It's hard to tell the national character of Poles and I can't be very objective.. I am a Pole and I am surrounded by Poles, I live in Poland and I don't think about our national character too much, because it's too natural in my life.
I can only group a few things, partially stereotypes, but there's some truth in them...
Poles love to complain, Poles like to drink a lot of alcohol - mostly vodka, Polish women are beautiful   , Poles can work really hard to achieve something, Poles often bear the grudge for long...
But we are definitely not similar to Dostoevsky's characters he portrayed in "The Gambler". Still, I can understand the writer could have bad experiences with Poles so he could have created such characters
Such people exist,  but in every nation... I really dislike generalization... However, in literature it is sometimes captivating.
The Frenchmen are also treated indelicately - they are described as pure form that looks charming even when inside there is a scoundrel...
It's nice to read that I am not the only one that really liked the book and found it worth discussing Greetings!
                                                                     Daydreamer

[axon]

the way D treated Poles doesn't differ from the way he treated Jews, Muslims, and anyone else who was not an Orthodox Russian. Dostoevsky was a HUGE nationalist, and hated everybody.

And by the way, I'm Polish too - but I've lived in the states for more than half my life.

[Hungry Year]

According to the Gambler,D seemed  to adore the French nation in a ridiculous way,D loved the French nation so much that he even turn his back to them.There is a parodox,but it's understandable.Remember that the Russian were considered as a second class nation during the 19th,and this opinion still haunted us today.

About D being a nationalist,I don't think he loved his country that much,yes,He love his Russia,but his hatred towards some bad sides of the Russian personalities was obvious.

About the way D treats the Poles,I think he did quite a genuine job though a little bit over exaggerated.the Poles was much poorer than the Germany and the French,when people are poor ,they could be greedy and bad more easily.on the other hand,D highlighted some poles in the House of the Dead as you could see.

[Winston]

the way D treated Poles doesn't differ from the way he treated Jews, Muslims, and anyone else who was not an Orthodox Russian. Dostoevsky was a HUGE nationalist, and hated everybody.

And by the way, I'm Polish too - but I've lived in the states for more than half my life.

Axon,
     Though I think your observation holds true in many cases, I don't think it always does.  Compare the treatment of Poles vs. Muslims in HotD, for instance--Dostoevsky has more or less nothing but positives to say about the southern Muslims, and almost nothing but negatives about Poles (and Ukrainians).  Surely he would have considered Muslims further from a Russian Orthodox position than Poles.

[Winston]

According to the Gambler,D seemed  to adore the French nation in a ridiculous way

Yeah I agree.  Despite the bombast about the French, Dostoevsky made sure that his character did indeed follow the maxim that "All Russians go to Paris when they get money" (or something like that).

[Winston]

 
The Frenchmen are also treated indelicately - they are described as pure form that looks charming even when inside there is a scoundrel...

The funniest thing, to me, is when Dostoevsky describes Germans.  It's like he's run across something that isn't his natural enemy, per se, but some kind of natural opposite.  I was gratified by his explanation of his views on Germans in "The Gambler"--it is pretty funny, for some reason, to think of this master psychologist watching their compulsive work habits and trying to understand why they would be like that.

[thewretch]

I haven't read the book yet, but has anyone heard Prokofiev's operatic adaption of the novel?

[christian]

D was xenophobic as it is Alexej. Concerning the Polish people one has to take in mind that great parts of Poland were considered as Russian province. 1863 a rebellion in Poland was knocked down and Russia had to pay a high blood price. Polish people and all other foreigners were treated with contempt in all  his oeuvre, look only to The Brothers Karamazov if you like to get the "real" picture of Polish nobility.

The only "good" foreigner is the Englishman. All Frenchs are scoundrels with various identities chasing for money.

The true value of this short novel is the first and still prevailing description of pathological gambling and the destruction of the ego of the main character. Alexej who is outsider at the beginning of the book comes nearer and nearer to the inner circle up to his complete loss of personality. Like a roulette wheel.