Chess

Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell, Coralie Bickford-Smith

Book cover for Chess
Book cover for Chess

Chess

Chess

Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell, Coralie Bickford-Smith

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Description
'... a human being, an intellectual human being who constantly bends the entire force of his mind on the ridiculous task of forcing a wooden king into the corner of a wooden board, and does it without going mad!'

A group of passengers on a cruise ship challenge the world chess champion to a match. At first, they crumble, until they are helped by whispered advice from a stranger in the crowd - a man who will risk everything to win. Stefan Zweig's acclaimed novella Chess is a disturbing, intensely dramatic depiction of obsession and the price of genius.

About the Author

Anthea Bell (translator) has published acclaimed translations from French, German, Danish, and Polish, including W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz. She lives in Cambridge, England.

Coralie Bickford-Smith (cover illustration) is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London.

Critical Reviews

A brilliant writer--New York Times

One of the joys of recent years is the translation into English of Stefan Zweig's stories--Edmund de Waal

Stefan Zweig was a late and magnificent bloom from the hothouse of fin de siecle Vienna--The Wall Street Journal

Zweig is one of the masters of the short story and novella, and by 'one of the masters' I mean that he's up there with Maupassant, Chekhov, James, Poe, or indeed anyone you care to name--Nick Lezard, Guardian

A new favourite writer of mine--Wes Anderson

Perhaps the best chess story ever written, perhaps the best about any game--Economist

His great achievement in short form--The Times

Publishing Information

Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pub date: 2024-11-12
Length: 128 pages

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