3.5/5 (audiobook)

CW: Parental death, sexual assault of a minor, overdose on tranquilizers, use of drugs and alcohol

This was a fascinating listen, but to be honest, I really am not sure what it is that kept drawing me into the story. I can't say that the story was phenominal or that the writing was next level, but I could not step way. I listened to the first 75% of the book in one sitting and finished the rest within the next day.

The Queen's Gambit is a story that is full of trauma, drama, love, lust, and chess. Beth's character is intriguing and extremely dynamic throughout the story, and as I got to know more about her, the more invested into the story I became.

I think part of what drew me in was the fact that I was listening to the novel on audiobook. The book can be a bit heavy in chess terminology and theory at times, and I think by listening to it, I was better able to understand and grasp at what was happening in the story.

I also can't look past the woman-taking-over-a-(traditionally) "man's"-game.

SPOILERS
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I was bothered by a few things, however. First was the relationship between Beth and Jolene. From the audiobook, I felt the relationship began negativily. It seemed as though Jolene was taking advantage of Beth because she was young and naive. There was the initial interaction in the line for "vitamins" that made it seem like Jolene was taking a power move over Beth. Maybe this was the way in whcih the audiobook was read, but I did not feel like Jolene was going to be very kind to Beth.

Then there is the bedroom incident that took place in their sleeping quarters. Jolene sneaks over to Beth's bed and seems to presure her into performing sexual acts when she did not seem ready or comfortable with it.

The relationship still seemed to develope into a loving one, where Beth thought of Jolene as a great friend, and unless I missed something, this relationship seemed rather toxic. But...

...I do have to say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Jolene and Beth in the Netflix Original Series. The connection they built seemed to be like a big-sister relationship. The producers did a nice job of making it seem like Jolene was taking Beth under her wing and helping her grow up with what little they had left of their childhoods.

The other issue that bothered me was the tranquilizers. It started with the orphanage giving tranquilizers to the children, which is a problem in and of itself, but I was curious about the impact they would have longterm on Beth. She was taking the pills since she was about eight years old, give or take a few years. That must have some sort of damaging effect on a person. Not to mention the withdrawl symptoms I assume would come with stopping a medication. I feel like there should have been more of a lasting effect on Beth than there seemed to be in so as not to glofiy the taking of the pills.
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SPOILERS ENDED

A day after finshing the audiobook, I watched all seven episodes of the Netflix adatption. Some of the changes made to the cinimatic adaptation were welcomed, and I have to say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Jolene and Beth much more - Jolene seemed like a sister to Beth and was there to support her along the way.

Overall, this was a really interesting listen that I may have never picked up if my family didn't think the series was so well done.