The Gambler by Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Fiction, Classics. (Hardcover)

The Gambler is the tale of a man named Alexei with a passion for -- no, an addiction to -- roulette. In Dostoevsky's own words, ...all his vital sap, all his energies, his impetuosity and boldness will be absorbed by roulette. He is a gambler, but not just an ordinary gambler ...My hero is, in his way, a poet, but he feels ashamed...and he feels its ugliness the ugliness of his addiction] deeply. It's an oddly sympathetic tale, and Dostoevsky was well suited to telling it: The heroine of The Gambler is based on the fiery Apollinaria Suslov -- Dostoevsky's own mistress.