Zugzwang

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Zugzwang—A chess term used to describe a position in which a player is reduced to utter helplessless: he is obliged to move, but every move serves to make his position even worse.

The breakout book from a celebrated literary writer: a thriller set in St. Petersburg in 1914 amid an international chess tournament and a series of mysterious murders.

Ronan Bennett's new masterpiece of literary suspense unfolds in a city on the verge of revolution. ...

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London, UK 2007 Hardcover 1st Edition New in New jacket Book. Signed by Author(s) First Edition, First Printing. This is a true first edition, first printing (first impression) ... copy in a as new dust jacket SIGNED and DATED by the Author. [Ronan Bennett, Dublin, 18.9.07] *****PLEASE NOTE: This item is shipping from an authorized seller in Europe. In the event that a return is necessary, you will be able to return your item within the US. To learn more about our European sellers and policies see the BookQuest FAQ section***** Read more Show Less

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Zugzwang: A Novel

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Overview

Zugzwang—A chess term used to describe a position in which a player is reduced to utter helplessless: he is obliged to move, but every move serves to make his position even worse.

The breakout book from a celebrated literary writer: a thriller set in St. Petersburg in 1914 amid an international chess tournament and a series of mysterious murders.

Ronan Bennett's new masterpiece of literary suspense unfolds in a city on the verge of revolution. On a blustery April day, a respected St. Petersburg newspaper editor is murdered in front of a shocked crowd. Five days later, Dr. Otto Spethmann, the celebrated psychoanalyst, receives a visit from the police. There has been another murder in the city—and somehow he is implicated. The doctor is mystified and deeply worried, as much for his young, spirited daughter as for himself.

Meanwhile, he finds himself preoccupied by two new patients: Anna Petrovna, a society beauty plagued with nightmares with whom he is inappropriately falling in love, and the troubled genius Rozental, a brilliant but fragile chess master on the verge of a complete breakdown. As Dr. Spethmann is drawn deeper into the murderous intrigue, he finds that he, his patients, and his daughter may all be pawns in a game larger in scope than anything he could have imagined.

Punctuated with board-by-board illustrations of a chess match that plays out through the book, Zugzwang is a masterfully written novel packed with cliffhangers, romance, unforgettable characters, and a plot that keeps readers guessing to the very end.

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Editorial Reviews

Patrick Anderson
…excellent literary thriller…beautifully told by Bennett…This is a compelling portrait of a highly civilized society as it approached one of history's great upheavals. By the end of the story, the apolitical Spethmann must confront the realities of his world: "When things reach this pitch we are all in zugzwang. Past wrongs will not be forgiven. Rage and numbers will tell." I happened to watch Gillo Pontecorvo's classic film "The Battle of Algiers" while I was reading Zugzwang. The movie and novel make the same point: There are moments when the tides of history will not be denied.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly

Roiling with class tensions and rife with danger, St. Petersburg during the twilight of the last czar serves as the chessboard on which Irish author Bennett (The Catastrophist) stages this heady historical thriller. The game begins with a bang: the murder of prominent newspaper editor O.V. Gulko in March 1914, just weeks before the city hosts a glittering international chess tournament. (Zugzwangrefers to a situation in which a player can make only moves that worsen his position.) Then there's a second slaying. Despite plenty of the usual suspects-Bolsheviks, pro-German reactionaries, Polish nationalists-the police start grilling respected psychoanalyst Otto Spethmann and his 18-year-old daughter. The widower's protestations of innocence cut little ice with his chief inquisitor, Insp. Mintimer Lychev, a mysterious sort who happens to share Spethmann's chess enthusiasm. Dr. Spethmann's only hope: using his analytic skills to crack the case. As he races the clock, he and Lychev become caught up in a high-stakes battle of wits. The plot packs more than enough surprises to keep any suspense junkie sated. (Nov.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Library Journal

Claiming a patch of Boris Akunin's literary territory, prerevolutionary Russia, British novelist Bennett (The Catastrophist) imagines a psychoanalyst in St. Petersburg whose vigorous efforts on behalf of his patients lead to startling results. In fact, a visit from the police just days after the murder of a St. Petersburg journalist is just the first hint that Dr. Otto Spethmann will be drawn into terrible intrigue. The title is a chess term meaning a state of utter helplessness in which any action can only make things worse. And so it is for the characters, an array of plotters and naïfs whose yearning for love, justice, or power results in the deaths of many-but not of the tsar. Bennett, whose previous works have been shortlisted and longlisted for the Whitbread Award and the Booker Prize, respectively, plays out a real chess game complete with board illustrations in an intricate choreography of revolutionists, lovers, and turncoats who keep one another and us guessing until the very end. An unusual book that will find its ardent readers in most large public libraries.
—Barbara Conaty

Kirkus Reviews
Why would a reclusive chess master be at the heart of a plot to kill the Tsar? That's just one of the puzzles in this taut, intricate thriller set in pre-revolutionary Russia, the fifth novel from the Northern Irish Bennett (Havoc, in Its Third Year, 2004, etc.). It's March 1914, and St. Petersburg is in ferment. Pro-German and pro-French factions jockey for power as war looms; terrorists and revolutionaries are hard at work; Jews are being scapegoated. Yet our narrator, Dr. Otto Spethmann, born a Jew but not raised as one, remains serenely nonpolitical. A middle-aged widower, he lives with his daughter Catherine, a willful university student who he loves dearly. Otto is a respected psychoanalyst with some celebrity patients: Avrom Rozental, a Polish Jew favored to win the upcoming chess tournament; Anna Ziatdinov, a beautiful socialite, daughter of the reactionary industrialist Zinnurov; and Gregory Petrov, Bolshevik leader (Lenin is in exile). Otto is forced to acknowledge political strife by a visit from a police inspector, Lychev, who suspects Otto is linked to a plot to kill the Tsar. The idea is preposterous, but it turns out that Catherine has indeed been consorting with a would-be terrorist, now murdered. Otto's serenity is further disturbed when armed intruders ransack his office for Rozental's file. Bennett deftly splices the patients' case histories with his fast-moving plot. Otto counsels the deeply disturbed Rozental not to play in the tournament, advice which will have explosive repercussions. He pinpoints the source of Anna's trauma even as they become lovers and he runs afoul of her powerful father. Petrov, however, confident in public but a soul in torment in Otto'sstudy, remains an enigma. Otto is forced to make difficult moves in this human chess game, even as he plays an actual match with his famous violinist friend Kopelzon (in a treat for chess lovers, there are board-by-board reproductions of each move). A series of stunning surprises ends with Otto himself executing the key conspirator. A hugely enjoyable, brilliant high-wire act.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780747587118
  • Publisher: Gardners Books
  • Publication date: 9/3/2007

Meet the Author

Ronan Bennett grew up in Belfast. He is the author of four novels: The Second Prison, Overthrown by Strangers, The Catastrophist (shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award), and Havoc, in Its Third Year (longlisted for the Booker Award). He has also written screenplays for film and television. He lives in London with his family.

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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 11, 2008

    Chess playing reader

    I found the history and chess overtones wonderful. This was a vacation read and very enjoyable. I delighted in the turn of characters which seemed much more realistic than some American novels.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 21, 2007

    A reviewer

    Honestly, I'm not a reader. I work at BN in the Music and DVD Department and hardly venture out in the world of books. However I picked up an advance reading copy of this one day and couldn't put it down. br I found this book highly enjoyable, fast-paced and well written. The characters and plot were intriguing and kept my intest. If you know chess or Russian history, you'll surely enjoy it on another level as well, but I must say you don't need to be experts in these areas to enjoy this truly wonderful novel.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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