Book #80

The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin

One of Pushkin's most popular and chilling stories, 'The Queen of Spades' tells of a young man who develops a dangerous obsession in pursuit of the wealth he craves.

What a story. I always find Russian literature to be absolutely delectable, and having never read Pushkin before, I’m pleased to have found this one.

He speaks to us of greed and gain, mixing the dangers of these with a hint of the supernatural and superstitious. If you could obtain a secret which led to unaccountable wealth, what would you do to learn this secret? And what would the knowledge cost you?

The characters were wonderful here. Aristocracy blending with the lower classes, young women dreaming of love, men asserting their power and dominance purely to attain advantage. Each of them shrewd, yet realistic, all of them flawed, every one doomed.

Pushkin portrays using wit, humour, and some truly excellent writing seeped in intrigue. Another little pearl nestled into the confines of the Little Black Classics range.