The Gambler

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Gambler is a tense, semi-autobiographical novella that reveals Dostoyevsky’s intimate battle with obsession. This annotated edition includes an original introduction, a biographical essay on his personal and creative struggles, and a cultural essay examining its artistic legacy.

The rush of winning. The agony of loss. The unshakable belief that the next bet will change everything. The Gambleris a gripping portrait of obsession, power, and self-destruction, following Alexei Ivanovich as he spirals into the intoxicating world of roulette.

Written under the pressure of his own gambling debts, Dostoyevsky delivers a novel charged with relentless energy, capturing the psychological highs and devastating lows of risk and compulsion. As Alexei navigates a world of deception, passion, and desperation, the story unfolds with the same tension as a wager placed on a turning wheel.

The Gambler explores the thin line between control and chaos, fortune and fate, choice and inevitability—where every spin of the wheel holds the promise of redemption or ruin.

At Other Minds Publishing, we present this edition as part of an ongoing artistic dialogue—to amplify how Dostoyevsky’s influence continues to shape literature, cinema, and artistic expression, inspiring new interpretations of his work across generations.