Lesekreis

In the reading circle on Wednesday evening, April 8, at 6:00 PM in the Arosa community and school library, Jutta Bonifazi will present Fyodor Dostoevsky's "The Gambler". We look forward to guests and locals who want to dive into the glamorous world of casinos. There are sure to be stimulating discussions; reading the novel is not a prerequisite for participation. For Dostoevsky, gambling meant knocking on the door of fate. It was about the moment when the roulette ball hesitates between two possibilities - win or ruin. In the fall of 1866, Dostoevsky himself knocked on the same door as an author: he had just finished "Crime and Punishment", and he had only four weeks left to fulfill a contract with the extortionate publisher Stellovsky. By November 1, he needed a novel of 10 printed sheets in length - otherwise, Stellovsky could take possession of all of Dostoevsky's works, including those that would not be created for another nine years. "The Gambler" was to become Dostoevsky's only international novel - set in places like Wiesbaden, Paris, Baden-Baden, and Bad Homburg. Between the poles of Eros and gambling, he created a series of unforgettable characters who defined the spa life of these fashionable resorts: impoverished Russians, ambitious courtesans, French nobles, Polish fortune hunters, and distinguished Englishmen. And with his main character, the young tutor Alexei Ivanovich, he created another of the great youthful figures that characterize his later work.