Luneburg Variation

Robert P. Beveridge, the reviewer just before me (and a "top" reviewer at that), doesn't get the end of this book. If you've read the book carefully, the ending is perfectly clear and perfectly just. I won't spoil anyone's enjoyment by explaining the end, because I think the reasonably intelligent and literate reader is capable of figuring it out for himself. Suffice it to say, like great chess, or like any valuable work of art for that matter, EVERY detail counts. Pay attention, and you will be richly rewarded. I'm on my second reading, and my pleasure in the Luneburg Variation only grows.I also think the reviewers who made a lot out of the concentration camp scenes miss the point. The book isn't about Nazis, Jews, the Holocaust, etc., at all. The author needs all that for the mise-en-scene, but the book is really ultimately about chess itself and what it can mean.

I met Paolo Maurensig via his latest novel, which up to today hasn't been published in the US. He has a very highbrow style and there is a lot of introspection but this is nonetheless a page-tuner! I think that what makes this novel so enjoyable, apart from Maurensig's brillian writing and the fascinating plot (narrated in a long flashback) is the fact that the writer has found the perfect balance between width of the tale and weight of the book (in terms of pages). a hundred pages more and most readers would have found this too pompous to be enjoyable and on the other hand if the plot wasn't so intriguing 140 (in the italian edition) pages would be to many (and trust me, I've met writers who built 500 pages monsters on a plot that could be effectively summarized in one sentence). Buy it as soon as you can!

Admittedly, I have a strong bias for books dealing with chess. That aside, I can still recommend this book. On a superficial level it is a compelling read; on a deeper level its form is insightful and well suited to the nature of the tale. The fundamental ideas allegorically portrayed in the course of the novel are well suited to the themes Maurensig has chosen. While the philosophy proffered may not agree with that of the reader's, certainly its presentation is not objectionable. The approach to chess is the approach to life, and the case for the approach is well met. The weakest element of the novel is compensated for in its form: justification of the characters' actions is delivered not by the author, but the reader. It is not a long novel; and certainly worth the time spent reading.

A great novel, intense and breath-taking. Written in a pregnant style with a peculiar circular structure. It sometimes reminded me of certain atmospheres of Herman Hesse's books. Absolutely worth reading. One of the books I liked most in last years.

This book had me going right up till the end, and even then when I had finished I wanted to keep on reading. I thought at first that I was missing the last part of the book. But don't let the unorthodox ending deter you from this fine work. The characters and actions span a period of fifty years from the outbreak of WWII until the present. Effortlessly the author moves us from scene to the next with the precision of a grandmaster that has seen mate ten moves ahead. The characters are masterfully crafted in an artful chiaroscuro, which reveals just enough to tease the reader's appetite and leaving us aching to see into the shadows that remain. Not all the questions are answered in the end but enough are. It is refreshing to be forced to think as a reader, instead of being spoon-fed every point as if we were mindless infants. The story is strong and the blending of the chess games with the deadlier games the characters engage in is delightful. This book certainly ranks up there with the likes of other mysteries, most notably The Flanders Panel. The translation is smooth and clearly leaves the author's distinct voice to shine through. A great book for a raining night by the fire.