Although most people are familiar with casino films, there is a sizable chunk of the literary canon devoted to games of chance. Over the years, gambling has inspired a large number of stories and works of art.
If you’re a bookworm who wants to combine your love of the printed word with your interest in gambling, you should definitely add the following novels to your library.
The Grifters author Jim Thompson
After author Jim Thompson died in the late 1970s, critics began to reassess his corpus of work and recognize the important role it played in the formation of contemporary fiction. Jim Thompson was an underestimated genius during his lifetime, and it wasn’t until after his death that his work received the credit it deserved.
The Grifters is largely recognized as one of the author’s finest works, and it revolves on a group of protagonists who are all interested in achieving financial success through deception.
Roy Dillon, the primary character, is a con artist from birth. He began by cheating in dice games and gradually broadened his repertoire. His estranged mother Lily is actively connected in the underworld of horse racing and collects bets for illegal organizations. Moira, his girlfriend, is just as exploitative as he is, albeit in a more feminine way.
The Grifters, like all great gambling works and casino literature, is focused on the art of the odds. It delves into what drives gamblers, such as why it is tough to dupe an honest person yet simple to dupe dishonest people.
This tragedy about listless youth and avarice set in the middle of the past century still feels relevant today, and the 1990 film adaptation is equally well regarded.
The Biggest Game in Town Is All About Al Alvarez
In contrast to its current high visibility and widespread presence, poker was relatively unknown to the general public during the 1980s. In addition to the television coverage that was already present, The Biggest Game in Town was one of the factors that drew additional attention to the World Series of Poker. This attention was on top of the coverage that was already present on television.
It is written in such a way that it gives the impression of being a novel in every way, despite the fact that it does not contain any completely fictional elements. As Alvarez delves deeper into the seedy underbelly of the Las Vegas poker scene, before it became popular in the mainstream, he examines a wide cast of characters. These characters include big winners as well as recurring losers.
This is the book for you if you’ve never been to Las Vegas before or if you’d like to be transported back in time to when it was unquestionably the most important and lively destination in the world.
It also does an excellent job of describing the psychology of gamblers, which is not surprising considering that the author of the book is a gambler himself and, as a result, has some very special insights to contribute. What is surprising, however, is that it does an excellent job of describing the psychology of gamblers. By reliving the exploits of high rollers, hustlers, and poker players from a bygone era, you can experience life as if it were your own and live it as if it were your own.
Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale
These days, the two film adaptations of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale get all the attention, but returning to Fleming’s novel is like taking a big breath of fresh air.
James Bond, the main character in the story, is an intriguing and intriguing character. In spite of his expertise in navigating the glittering world of high-end casinos, he is icy, cold-blooded, and somewhat disengaged from what is going on in the world around him. In spite of this, he maintains that he is clueless regarding what is taking place.
Even in the very first written adventure that 007 goes on, there are a lot of difficult obstacles for him to get past. He emerges from the story more cynical than he was when it first began as a result of having to endure a string of traumatic experiences throughout the course of the narrative, such as explosions, gun battles, and torture at the hands of the nefarious Le Chiffre. These experiences include:
This book was first published in 1953, and within its pages are many cultural comparisons that, despite the fact that some of these comparisons are unsettling and others are entertaining, are certain to pique the interest of readers living in the present day.
Bond’s massive appetite is unintentionally funny given the super-ripped physique that we associate with James Bond as a result of Daniel Craig’s performances as Bond in recent years. This association came about as a direct result of Craig’s performances. This is because we associate James Bond with the performances of Daniel Craig, which took place within the past few years.
The novel written by Paul Auster is referred to by its title, “The Music of Chance”
The presence of an element of chance is essential to the prosperity of any gambling enterprise; the possibility of achieving even a modest victory over the establishment encourages players to keep coming back for more.
This topic is investigated in a way that is delightfully absurd and off-kilter throughout the entirety of The Music of Chance. The main character of the story, Jim Nashe, comes into an unexpected inheritance and spends it recklessly. Eventually, he finds himself in a situation where he is attempting to con two eccentric millionaires out of their money in a game of poker, but he ends up losing to them.
The meaning of human existence, or the lack thereof, is of interest to the novel, in addition to the randomness of the world around it, which is the primary focus of the novel. It is possibly the most meaningful and merited work of fiction among those that we have suggested, and it includes both humorous and depressing passages. This is because it contains both humorous and depressing passages. Jim Thompson and Ian Fleming are both good authors to start with if you’d rather begin with those who are simpler to comprehend than other writers.