The World Played Chess: A Novel

"A fearless and sensitive coming-of-age story. I loved it." --Mark Sullivan, bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Last Green Valley.

Bestselling author Robert Dugoni returns with an emotionally arresting follow-up to The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer--Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life--dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one's own destiny.

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400 pages

Average rating: 7.66

107 RATINGS

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2 REVIEWS

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Community Reviews

Sandiejo20
Jul 28, 2024
9/10 stars
Unbelievably incredible. As a Marine, it hit my emotions on every level. I laughed, I cried (sobbed really), I felt the fog of war, I felt the guilt, and I felt the recovery path, the PTSD.... all of it. I loved the chapter POV changes, vocabulary wasn't difficult, I could tell who the voice was in each chapter, the storyline and plot didn't have holes, the character development was on point, and the differentt themes of religion, chance, relationship and war all ties throughout!! 400 pages is typically above our threshold for book club, but I whizzed through this book so quickly that I could have read it twice! There were a few times I didn't want to put the book down. LOVE LOVE LOVE this book 💖
rccohill
May 14, 2024
10/10 stars
This and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell were so good! I really like this author.. The Crosswhite series is very good too! This book had me in almost tears regarding certain parts of the book.

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