{"product_id":"the-chessboard-jean-philippe-toussaint-9781635424720","title":"The Chessboard: A Memoir","description":"\u003cb\u003eThrough the lens of chess, a celebrated Belgian author unearths fresh insights into his work and relationships in this luminous exploration of childhood, memory, and aging.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Europe into lockdown, Jean-Philippe Toussaint left Brussels for the seaside city of Ostend. Spending his days editing his novel \u003ci\u003eThe Emotions \u003c\/i\u003eand coming to terms with new aches and pains, his mind wanders to memories of his youth--summers at the beach with his grandmother, whose sore legs he's inherited now that he's reached the age she was then; the black-and-white checkered floor of his first school from the 1960s, where his exhausting quest for perfection would manifest. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen a slate of canceled trips and events presents him with unexpected time, Toussaint begins a translation of Stefan Zweig's\u003ci\u003e Chess Story\u003c\/i\u003e, or \u003ci\u003eThe Royal Game\u003c\/i\u003e, the writer's final novel, completed in exile shortly before his suicide in 1942. Working closely with this text that has long haunted him, Toussaint reflects on both their lives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRevisiting games with his father--who seemed to love winning at chess rather than playing it--as well as remarkable players such as Artur Yusupov and Gilles Andruet, Toussaint poignantly illustrates his coming of age as a writer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jean-Philippe Toussaint\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1635424720\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781635424720\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Other Press (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/13\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Jean-Philippe Toussaint","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48874543579391,"sku":"9781635424720","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-chessboard-jean-philippe-toussaint-9781635424720","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}