Novels about immortality hold an undeniable appeal for me, but the challenges of sustaining a strong narrative and effective characterisation over longs periods of time are rarely overcome. Documents Concerning Rubashov The Gambler confirms to this trend, running out of steam around the halfway mark.

In 1899, hopeless gambler Josef Rubashov has lost his last rouble and decides to challenge the Devil himself for one more hand. Rather than being consigned to hell upon losing (it's been full for years, apparently), Josef instead is forced to wander Europe as an immortal. Hell, it seems, is other people.

"Wander" is the operative word here. The only thread to Rubashov's peregrinations is that the Devil ensures he experiences only the worst that humanity has to offer. From World War I, to WWII, Soviet Repression, Yugoslav hell, bomb-scarred Belfast, and so on, the novel becomes a catalogue of twentieth century low points, rendered by Vallgren in practically grand guignol style.

The problem of this approach is that it's literally unpleasant to read. The horror is leavened by almost nothing else, and whilst this certainly allows us to empathise with Rubashov's omnipresent fatigue and despair, it doesn't make experiencing it very rewarding.

Additionally it slides into the gratuitous one more than one occasion. Vallgren gamely tries to tack on some meaning to all this suffering at the end, but it's nowhere near enough, and not half as clever or profound as he thinks.

With nothing in the way of a narrative to propel us forward, we're left with Rubashov himself. Unfortunately any subtlety or depth he possesses at the start of the book is flattened and crushed to a paper-thin wraith under the weight of his torments.

The reaction is realistic - I suppose - but deeply unsatisfying and there are no other characters to enjoy, except the Devil, but he's more pastiche than person.

This made finishing the book a real chore; there was simply nothing to keep me going. Some critics have been highly complimentary to Vallgren's twentieth century gallimaufry, but to me - without that narrative drive, characterisation, catharsis or broader point - it's just an undergraduate parlor trick. His sketches lack any genuine depth or understanding of what he's writing about, and - Like Rubashov himself - it just left me wishing for an end to it all. ( )

Rubashov is a gambling addict, and on the eve of the 20th century, he challenges the devil himself just for the 'thrill'. The mistake costs him his soul and he is condemned to immortality.
Following this event, Rubashov has much success for a decade or so, but soon he realises that he is cursed. Many unsucessful suicide events lead him to travel around Europe, meeting many infamous personages along the way, in his quest to regain mortality.
The book itself is often sad, showing all the evils mankind has bought upon itself. it is macabre at times, but this shouldn't put you off reading it and I would highly recommend this book. ( )

Jag gillar Vallgrens språk. Han vågar använda komplicerade meningar och ord, och lyckas samtidigt med konststycket att skriva lätt. Imponerande (titeln är ett utmärkt exempel).
Och frågan är om inte detta är det bästa med "Dokument rörande...". Fast, kanske det blir lite elakt. Jag tycker han har en idé som kan hålla långt, men Vallgren har inte riktigt orkat - tror jag - dra alla växlar han skulle kunnat. Det börjar alldeles förträffligt, och slutet är också högklassigt, men däremellan känns det mer än en gång tämligen summariskt. Alla händelser beskrivna faller inte riktigt på plats, åtminstone inte för den här recensenten, det känns inte helt genomarbetat.

Men ändå väldigt bra. Jag väntar på Vallgrens nästa, kanske kommer fullträffen då? ( )

"Det är nyårsnatt i Sankt Petersburg, snart ska stadens kyrkklockor ringa in det nya seklet och den mångtusenhövdade folkskaran på Nevski stämma upp sina hurrarop. Ensam på sitt rum sitter den förfallne spelaren Rubashov, utfattig och färdig för gäldstugan. Men denna det nittonde århundradets sista natt spelar han ett parti kort med djävulen, som får oanade konsekvenser...
Carl-Johan Vallgren är ömsom burlesk och ömsom satirisk, ömsom dokumentarisk torr och fylld av stor sorg över människans grymhet och förstörelelusta. Dokument rörande spelaren Rubashov är en fantasifull exposé som spänner över hela vårt sekel."

Riktigt riktigt bra, men har svåra problem med att poängsätta. Det är underbart skriven med en klart intressant handling, men för mig som läser mycket spänning tycks den dock bli lite långrandig i vissa avsnitt. Det får bli 3½. Rekomenderas till läsning! ( )

Ever dipped into a book for a quick 15 minute read over the early morning cuppa and become so engrossed that an hour goes by before you can put it down, and you’re late for work?

Documents Concerning Rubashov the Gambler is just such a novel: being translated from the Swedish, I didn’t really expect to enjoy it and only the intriguingly excellent cover art tempted me to try the work at all.

With a truly Russian instinct for plumbing the depths of misery, obsessive gambler Kolya Rubashov has lost everything in the thrill of gaming: he has spent the family fortune and reduced his dear old mum to the charity ward.

The only thing he has left to bet on is his immortal soul, which he wagers in a card game with the devil at the dawn of the 20th Century – and loses. But Hell is full; Satan has too many souls already, so Kolya’s punishment is eternal life.

It might sound like your standard Fautian scenario but compelling writing and an excellent translation lend the narrative a certain je nais se quoi transforming it into a page turner of note.

Since he has been deprived of everything, even his right to die, Kolya has nowhere to go but up. As an immortal, he quickly makes a small fortune playing Russian roulette at the illegal gambling clubs that flourished in St Petersburg.

He reconciles with his brother, undertakes the care of his mother, invests his money wisely, and is soon one of the richest men in Russia, married to the woman of his dreams and moving in the most elevated circles. Kolya is also a tireless philanthropist: he patronizes charities, gives generously to the poor, never turns away anyone in need, and seems to possess the Midas touch.

But things go terribly wrong: his adored only son gets sick and ends up deformed and retarded. Then he loses his money, his status and his powerful friends: finally, his entire family perishes in a fire. And all within the first 60 pages of a 300 page book.

Rubashov joins Rasputin’s staff as his taster – he can detect the taste of poison in food, but being immortal, it does not harm him. Rasputin is just the first of several real historical characters in the text: we meet the Russian Imperial couple, chain smoking Czar Nicholas and his naïve wife Alexandra, as well as Prince Felix Yusupov – the most self-aggrandising of Rasputin’s assassins.

During the Great War, Kolya witnesses the execution of his brother, in the 1920s he perplexes Houdini by surviving 55 minutes underwater, and he frightens Aleister Crowley [aka the Great Beast 666] by seeking Satan and being impervious to harm.

The 20th Century unfolds and Kolya is an ignorant, innocent and hapless participant in some of the worst atrocities of the age, from the rise of Nazi Germany to the Holocaust, the massacre of Belfast Catholics during the Irish Time of Troubles, the horrors of Serbia and Bosnia, and the destruction of the environment.

He experiences it all but no matter how heart-wrenching the grief or unbearable the pain, he cannot die but like a Jonah walks the world with tragedy as his only companion: death follows him wherever he goes, but never touches him.

This is not an intimate or comfortable read, but it is a literate and highly compelling tale: Dr Faustus meets Sartre and leaves us in no doubt that, for Rubashov at least, Hell is Other People, and the things they do to each other… ( )