The Gambler is a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky about a young tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian general. The novell reflects Dostoyevsky's own addiction to roulette, which was in more ways than one the inspiration for the book: Dostoyevsky completed the novella under a strict deadline to pay off gambling debts.
Reading The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky will evoke all kinds of emotional responses within you, and you'll get drawn into the story whether or not you want to. The book takes you into the world of the roulette game, and you get to see gambling through the eyes of a gambler. Gambling is addictive, and you see the gambler wanting another "hit" because he thinks that the next time will be different, he will win the next round, he has to recover what he has just lost. You see the compulsive nature of the gambler.