The second haunting novel of the trilogy that began with TheDancer is set in Dublin between the wars. Christine Dwyer Hickey paints a disturbingly accurate picture ofa family's slow decline. The shadowy figure of the dancer reappears while hisson, the gambler of the title, struggles through to early manhood. The twinaddictions of father and son, alcoholic and gambler, seep through the pages,leaving an indelible mark. At once disquieting and deeply resonant, the plight of hercharacters creates a vivid sense of time and place. In an age of desperatepoverty, the torturous forces of life are brought to bear on this Dublinfamily. In TheGambler a powerful creative imagination is at work. ·