Playing Chess with God: A Novel
In 1848, gold is discovered in California. Aboard a freighter, young Prussian Henning Dietzel arrives in the Chilean port of Talcahuano. A prostitute with whom he became acquainted on a previous visit to a local bordello suggests that Dietzel could become rich by going to California. Dietzel makes a deal with the prostitute, who he has fallen in love with, that he will come for her after he has settled down in California. He now sails to America seeking his fortune.
After searching for gold in California, he becomes a merchandiser of prospector supplies, while providing building supplies and medicine to the growing city of San Francisco. He eventually provides guano found offshore of Chile that is used for fertilizer in America.
Dietzel continues to search for meaning and purpose in his life, hoping his attempts at buying and selling products will provide him with the riches he desires. Eventually, he discovers he is only “playing chess with god.”
I found this an interesting chronicle of how Dietzel amasses a fortune from the California gold fields and then obtains raw materials from Peru and Chile. In buying the materials there, he can negotiate prices in California and New York, where the products are needed, and can sell at a high markup. The author’s understanding of South American culture and politics is described in his novel. The details of everyday life in this period reveals the author’s command of the subject.
