The Ballad of a Small Player

A modern Graham Greene…. into this relatively quiet period for British fiction, someone remarkable and unexpected has emerged fully armed with a formidable, masterly grip on the British novel. At precisely the point where most novelists start to show signs of flagging, Osborne has hit his creative, fictional stride…and has arrived as a thrilling, exceptional talent in British fiction’s landscape. – Robert Collins * Sunday Times *A perfectly written existential thriller, a spooky, gripping, heart-in-your-mouth read that has profound things to say about the only god who rules human affairs – chance. – Neel Mukherjee * New Statesman, Books of the Year 2014 *Damn. Another writer I have to care about… dark, brilliant and about as ignorable as a switchblade. * New York Times *The Ballad of a Small Player shares the exoticism and East-West disconnect of The Quiet American, the unresolved supernaturalism of The Heart of the Matter and Loser Takes All’s bittersweet relationship with the gaming tables. If Osborne’s book is a love letter to gambling, it’s the kind written at 3am to an indifferent ex after an evening at the bar – an ode to self-destruction. A brisk, electrifying read… the most ambiguous, and therefore the most enjoyable, kind of ghost story. The Ballad of a Small Player remains elusive, and is all the better for that. – Adrian Turpin * Literary Review *Hypnotic, razor-sharp in its insights, compelling… in Osborne’s hands, the moments of suspense are handled with so much skill that we sometimes read them more as memoir than elements of a thriller. – Tash Aw * NPR *A searing portrait of addiction and despair set in the glittering world of Macau’s casinos…. the novel’s energetic portrait of the highs and lows of a gambler’s fortunes are as good as anything in the literature of addiction. Osborne’s intriguing Chinese milieu and exquisite prose mark this work as a standout. – Starred review * Publisher’s Weekly *With its ex-pat angst and debauched air of moral ambiguity set amid the sinister demi-monde of the Far East’s corrupt gambling dens, Osborne’s darkly introspective study of decline and decay conjures apt comparisons to Paul Bowles, Graham Greene, and V. S. Naipaul. * Booklist *The beauty of this novel is in the elegance and precision of its prose, which renders the glaring kitsch of Macau into a series of exquisite miniatures, and draws on Osborne’s reserves as a travel writer. – Gerard Woodward * Guardian *Lawrence Osborne’s latest will leave you breathless… [It] will screw up your guts with anxiety, fill you with hope and then kick you hard in the b****cks all in one well-weighted read. No need to gamble – it’s an absolute winner of a book. – Jon Wise * Weekend Sport *A brisk, electrifying read, as elegant in negotiating the rackety world it depicts as its bow-tied narrator – Rachel Cooke * Observer *

Lawrence Osborne is a critically acclaimed novelist, journalist, and screenwriter based in Bangkok. He is the author of eight novels, including Ballad of a Small Player, Beautiful Animals, and The Forgiven. His non-fiction writing spans memoir, travelogue, and essays, with titles such as Bangkok Days, The Naked Tourist, and The Wet and the Dry.

His novels have been recognized as Books of the Year by numerous publications, including The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The New Statesman, The Daily Mail, The Economist, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.

The Forgiven was adapted into a film in 2022, starring Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes. Ballad of a Small Player was released on Netflix in 2025, starring Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton.

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