From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility and the forthcoming novel The Lincoln Highway, a story about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel—a beautifully transporting novel. The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a major television series In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a … Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
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I just spent the last 10 hours reading the second half of this wonderful novel. I admit, I had a hard time getting into it at first as this is not the type of novel you can read a few pages here and there—it took me a while to get immersed into the story but once I did, I couldn’t stop reading this beautifully written, character-driven read. Just find a quiet place, and take your time reading. It’s the only way to truly enjoy the richness of the author’s writing.
Great story. Well-developed characters. Unexpected events. Intriguing. Delightful. Very well written. Not boring. Not run-of-the-mill.
Fabulous
Amor Towles always hits the spot like a cup of coffee… Keep on, BFoss.
“As the coffee was being poured, the Count wondered whether this was the beginning or end of the old man’s day. Either way, he figured a cup of coffee would hit the spot. For what is more versatile? As at home in tin as it is in Limoges, coffee can energize the industrious at dawn, calm the reflective at noon, or raise the spirits of the beleaguered in the middle of the night.”
I found this book delightful and informative. I enjoyed the characters and learned a bit about the political environment in Moscow during the time period.
A Gentleman in Moscow is a smart book, written by the perfect smart author. Amor Towles is a successful, highly-educated investment banker who traveled the world, to retire and pen a story about a Count raised in high society before the rise of Bolshevism. In the first few pages, Count Alexander Rostov is banished on house arrest to the Hotel Metropol Moscow for being an unrepentant aristocrat. The author has woven Russian history, real details intertwined with fictional devices.
This is a book I had to read more than once to catch all the nuances, prose, and references Towles incorporates. I could probably read it a third time and catch even more. I first read this book two years ago, and wasn’t sure why everyone loved it. It was ok, but not super exciting. Then my book club chose this book and I read it again. I am enthralled with it. The first time I didn’t even realize the Hotel Metropol is real, and the incredible history and stories that exist about the hotel itself. As the Count progresses through time, he somehow becomes a little more comical, and is always very perceptive, and the other main characters are wonderful as well. I paid more attention to the writing and the great phrasing Towles incorporated.
Stay with this book to the very last page. Reading a novel about an aristocrat on house arrest in a five-star hotel who could not leave the building, is easier to imagine after the world stayed home for COVID. If you want an action-paced spy thriller look elsewhere. But if you want a delightful story, set in a real place, in a real time, with brilliant lines, cultural references, and prose, you will love this book. This book is a definite recommend and led to great discussion in my book club. Check out the author’s website for some fascinating back story.
Lovely
Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is placed under house arrest in 1922, because the Bolsheviks cannot decide if his pre-war poem is seditious enough to warrant the firing squad or exile to Siberia. Or perhaps they should let him go?
No.
He is arrested and imprisoned in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, a hive of activity where Communists and artists mingle.
One might think that a 30-year saga about an erstwhile Russian aristocrat who is confined to a what is essentially a cupboard on the top floor of the hotel would be boring. But I found this tale unexpectedly delightful, enlivened by two generations of precocious girls. First, there is Nina, whom we meet in 1922 at the age of nine. Then there is her daughter, the aptly-named Sofia, who appears in 1938 at the age of five. Nina hands over her daughter to the count in 1938 and…disappears. We do not know what becomes of her. Meanwhile, Sofia becomes very attached to Count Rostov, calling him “papa” by the time she turns thirteen.
I will not say more, so as not to spoil it for the rest of you who have not had the pleasure of reading this volume. Suffice to say, you will not be disappointed. Five stars.
Found it very boring.
Loved the book, especially the idea of being stuck in a hotel forever during a time of Covid quarantine. Original characters and plot and such use of language. Amor Towles is my new favorite author.
It was just a very pleasant read
The best!!
I read it twice.
Loved the way the author ties the book up at the end. A wonderful read!
Successfully navigating the journey of a well lived life. What a journey!
Fascinating that a man could live in a hotel for so many years – and finally escape to where he wanted to really be.
Great read, interesting idea of someone restricted to living in a hotel while the whole world advances and changes around him.
A Gentleman in Moscow creeps up on you in a good way. The writing is superb. The layers of the story slowly build to an exhilarating end. It’s one of my all time favorites.
One of the best books I’ve read
Towles’ story of a Russian aristocrat sentenced in 1917 to spend his life under house arrest in Moscow’s grandest hotel is a moving personal story set in a climactic time.