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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Best book I read in 2018!!!
This is the best book I’ve read in a long time and I connected with it so strongly I still want to hug it close. I love the characters, the chapter names (all start with A), the slow burning but breath stopping stopping storyline. I can’t think of anything not to love about this book. The note I wrote to myself a third of the way in says it best for me:
each chapter is a pearl added to a string, clicking against the others as it settles into place.
I deliberately read it slowly to enjoy the feeling.
Though they triumph in different genres, Amor Towles shares the same flaw as Michael Connolly—he simply does not write fast enough for his fans. When I first picked up this book I wondered how a protracted story about a man living in one building for a large portion of his life could hold anyone’s attention. The lovely surprise is that the exquisite writing and deep character development (indeed, the hotel itself becomes a character) easily ameliorate this issue. The richness of the historical settings combined with the first person viewpoint will put every reader right in the middle of the Russian revolution. And the astute reader cannot help but notice the parallels of societal morphing that we are all now experiencing in our own unsettled time. Many of us are surely living through our personal confinements with less grace than our dear Count. I’m so happy to have met him.
This book is a marvel. Amor Towles writes so beautifully, it is a pleasure simply to read his words and get lost in his prose. But the characters and the story are where A Gentleman in Moscow truly shine – deeply endearing and heartfelt with a wonderful air of the romance of the past, this book reads like a more accessible version of those famous Russian classics the Count so often references. It is, more than anything, the exact type of book one should get lost in after a year spent in quarantine largely without material interaction with the outside world. It made me ache for the richness of a life outside four walls – for endless travel and interesting people and late nights with sparkling cocktails in a crowded bar. And in the same turn, it made me reflect on the beauty of being forced to stop and see life from one place, to cherish the connections with the people who are stopped there with you. I savored every dinner and glass of wine alongside the Count, got lost in the effervescent conversation and games of wit, and felt for the small, human moments that defined the genius of this book. I can’t recommend it more highly. And once you’re done, go immediately and pick up Rules of Civility.
This book, from beginning to end, was just simply a joy. And I use that word quite specifically. Joy.
Triumphant, heart-warming and amusing. A Gentleman in Moscow strikes the perfect balance between a close study of a likable main character and the background menace of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Towles masterfully incorporates little details (the removal of wine bottle labels, the promotion of the incompetent but politically connected Bishop) to demonstrate the pervasive consequences of Soviet communism and highlight the importance of uniqueness and individual humanity.
I found A Gentleman in Moscow amusing. As I listened to the audio book, I felt as if the count was telling me stories. I enjoyed his unique character and the relationship with Anna, and the ending!
The best novel I’ve read in years. One of the best ever. Remarkable!
An amazing book that tells the story of an aristocratic gentleman confined to a famous hotel for most of his adult life and the events in his very restricted life cleverly relate the story of early and mid-20tthh century Russia.
This book was wonderfully written. I became completely entranced by the characters, and I hated for the book to end. I have also read Rules of Civility for book club and loved it also. Amor Towles is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading his other books. I highly recommend.
Thought provoking! Such books encourage reading, and keeps the readers’ interest alive!
I LOVED Rules of Civility, so I was very curious to see if I’d enjoy this novel as much. With a completely different topic and timeframe, Towles allows the reader to see Moscow evolve over quite a long time. The cast of characters become your friends and the little details that make Towles’ story telling remarkable create a vivid tapestry. I am a history lover, but haven’t read a lot of Russian novels (other than the Greats, Tolstoy and Doestovsky). I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and there are many scenes which still come to mind months later with striking clarity. Highly recommend.
A delicious, subtly scathing take on the Soviet Revolution and its aftermath. Very elegantly written.
Heart breaking, Thought provoking, Inspirational, ……….zut!
One of the best books I’ve read in years. I wish I’d written it. I wish I hadn’t already read it so I could read it for the first time again. For lovers of Russian lit and history (like me), it’s a must read.
Really enjoyed reading this book!
I listened to this book and was very sorry when it ended. Very interesting story. I like the way it developed. Lots of interesting characters. The reader was exceptional. It’s been a few years and I may listen again as it was that good.
I had a hard time getting into this book in print. It seemed all wit and no action. Then the pandemic hit and I discovered audio books. Like Daisy Jones & the Six, this book was made to be read/performed. Though I understand a lot of the background was deleted from the Kindle, that didn’t matter. If you know anything of history it’s obvious that the hotel in which our narrator is “imprisoned” is an island in the tumult of 50 years of Russian transition. Enjoy the first third for the “performance”–the witticisms and not quite sarcastic touches that only a gentleman would use to comment on the changing (he would say diminishing) world around him. As you move into the second third, and wonder if this is just a book of manners, hang in there, the rewards come towards the end. By this time you’ll have been on so many tangents, back- staircase and wine- cellar adventures that you’ll know every inch of the hotel, admire the narrator for his ability to adapt while maintaining his “standards,” and you’ll want all that detail and wandering to add up to something. It does, in a carefully constructed Rubik’s cube of a plan that will finally, finally have you on the edge of your seat. And, though the ending doesn’t seem to this reader quite as safe as the narrator thinks, it’s clearly as far as he can go and you’ll smile and wish him well.
The character development was wonderful. This book was so well written. It kept my interest through the whole book.
After reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, I was anxious to read Gentleman.
I would reread paragraphs from Rules due to the exquisite structure and beauty. Although I did not find that as much in Gentleman, it was still a remarkable read.
It is a story that you will not want to put down.