A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow takes us to 20th century Russia. Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentenced to house arrest, being accused of writing a revolutionary poem. The novel is a narrative of Rostov’s life in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, where he spends more than 30 years.
An aristocrat, also known as ‘former person’, Count Rostov is assigned to a tiny attic in the hotel. He is expected to live out the rest of his life there. A man of unmatched wit and charm, Rostov quickly blends into the life inside the hotel. He develops an unusual friendship with a little girl named Nina. The story then beautifully shapes up around this relationship showcasing parallelly the political and economical transformation of Russia outside the hotel and their reflection inside of it.
How did it make me feel?
A Gentleman in Moscow is a masterpiece. I LOVED it! Such brilliant writing by Towles. Humorous and witty, I was smiling throughout my reading. The times where I was not, I was tearing up. There are many places in the story where the readers will come across subtle yet profound realizations. I ended up reading and re-reading many parts and it kept getting brilliant every time! The symbolism is on fire. In fact, the best thing about this book is how successfully it reflects the prevailing political environment to the spirit of the Metropol hotel. And it is so subtle, the readers might get past the number of scenes laughing and not even notice how they were meant to be a stinging satire on Russian politics.
In terms of characters, I couldn’t help but wish Count Rostov was real and I could meet and sit down to talk to this person. Such a strong character building. With his wit, his perceptive strength, his emotions, and how he values relationships, you can’t help but fall in love.
Count Rostov is undoubtedly one of my favorite fictional characters and A Gentleman in Moscow is easily one of my favorite books. Click here to get your own copy. If you use my link to buy, I may get a small commission which will help me keep my blog running! 🙂 Thank you for your support!
Have you read it yet? Have you read Rules of Civility by Amor Towles? I haven’t yet but I definitely want to check it out.
This book is now one of my favorites of all time. I loved all the characters, the setting, the plot, the development, etc. rules of civility is good but doesn’t have quite as much charm as this one. I went to the author’s talk about this book at a local bookstore and he was incredibly nice and entertaining.
You are so lucky to have met the author! <3
I absolutely loved your review of A Gentleman in Moscow! It’s one of my top 5’s of all time. Amor Towles is such a talented writer! I really wasn’t expecting humor but also found myself laughing throughout the book. I became so smitten with all of the characters and was so sad when the book came to an end. I really wasn’t ready to end our journey.
I recently read Rules of Civility and really enjoyed it. It’s a faster pace book with more glamor but nowhere near as charming. Hope you enjoy it as well!
Thank you so much Bo! <3 I so agree with you, I wanted it to go on and on! Hopefully, I'll get to read Rules of Civility soon.