A Gentleman in Moscow

Russia is once again in the headlines, sparking a geopolitical contest between her and the West.

The period immediately following the Second World War can be viewed as a romantic era, marked by new hope for peace and the rebuilding of the world. The establishment of the UN aimed to resolve power struggles at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield. 

These elements are all found in this novel, which delves into the past to shed light on Russia's psyche and how it might shape the future. It effectively connects the past with the near future. House arrest is… show more.

This book is a brilliant novel, full of humor, history, and bigger-than-life characters, set against the background of the USSR. I ordered this book because it was my grandson’s favorite novel of 2022. He worried that he’d overhyped it. He had nothing to fear. 

After the main character, Count Alexander Rostov, is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a 1927 Bolshevik tribunal. The man, who had never worked a day in his life, suddenly finds himself living in an attic room, confined to the walls of the Metropol hotel in Moscow. 

Experiencing the Count’s emotional discovery while some of the most… show more.

A Gentleman in Moscow portrays a Russian aristocrat caught in a wave of change as the Bolsheviks take over his world.

Sentenced to permanent confinement in the Metropol, a grand hotel across from the Kremlin, he must live in the attic and serve as a waiter. Count Rostov has the final word here, however, because he handles his changed circumstances with grace. He makes friends and influences others, sharing his knowledge of fine food and wine.

A young lady whom he befriends returns with her daughter, Sofia, and Count Rostov becomes her papa. I admire him because he overcomes adversity… show more.

I loved this book because Amor Towles creates a full life for Count Alexander Rostov within the walls of the Metropol, a gracious hotel in Moscow, where he is under house arrest condemned by Communists.

He experiences romantic love, paternal love, and a unique friendship with Nina, a nine-year-old who has the passkey to all the Metropol rooms where they explore and spy. Like the hotel, the plot has many twists and turns and secret rooms.

I loved that the entire novel has one setting, this grand hotel which is full of Russian history and culture. The country is at… show more.

Towles is a great storyteller who weaves the warp and woof of one man’s life into the historical fabric of the early years of Soviet Russia.  

The story is a multilayered account that uses a Count as the focal point. The author immerses the reader in the Count’s daily life without being trite or corny. The story spans decades and as it does so, the reader is drawn into the daily rhythms of the characters. The prose pulls the reader along like a sleigh through soft snow.

The story develops over decades, and Towles is masterful at allowing the characters… show more.

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book. When it was released, I read the description and could not imagine how the story of a Russian aristocrat who was placed under house arrest in a hotel by the Soviets could be a page-turner. I was wrong.

This is a timeless and compelling story about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love.

Besides the fact that is beautifully written, I absolutely loved the central character, Count Alexander Rostov. It’s set in Moscow in 1922.

Rostov, a young aristocrat is sentenced to house arrest by a Bolshevik tribunal. He can’t leave the Metropol Hotel. When I started, I was worried I might feel as trapped as Count Rostov in the hotel, but the character’s charm and warmth and wit won me over. The whole world comes through that hotel and Rostov is kind and smart and funny and heroic.

The turns in the story are constantly surprising. It’s one of the finest and… show more.

A Gentleman in Moscow transports the reader to Moscow in the 1920s and beyond.

The story unfolds from the perspective of Alexander Rostov, a former aristocrat placed under house arrest. It weaves a sophisticated plot filled with many fascinating twists and turns, leaving a lasting impact long after you have turned the final page of the book.

For a stretch of early pages, I did not think this book had much chance of cracking my top three favorites. As the pages pass by, its charm grabs hold of the reader.

Only so much can take place when a story is about a man who is under house arrest, not in his own home, but in a luxury hotel. Rostov is a dignified Russian aristocrat who is no criminal by the standards of most, but in his repressive homeland, it does not take much to earn banishment. Somehow despite his imprisonment, Rostov ends up with everything that most… show more.

The Count has been sentenced to house arrest by the Russian regime. But he’s ejected from his usual hotel suite and has to live in an attic room for decades.

It was a delight from beginning to end. Even without the trappings of luxury, the Count still lived an amazing life. Humour, threats, spies, and amidst it all a nine-year-old girl who befriends the Count. I was almost sorry when it finished. I could have kept reading!