A Gentlemen in Moscow

Last week I finished reading “A Gentlemen in Moscow,” by Amor Towles. The book definitely got me out of a bad book rut. The story follows Count Alexander Rostov, he comes back to Russia a few short years after The Romanovs were overthrown and there are still bad feelings towards the upper class. The Bolsheviks sentence Alexander Rostov under house arrest in The Metropol Hotel where he makes friends with characters through out all walks of life, and witnesses history from his window.

Pros

The writing is descriptive and I could picture the characters and the luxurious Metropol hotel. Count Rostov becomes a mentor to a little girl named Nina, then when that little Nina grows up he takes care of her daughter, Sofia. The Count also finds love with an actress named Anna Urbanova I like their chemistry. I also like that there isn’t a lot of sex in the novel it’s only implied that they had sex. I also like that while the Count is a gentlemen and very intelligent he doesn’t let his circumstances get the best of him. My favorite quote from the book is, If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.

Cons

There weren’t really many things I disliked about the book. It is a slow moving in parts, but if its something you enjoy the writing and the story will excuse it. If you don’t have the  patience for the slowness then this book isn’t for you. While the ending is good, it’s not entirely clear, but you can draw your own conclusions to fill in the banks.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed this book very much. It is a love letter to people who love Russia. It is the first time I read anything by Amor Towles and I can’t wait to read his other books “Rules of  Civility,” and “The Lincoln Highway,” which comes out October 5^th. Although “A Gentlemen in Moscow,” was published in 2016, this book was especially good to read during covid when everyone was and is stuck in their homes. The book teaches us no matter our circumstances, we can’t let them get to us. We can either choose to see the good in everything and make the best of what we have, or we can let it drive us crazy and wallow in gloom which is why the quote, If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them, speaks to me it speaks to many.