Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 462 pages
Author: Amor Towles
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: September 6th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count 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 a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

BEST ON AUDIO.

I actually DNF this book a few years ago (after loving Rules of Civility). I just couldn’t get into it and the pacing is definitely slower. Enter in AUDIOBOOK. I loved the narrator and it helped so much being able to increase the speed just enough to enjoy the book and feel like it was moving.

I was really impressed that this book basically all takes place at a hotel. It’s an interesting story and plot and I liked the influence of historical moments as well. The Count was quirky and sincere with a desire to find his calling after ending up stuck in one place. I loved the turns this took and the addition of characters throughout.

I’m not upset I went back and finished this. It’s a solid historical fiction book and different than my usual and I always enjoy a good mix-up.

Overall audience notes: