eBook
English language
Published April 29, 2016 by Viking.
He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.
In 1922, Count 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 …
He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.
In 1922, Count 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. --penguinrandomhouse.com
Reminded me of Armando Iannucci's 'Death of Stalin'. The resilience of the human spirit during isolation and incarceration. Humour and routine essential and surrounding oneself with qualitative beauty; a hideaway and characters.
There were times I nearly gave up on this. I didn't and overall I am glad I persevered. I do feel it could have had soem editing gown in parts though.
This is an excellent novel with strong characters. It tells the compelling story of a man confined to a hotel in Russia in 1922 - a resonant theme for those of us in 2020. Definitely the best fiction I have read in the last 12 months.
Starting with this period of post-Tsarist Russia and the main character who is a former member of the aristocracy provides a cultured point of view. Through words, he describes his hotel setting as becoming smaller and smaller until young Sofia opens his eyes and changes his focus. This meeting happened by a chain of chance events, and that is the real theme of the novel - small decisions and interactions leading to life-changing events.
Though nearly all told from Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov's point of view, many other characters have solid growth and direction through the novel. Even the background characters were well written …
This is an excellent novel with strong characters. It tells the compelling story of a man confined to a hotel in Russia in 1922 - a resonant theme for those of us in 2020. Definitely the best fiction I have read in the last 12 months.
Starting with this period of post-Tsarist Russia and the main character who is a former member of the aristocracy provides a cultured point of view. Through words, he describes his hotel setting as becoming smaller and smaller until young Sofia opens his eyes and changes his focus. This meeting happened by a chain of chance events, and that is the real theme of the novel - small decisions and interactions leading to life-changing events.
Though nearly all told from Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov's point of view, many other characters have solid growth and direction through the novel. Even the background characters were well written - one of my favorites was Abram, a handyman in the Hotel Metropol who also keeps bees on the roof.
A Gentleman in Moscow is Amor Towles second novel, and after reading it you may be surprised to find that he wasn't born in Russia. Another theme of this book is the literary legacy of many great Russian novelists, including Gogol, Pushkin, and Dostoevsky. Chekhov and Tolstoy play a strong part in the plot, and characters read or mention both Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Read over just a few days, I could not put this down, and look forward to reading more from this author.
