A Gentleman in Moscow Book Review
This is a surprisingly upbeat treat, filled with history, romance, suspense, family drama, literature and politics
The Synopsis
A Gentleman in Moscow is a historical-fiction novel set in the erstwhile Russian Empire during the Bolshevik Revolution. It relates the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, an aristocrat put under a thirty-two-year house arrest for being seen as an enemy of the class struggle. However, unlike other aristocrats, the Count’s life was spared due to an apparently revolutionary poem he had written a decade ago. The plot is all about how one can lead an enriching life despite being bound within the physical and emotional confines of space and circumstances.
Once the Tsar of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks, the Count, who was in Paris at the time, returns in haste and ensures that his grandmother flees the country to safety. He himself, however, refuses to leave and instead packs up a few of his possessions to take to Moscow
After he is placed under house arrest in the Metropol Hotel, the Count is moved from his plush room to an unfurnished attic. He is allowed to bring only a few personal items that the attic room can hold and the rest are confiscated.
However, despite losing many of his cherished artefacts, the Count manages to take his hoard of gold coins with him, hidden inside the legs of a table. He decides to devote his time to the practicalities of his new life and tries to make his situation bearable by adapting to that life
He meets several people during his stay in the hotel and has various encounters that shape his life while educating the readers about the class struggle and growing communism in Russia in the 1930s
If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them — A quote from the book
The Book Review
Book Length — 480 pages
Hard Cover Price — $14.76 (Amazon)
Author — Amor Towles
Published On — September 6, 2016
Estimated Reading Time — 7 hours and 42 minutes (250 WPM)
It is June 21, 1922, and 33-year-old Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is convicted of being a class enemy of the Soviet Socialist Republic. Instead of being shot as would normally be the result, he is sentenced to live the rest of his life in his current residence: Moscow’s Hotel Metropol. So begins Amor Towles’ novel, A Gentleman in Moscow. What follows is an account of Rostov’s life over the next thirty-plus years as he makes friendships, finds ways to occupy his days, and watches a slice of the history of Stalinist Russia unfold from the relative safety of the Metropol.
The Count is handsome, charming, wealthy, erudite and witty. He conquers every situation with aplomb, and following his adventures is a fun ride. The novel feels very innocent, harkening back to a time when books and movies contained good clean fun; totally absent are the cruder forms of comedy one often finds in today’s entertainment media.
While A Gentleman in Moscow includes some accounts of changing conditions in the USSR (for example, a minor plotline concerns idealistic youths heading out to collectivize the farms, and another touches on the repression of artistic expression), history isn’t the book’s primary concern. The main focus is on the Count and those who move in and out of his orbit over the years, such as Andrey, the hotel restaurant’s maître d’; and desk clerk Arkady, whose talent is to know where everyone in the hotel is at all times. Not only are these portraits brilliantly drawn, but they’re also not static. Over the course of the novel, the characters grow and mature, giving them a realistic touch.
The novel was a bit of a surprise as I was expecting something much darker and more reflective of the terror and paranoia rampant in Soviet Russia during the period. I have not read a book set in this era and locale that is lighthearted; A Gentleman in Moscow is likely the first. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its tragic moments and poignant scenes, but overall it’s pretty upbeat. Once I dropped my preconceived ideas of what the book should be about (i.e., horror stories about Stalin’s regime) and simply let things unfold, I found myself enjoying it a lot more. A Gentleman in Moscow is fast-paced, aided by the fact that Towles keeps the use of patronymics and honorifics to a minimum, abandoning the use of four or five different names for each character as is so common in Russian literature.
There’s not a lot of plot here, particularly as the narrative begins; in fact, it’s somewhat anecdotal until a little more than halfway through when an unexpected arrival at the hotel disrupts the Count’s routine, at which point the action feels more focused. Around page 200, I found myself wondering whether or not the book was going anywhere, as frankly, I was beginning to get a little bored. After the midpoint though, I found the novel increasingly hard to put down; the pages fly as the plot speeds to its conclusion.
Although getting to the core of the book requires some patience, it’s definitely worth it. The Count is one of literature’s more memorable characters, and A Gentleman in Moscow is a well-written novel worthy of one’s time
Fate would not have the reputation it has, if it simply did what it seemed it would do — Quote from the book
What we liked about A Gentleman In Moscow
A Gentleman in Moscow stands out for how it brings history to life with its vivid descriptions and detailed imagery. The people who meet the Count only make the book more enjoyable, for none of their interactions with Rostov seems forced
What could have been better about A Gentleman In Moscow
The story spans over thirty years. While in some cases the author has given a detailed account of events, in other instances he simply jumps over the years, leaving the readers somewhat confused as to what happened in a given year
