A Gentleman in Moscow
A Novel
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4.6 • 9.4K Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers • A New York Times “Readers’ Choice: Best Books of the 21st Century” Pick
From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Table for Two, a beautifully 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Amor Towles’ sweeping Russian saga tells the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, an intellectual and longtime resident of Moscow's bustling Hotel Metropol, where movie stars, politicians, and Kremlin operators all rub elbows. Sentenced to house arrest for writing a political poem, Rostov immerses himself in the goings-on of his fellow tenants while cultural upheaval rages beyond the hotel’s walls. Towles delves into issues of family duty, friendship, romance, and personal transformation, all while maintaining his light-as-a-feather tone and delicious characterizations. A Gentleman in Moscow is a truly gripping read.
Customer Reviews
Makes the complex simple
I read it late at night over the course of over a year. The imagery brought to mind with the clear and simple writing kept the story fresh in my mind. I love the serenity with which the author treated the subject of a complex time in history by focusing on a man with elegance. Caleb Johnson - Maine
Wonderful
Every chapter is an adventure.
The problem with this book was not its ending, but that it ended.
I am an avid reader and it is a rare occasion that I absolutely fall in love with a book. I am in awe of how masterfully written this novel is, incorporating history, philosophy, culture, art and cuisine into an engulfing, witty piece about a character that otherwise would be difficult to relate to. I would love to see this made into a movie, but it would be impossible to capture its wonder on the screen. I am not looking forward to having to find another book to read after this one.