A Gentleman in Moscow

How can a book about a man who spends over thirty years living a gilded life and where so little seems to happen contain so much humanity?

Count Alexander Rostov — recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is a "Former Person" - deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal and has been sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's luxurious Metropol hotel, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. There he lives out his days decorating the dining room with his dashing sense of style and good breeding. Rostov 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 show more doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

This is a novel that aims to charm and where flair is always the goal. And then there are gently funny digressions. Russia and all of its sufferings through these tumultuous decades seem almost incidental to the plot. When the outside world makes itself felt, it's usually as an excuse for a charming caper of some kind.

This novel is absolutely brimming with humour, has a delightful cast of characters, and one beautiful scene after another that follows Rostov’s journey to a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man. It was beautifully written and I read it with a permanent smile on my face. show less

I loved this book and I don't know if I can articulate why. Avoid this review if you are looking for clear and/or coherent thoughts, but under no circumstances should you avoid the book itself. Oh, and speaking of circumstances -

One of the most frequently cited quotes from this book is one that is delivered in the very first chapter - "... if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them." Count Rostov, an "unrepentant aristocrat" (according to the jacket copy) or a "Former Person" (according to the book itself) masters his own circumstances beautifully. I was particularly in love with his study, discovered hidden on the other side of his closet -

“For if a room that exists under the governance,

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authority, and intent of others seems smaller than it is, then a room that exists in secret can, regardless of its dimensions, seem as vast as one cares to imagine.”

At first, I expected that the Count would be restricted to his tiny attic room(s), and I was imagining something vaguely along the lines of [b:The Woman in the Window|40389527|The Woman in the Window|A.J. Finn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528225499l/40389527._SY75_.jpg|52941950] but with a Russian aristocrat. I was happy to realize very early on that the Count could travel at will throughout the Metropol, and I came to love the setting as much as its main character. There was just something so charming and so immersive about the Count and his very geographically limited world - I wanted to go there and sit in his favorite chair in the lobby, and have dinner at the Boyarsky. At the very least I wanted to see photos.

I loved, I mean really loved, the Count and his outlook on life. Here's one more quote (also frequently cited) that I hope to keep in mind always:

“I’ll tell you what is convenient,” he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka—and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.”

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Halleluia! Apparently, very well-written books are still being published, books that stand out for their refined style, full of references to history and culture, both in the characters and in the settings… Ah, I can almost hear you say: “aristocratic, then”. And indeed, that is a very apt description. Especially since the main character is a sensitive Russian count, Alexander Rostov, born into a wealthy environment, well-educated, well-mannered, much-travelled, but unfortunately for him in a time and place that is not so well-disposed towards his class: Moscow after the Russian Revolution. At the beginning of the novel, in 1922, we see Rostov sentenced by a revolutionary council to a lifelong stay in the Hotel Metropole, a show more sentence that he will serve for several decades with much forbearance, perseverance and above all style. What helps is that the place of his house arrest is a microcosm in itself, with several restaurants, shops, a hairdresser, etc., all that a man of standing needs. And Rostov gets through it with a flourish and some cunning, thanks to the many encounters with intriguing personalities, including a bright 9-year-old young lady who dreams of becoming a princess. Indirectly, and actually only to a very limited extent, Towles also portrays the evolution of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and at crucial moments politics also seems to penetrate the Hotel Metropole, even to Rostov's advantage.
I really enjoyed this novel. Where on earth did Amor Towles suddenly come from? What a style, what beautiful references to other (mainly Russian) literary classics. Only, in the last quarter the story becomes a bit watered down, it becomes a bit too episodic for my taste, with quite a bit of sentiment, to end up in an escape story. But in the end the sympathy for Count Rostov remains: what a wonderful literary character! show less

Towles, Amor. A Gentleman in Moscow. Penguin, 2016.
Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow is a book I loved sentence by sentence and scene by scene, but in the end, its structure left me scratching my head. The novel tells the story of a Russian Count, Alexander Rostov, charged by the new Bolshevik government with being a social parasite. Because he may have written a revolutionary poem, he is not taken out and shot but given a life sentence of house arrest in the luxury hotel, where he is moved from his luxury suite to an upstairs servant’s quarters. Unflappably urbane, Rostov never complains. He adopts a mantra given to him by his godfather that “if a man does not master his circumstances, then he is bound to be mastered by them.” show more Rostov is always master of his circumstances. Over time, he turns his jailers into allies, wins the love of a famous actress, adopts the daughter of a woman on her way to the gulag, and becomes the best waiter and wine steward in Moscow. Characters come and go from his life like guests in the hotel, a realistic element that leaves holes in the story and undermines cause and effect in the plot. The style, like Rostov’s personality, is subtle, allusive, and polished, a veneer that covers up the story’s implausible elements. 4 stars. show less

This is the story of Count Alexander Rostov, who in 1922, was escorted to the doors of the Metropol hotel, where he had been staying, and told he'd be arrested if he left the building. Rostov was a member of the aristocracy, and should have been summarily shot, but a certain event meant that the government was unwilling to shoot him. And so he existed as a non-person, able to live in quite a bit more comfort than his countrymen, but stranded in the limbo of house arrest.

But living in a protected place, outside of the turmoil of life in the Soviet Union during the first half of the last century, didn't mean he was outside of life. The Metropol remained the premier hotel in the city, and was visited by government bigwigs, foreigners and show more celebrities alike. The two restaurants saw people from every walk of life and Rostov would eventually end up as a member of staff.

Amor Towles is a skilled writer, and one who has clearly taken the time to construct a solid novel. The book is well paced and the characters are wonderfully written. Alexander Rostov is a charming man and this book exudes charm and warmth. Which is really all I have to say in criticism; like his old university roommate points out when he visits Rostov after the end of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), by being incarcerated, Rostov ended up being luckier than all of his friends and associates. A Gentleman in Moscow provides a nicely buffered version of the history of the Soviet Union, free of the fears, struggles to survive and uncertainties faced by everyone else. Avoiding the Politburo is presented as a series of amusing escapades. I was charmed by this novel, although by the end, all tension was absent as I knew that all would be well, just like it had all turned out well in every other adventure undertaken by the Count. Still, this is escapist, comfort reading of the highest quality, written by an author who knows what he's doing. show less

Delving into this book is like luxuriating in a hot bath with candles and scented oils after a year of nothing but showers. In our current world where foreign policy is framed in 140 character tweets, where humility has been largely replaced by egocentrism, where racist and sexist memes are jokes, and where road rage is the norm, it was a pleasure to get lost in Towle’s graceful metaphors and dialogue appropriate for a Count living in Moscow in 1922. Passing St. Basils, “[t]heir pinks, greens, and golds shimmered as if it were the sole purpose of a religion to cheer its Divinity.” Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov walked on, “his waxed moustaches spread like the wings of a gull.”

The party puts Count Rostov under house arrest where show more he is destined to spend the rest of his life in the confines of the Metropol hotel. This is the story of Count Rostov’s struggle to live by his philosophy that a man must master his circumstances or be mastered by them. He hadn’t considered this philosophy while sentenced to a life of confinement. He decided to commit to the business of practicalities. For him, that meant attempting to maintain access to the finer things in life such as food and wine.

The Count is a rare character in modern literature. While he took pride in a well-tailored coat, “he took greater pride in knowing that a gentleman’s presence was best announced by his bearing, his remarks, and his manners.” He teaches a 10-year-old girl the manners of a princess and a Party official the etiquette and customs of Europeans and Americans, both events that will turn out to benefit him. His life in his 100- square foot room and the hotel is refined and he doesn’t forget his upbringing. His classiness provides untold pleasures where others might jump from the roof. What a delightful read. show less

A string of effusive reviews from goodreads friends convinced me that this novel would be a pleasant distraction at an anxious time, and so it proved. 'A Gentleman in Moscow' centres upon a Russian aristocrat who becomes a Former Person after the revolution, imprisoned for life in the grand Hotel Metropol. This setting and the tone of the novel greatly reminded me of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a film I enjoyed very much indeed. Both have an elegiac, verging upon reactionary, air that they get away with thanks to excellent characters, madcap plots, and sheer panache. I was initially ambivalent about the well-heeled main character, Count Alexander Rostov, then could not help but warm to his charm when he turned out to have humility and show more kindness beneath seeming snobbery. His life in the hotel is depicted in pleasingly detailed style, vividly bringing its decaying glamour to life via food, clothing, furniture, and manners. While reading, I was a little disappointed that the period of the Second World War was entirely glossed over, but having finished the book I think that was the right choice. The suffering during the siege of Leningrad would have been radically tonally inconsistent with Rostov's shenanigans.

I was delighted when he became head waiter of the hotel, as that was so clearly his ideal job. The accidental adoption and raising of a child was also lovely, especially as this bond was given greater narrative attention than his romantic affair with an appealingly pragmatic actress. The ending was likewise satisfying and amusing, setting aside questions of plausibility. I can see why this novel is so popular, as it is sentimental without being mawkish and distinctive without being obscure, as well as witty and stylish. The incident with the geese alone is bound to raise a smile. I see from goodreads that there will be a TV series adapting it. If cast well, that should be great fun. show less