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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The first 20% of this book was really boring. I seriously considered giving up on it, but I'm so glad I didn't. I ended up loving the main character, Count Rostov, and the rest of the employees at the Metropol Hotel. I even ended up loving the hotel itself! It's a story about love and family and friendship, and even though the vast majority of the book takes place inside the hotel, it never feels restrictive or claustrophobic. Great read!
I didn’t think I would enjoy a book about a man stuck in the same building for over 30 years, but I absolutely loved this. Even while trapped Alexander finds his own way to continue experiencing the world, and I thought the discussions of life and hope and love were beautiful. I loved all of the secondary characters that became Alexander’s family and, of course, I adored Sofia. The ending was so completely satisfying, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t usually like anything being left open ended.
Sweeping time frame in this novel covers pre-revolutionary Russia to 1954 Soviet Union. Count Rostoff is sentenced to "house" arrest in a grand hotel in Moscow, where he lives many years, raising a friend's daughter, holding a job (at the hotel restaurant), making friends, and generally being unhampered by the inability to leave the hotel.
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent, excellent reading, but became a difficult choice, as the pandemic parallels became apparent. Isolation, imprisonment. Get past that and it's a superb novel.
For those who enjoy historical fiction, I couldn’t recommend this book enough.