domreadsb00ks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
When Count Rostov is put in front of the Bolshevik court after the October Revolution, accused of being an unrepentant aristocrat, it is only a revolutionary poem that he wrote in his youth that saves him. Instead of being shot, he is sentenced to a life of house arrest. A terrible fate - except it is to be carried out in the luxury hotel that has been his home for a long while already.
This book spans decades. And I truly mean it; when we first meet Rostov he is a young man in the prime of his life; when the book closes he is much, much older. This timespan, with well-paced chapters each focussing on a different year, allows us to truly witness his character transformation, not only in the physical sense, but within his mind, his thoughts.
The writing is beautiful, the world imagined perfectly. Subtlety is key for Towles, and you only truly grasp what you have read at the close of the book. All the characters are real people, fleshed out and woth personalities that actually matter to the plot, as do their conversations with Rostov and eachother.
Overall, it is a slow-burner, which makes for a reflective read, exploring human nature and the beauty of chance encounters. The reader is rewarded at the end of the book though with a end.
This book spans decades. And I truly mean it; when we first meet Rostov he is a young man in the prime of his life; when the book closes he is much, much older. This timespan, with well-paced chapters each focussing on a different year, allows us to truly witness his character transformation, not only in the physical sense, but within his mind, his thoughts.
The writing is beautiful, the world imagined perfectly. Subtlety is key for Towles, and you only truly grasp what you have read at the close of the book. All the characters are real people, fleshed out and woth personalities that actually matter to the plot, as do their conversations with Rostov and eachother.
Overall, it is a slow-burner, which makes for a reflective read, exploring human nature and the beauty of chance encounters. The reader is rewarded at the end of the book though with a
Spoiler
spectacular
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
...where do i even start? i had an inkling this would be good, yet it ventured in unexpected directions and still exceeded my quite lofty expectatons. idk how to describe this book w/ suitable adjectives, all i know is my heart feels full from reading it. a gentleman in moscow was filled w/ tender moments and vignettes, wise rumination of the theme of time, scenes that were as uncommon as they were singularly charming and heartwarming, and it managed to be evocative w/o ever being melodramatic or resorting to emotional manipulation.
this book showed what stories are abt, what life is abt. i particularly enjoyed the writing--it was as subtly poetic and witty as its main character--and the touching depiction of friendship and found family. my only gripes would be the fact that the middle felt like a blur given its lack of any major or dramatic plot points, and i wish there were scenes during the war yrs; not for any trauma porn, but it wouldve gone quite a long way in showing how different (or not) life in the metropol was in that period, for as much as the count was physically limited under house arrest, he was nevertheless cocooned w/in the comforts of one of moscow's best hotels. regardless, this was a great--if even rare--read that i cant wait to reread while seeking for some comfort in the yrs to come.
this book showed what stories are abt, what life is abt. i particularly enjoyed the writing--it was as subtly poetic and witty as its main character--and the touching depiction of friendship and found family. my only gripes would be the fact that the middle felt like a blur given its lack of any major or dramatic plot points, and i wish there were scenes during the war yrs; not for any trauma porn, but it wouldve gone quite a long way in showing how different (or not) life in the metropol was in that period, for as much as the count was physically limited under house arrest, he was nevertheless cocooned w/in the comforts of one of moscow's best hotels. regardless, this was a great--if even rare--read that i cant wait to reread while seeking for some comfort in the yrs to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Police brutality, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Kidnapping
keishag's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gun violence
leoniefnk's review against another edition
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts
fray_myst's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov has been sentenced into exile in his own country, in Moscow at the Metropol Hotel. For writing a poem that has revolutionary sentiments. Here, we witness 30 years of history through the eyes of the count, visitors, colleagues and friends that visit the Metropol. From the fall of the aristocracy to the 1950s. It's almost a story about nothing.
A Gentleman of Moscow has that almost meandering, dreamlike storytelling where the paragraphs seem to go off on a tangent about some some subject or the other. With some real life Russian historic events woven into and around the narrative. It stumbled a bit in pacing around the 3/4th mark of the book, as the events suddenly turned glacial. Though every bit crucial to what was to come.
The overarching theme is "adaptability". How these characters live and find a way to navigate Russia that is both familiar and unknown. The count's godfather himself once told a young Alexander, in a lifetime ago: if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.
A Gentleman of Moscow has that almost meandering, dreamlike storytelling where the paragraphs seem to go off on a tangent about some some subject or the other. With some real life Russian historic events woven into and around the narrative. It stumbled a bit in pacing around the 3/4th mark of the book, as the events suddenly turned glacial. Though every bit crucial to what was to come.
The overarching theme is "adaptability". How these characters live and find a way to navigate Russia that is both familiar and unknown. The count's godfather himself once told a young Alexander, in a lifetime ago: if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
gloomi_sundai's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
it took me so long to read cuz i went weeks even months without reading so i cannot give an honest review but i did throughly enjoy it and i think i will love it more when i reread it in ten years
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/injury detail, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Grief and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Gun violence, Murder, and Racial slurs
gconley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
vurawnica's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
tessavds's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
missbear's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I really thought I was going to enjoy this book. It's so highly recommended (Barack Obama! Bill Gates!) and it's been compared to some books that I love (The Book Thief! All the Light We Cannot See!). It's described as being philosophical and about finding joy in everyday things, it's character-driven and emotional and heartwarming and clever and charming. It's historical fiction. The main character loves Russian literature and Anna Karenina is his favorite book - I love Russian literature and Anna Karenina is MY favorite book! So my expectations were admittedly rather high.
I'll start with what I liked, because some things here were good: Amor Towles is a good writer, at least in terms of constructing lovely sentences (we'll cover narrative choices and rhetorical tricks later). He is especially talented at painting lovely pictures of lovely places. The Metropol Hotel is truly brought to life in this book. There are also a number of individual scenes that I did find charming and delightful and I felt like I could "see" very clearly in my mind's eye, because they were described in a charming and delightful and vivid manner. At its best, this book reminded me of the Wes Anderson movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - not because of the hotel, but because of Towles' ability to construct picture-perfect, clever, charming little scenes in the way Wes Anderson does: Nina primly eating her tower of ice cream, Andre demonstrating his talent at juggling, a tiny dinner party in a secret room, etc.
Despite these charming individual moments, there was something I found quite unsettling about this book and the more I read, the more unsettled I felt. I had gone into A Gentleman in Moscow expecting to read a work of historical fiction, a genre I quite enjoy. But as I read, I started to suspect that this wasn't really historical fiction at all. In fact, the more I read, the more this book began to remind me of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, just instead meant for adults.
There are quite a number of similarities. Both stories follow a cast of whimsical characters, who are placed in bizarre situations and get out of them through great displays of cleverness. Both of them are told by clever narrators who give little sly winks to the reader through clever things like footnotes and asides. Both of them attempt to balance a largely lighthearted story against a plot that is genuinely very dark. However, there is one major difference: A Series of Unfortunate Events is a book for children, set in a fictional, nearly fantastical world. Its darkness is nearly unrelenting, but it's also a fictional darkness, and it is the unrealness (the impossibility!) of the terrible things that happen in the story that allow it to be balanced out by clever children and a clever narrator. A Gentleman in Moscow, because it disguises itself as a work of historical fiction, is set in a real, genuinely terrible time of history. The horrors of Stalin's Russia are presented here as nonsensical quirks (the Bolsheviks argue over vocabulary! They take the labels off the wine!), in much the same way as the evils of Count Olaf are in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Count Rostov shakes his head at them, tsks at their lack of taste and their lack of manners, and blithely goes on living his life of drinking wine and eating delicious food in a beautiful hotel. This is not a clever balancing of lightheartedness and a dark aesthetic to me. This is fiddling while Rome burns. This is A Series of Unfortunate Events if it were set during the Holocaust.
For that reason, I was unable to be charmed by Count Rostov - he came across to me as foolish and immature. I was unable to be charmed by the clever narrator - he came across as whimsical for the sake of whimsy and far too aware of his own cleverness (another similarity: A Series of Unfortunate Events makes repeated use of the number 13 throughout the series, in numbers of chapters and numbers of books and other clever ways. Why? Because 13 is the unluckiest number. In A Gentleman in Moscow, every chapter title begins with the letter A. Why? No reason. Just to remind you that this book is meant to be whimsical! No really, I read Amor Towles' interview, this is what he said.)
I recognize that I've been rather harsh on A Gentleman in Moscow, here, especially for a book that I've said contains things I liked. And I do understand why people like this book, because a mixture of dark circumstances and charming characters and an appreciation for the joy of life can be absolutely delightful. Unfortunately, I think an appreciation of charm is like a sense of humor: it's very individual and nothing will be to everyone's taste. And it will certainly help to go into this novel knowing what to expect. It turns out I should have read that interview first, as in it Amor Towles makes very clear that he's perfectly aware that he's not writing a historical fiction, but is in fact telling a story about an imaginary Moscow and the imaginary characters who might live in it:
I'll start with what I liked, because some things here were good: Amor Towles is a good writer, at least in terms of constructing lovely sentences (we'll cover narrative choices and rhetorical tricks later). He is especially talented at painting lovely pictures of lovely places. The Metropol Hotel is truly brought to life in this book. There are also a number of individual scenes that I did find charming and delightful and I felt like I could "see" very clearly in my mind's eye, because they were described in a charming and delightful and vivid manner. At its best, this book reminded me of the Wes Anderson movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - not because of the hotel, but because of Towles' ability to construct picture-perfect, clever, charming little scenes in the way Wes Anderson does: Nina primly eating her tower of ice cream, Andre demonstrating his talent at juggling, a tiny dinner party in a secret room, etc.
Despite these charming individual moments, there was something I found quite unsettling about this book and the more I read, the more unsettled I felt. I had gone into A Gentleman in Moscow expecting to read a work of historical fiction, a genre I quite enjoy. But as I read, I started to suspect that this wasn't really historical fiction at all. In fact, the more I read, the more this book began to remind me of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, just instead meant for adults.
There are quite a number of similarities. Both stories follow a cast of whimsical characters, who are placed in bizarre situations and get out of them through great displays of cleverness. Both of them are told by clever narrators who give little sly winks to the reader through clever things like footnotes and asides. Both of them attempt to balance a largely lighthearted story against a plot that is genuinely very dark. However, there is one major difference: A Series of Unfortunate Events is a book for children, set in a fictional, nearly fantastical world. Its darkness is nearly unrelenting, but it's also a fictional darkness, and it is the unrealness (the impossibility!) of the terrible things that happen in the story that allow it to be balanced out by clever children and a clever narrator. A Gentleman in Moscow, because it disguises itself as a work of historical fiction, is set in a real, genuinely terrible time of history. The horrors of Stalin's Russia are presented here as nonsensical quirks (the Bolsheviks argue over vocabulary! They take the labels off the wine!), in much the same way as the evils of Count Olaf are in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Count Rostov shakes his head at them, tsks at their lack of taste and their lack of manners, and blithely goes on living his life of drinking wine and eating delicious food in a beautiful hotel. This is not a clever balancing of lightheartedness and a dark aesthetic to me. This is fiddling while Rome burns. This is A Series of Unfortunate Events if it were set during the Holocaust.
For that reason, I was unable to be charmed by Count Rostov - he came across to me as foolish and immature. I was unable to be charmed by the clever narrator - he came across as whimsical for the sake of whimsy and far too aware of his own cleverness (another similarity: A Series of Unfortunate Events makes repeated use of the number 13 throughout the series, in numbers of chapters and numbers of books and other clever ways. Why? Because 13 is the unluckiest number. In A Gentleman in Moscow, every chapter title begins with the letter A. Why? No reason. Just to remind you that this book is meant to be whimsical! No really, I read Amor Towles' interview, this is what he said.)
I recognize that I've been rather harsh on A Gentleman in Moscow, here, especially for a book that I've said contains things I liked. And I do understand why people like this book, because a mixture of dark circumstances and charming characters and an appreciation for the joy of life can be absolutely delightful. Unfortunately, I think an appreciation of charm is like a sense of humor: it's very individual and nothing will be to everyone's taste. And it will certainly help to go into this novel knowing what to expect. It turns out I should have read that interview first, as in it Amor Towles makes very clear that he's perfectly aware that he's not writing a historical fiction, but is in fact telling a story about an imaginary Moscow and the imaginary characters who might live in it:
"Rather than pursuing research driven projects, I like to write from areas of existing fascination. Even as young man, I was a fan of the 1920s and 1930s, eagerly reading the novels, watching the movies, and listening to the music of the era. I used this deep-seated familiarity as the foundation for inventing my version of 1938 New York in Rules of Civility. Similarly, I chose to write A Gentleman in Moscow because of my longstanding fascination with Russian literature, culture, and history. Most of the texture of the novel springs from the marriage of my imagination with that interest. For both novels, once I had finished the first draft, I did some applied research in order to fine tune details."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
More...