Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - A Gentleman in Moscow

This was so much fun. I learned so much about Russian history, but the tone of the book is really uplifting and joyful throughout. I think these characters will stay with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

ireadinbed's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Honestly this is the first book ive waited a long time to read that really lived up to my expectations.

It felt like reading a childhood favorite. I loved the descriptions and the characters and the meandering way the story progresses. And the ending was so wonderful.

I am certain this book will stay with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful informative lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Gentleman in Moscow celebrates the simple joys in the mundane and routine, and quite simply the whole book delighted me.

I don't usually have the patience to love a book that moves at such a slow pace but in this instance, if anything, I wanted time to slow down so I could savour more of the Count's time. In that regard this really is a masterpiece; a comforting, companionable and beautiful read.

Amid the tumult of political upheaval in early 20th century Russia (and the history woven into the story really is fascinating), the bubble of the Metropol in which the Count is confined allows for a far different life to emerge. There is beauty, sadness, laughter and even a touch of farce at times (particularly a scene with a representative from the Vatican, a prostitute and three roaming geese).

But where this really shines is in its incredibly wrought characters. The guests and friends who pop in and out of the Count's life, and the weird and wonderful staff who remain constant through the years, are absolutely glorious and I adored them all.

There is a thread of dry, irreverent humour running throughout the book (reflective of the Count's delightful personality), which is one of my favourite styles of writing because I was so often sat reading with a stupid grin on my face. Rostov may be a pretentious polymath, but he's a wonderful one.

Content Warnings

tamara_joy's review

Go to review page

funny informative reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

saara_ilona_muu's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

spookily's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging funny hopeful reflective 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

4.5

Content Warnings

naomi_k's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

domreadsb00ks's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

spectacular

end.

Content Warnings

More...