Reviews

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

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seagulls_corner's review against another edition

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adventurous funny slow-paced

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

2.5

haphazardreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

A Gentleman in Moscow is easily described as delightful, this is a novel that dwells on what is good and beautiful. It is a soothing and affirming read. I would say, however, it lacks gravitas and any political value whatsoever. I have seen so many people reviewing this book as an ode to those beauties of the past lost in the Russian Revolution. The book seems only mildly aware, and many reviewers seem entirely unaware, that the luxuries of the Russian aristocracy came at a grave cost to the Russian people and the destruction of the aristocracy was a necessity. This book should not be read as a lament for lost luxuries but as an appreciation of the labourers who worked to produce such luxuries. We should all be inspired by comrade Rostov’s achievement of class consciousness seen in his rejection of aristocracy in favour of a worker’s uniform, the white jacket of a waiter.

madelinekc's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0

georgiably's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

I wanted to like this book more than I did but it was just so slow and it took me so long to get through it. The writing was good and the main character was interesting to read about because of his quirks, but I was so unsure about where the plot was going at every point.

acdocx86's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

kirstenrose22's review against another edition

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1.0

I'm calling it quits on this one, so I'm marking it as Read even though I only finished about half of it. It was all fine, and pleasant enough - but just not compelling enough to make me keep reading. I put it down and picked it up a week later, and still just didn't care. See Library Science Laws 2 and 3 as proposed by Ranganathan (Every reader his/her book. Every book its reader.) - This Book Is Just Not For Me. And that's fine. :)