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michaelpdonley's review against another edition
5.0
A gentleman under house arrest in a luxury hotel in Moscow for nearly 40 years as the world around him experiences war and political changes seems like it may be a little dull. But the protagonist is so fascinating, and the cast of characters who surround him are so compelling, it's a quiet but delightful ride. And the crescendo at the end pulls us into thriller material as all of the plot threads squeeze together. Highly recommended.
yelizaveta_a's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
5.0
czarnola's review against another edition
3.5
Well, it was a good, solid read. It had well-developed characters and vivid descriptions of the atmospheric hotel. The pace was incredibly slow, but the inner monologue of the protagonist somehow made the plot seem engaging. In general I think that this book would have made a very comforting read during the covid pandemic, but I'm still wondering why all the chapter titles started with the letter a (at least in the Polish edition).
mniedoba's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
4.25
anderesumadrid's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
Inglés exquisito pero lento de leer por vocabulario. El prota es delicioso. Leida, muy buena, excelente estilo e inglés. Solo flojea un poco hacia el final pero se recupera.
careycarpenter's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audiobook version and loved it. The characters are so great and the writing is lovely. I was able to really see everything the author was writing about. Who knew that a story that unfolds over 40 years about a man’s life of house arrest living in a fancy hotel in Moscow could be so good?!? This book just made me happy.
ryatwilight's review against another edition
2.0
Am I missing something here? Because I cannot fathom how this book is so highly rated and loved by so many. Perhaps it was just too nuanced for my basic romantasy girly brain, but the only part of this book that even approached being remotely interesting was like the last 20 pages, but by then I was so far past the point of caring about any of the characters that it was too late. Otherwise absolutely nothing of interest happened. It was just a monotonous account of the Count going about his boring daily life at the Metropol along with details of the political landscape of Russia at the time, which I couldn’t care less about.
Throughout the entire book I was waiting for the Count to do something, anything, but instead we get 30 years worth of him being complacent in his captivity under the guise of “mastering his circumstances”. His only form of rebellion was to cook a meal using banned, hard to acquire ingredients with the other members of his “Triumvirate”. If it weren’t for Sophia going to Paris, I believe he would have been content to live out the rest of his days at the Metropol. I wanted him to do something to better his circumstances rather than “master” them like planning his escape sooner or secretly sneak out of the hotel and do something to rebel against the Bolsheviks like sending information in secret to the Americans or other anti-Bolshevik parties. But alas, he did nothing of the sort except at the very very end.
And another thing I don’t understand…the Count went through all this effort to arrange for Sophia to get out of Paris and to America, but then he doesn’t even reunite with her. He goes back to where he grew up and meets up with Anna. I was under the impression that the whole reason he escaped from the Metropol was so that he could be with Sophia.
I saw somewhere that the romance between the Count and Anna was described as “fantastical”. Whoever said that has never read a real romance novel, fantasy or otherwise, in their lives. That was not a romance, that was a long standing booty call. We never got any details on how the Count felt about Anna, he never wooed her, or interacted with her much outside of their trysts. He kept their relationship, if you can even call it that, separate from everything else in his life. He didn’t even know that her and Sophia talked and were friendly.
I also never got the sense that there was even much of an internal mental or emotional struggle going on within the Count. And it also didn’t seem like much of a punishment to be confined to a luxury hotel even with his small living quarters. He seemed perfectly content to still be able to have his weekly haircuts, dine at the fancy restaurants, drink his wine, and have his nightcaps of brandy at the Shalyapin bar. There were only brief moments of discontent that we hardly got any insight into like when he went up to the roof to end his life because he felt like the world had moved on and forgotten about him, but then all it took was a chance encounter with the handyman and his bees to renew his hope in life and then we jump to four years later to where he’s happy as the head waiter at the Boyarsky.
I also hated Nina and her rude, selfish, serious, and distant nature along with the fact that she unceremoniously dumped her young daughter on the Count asking him to take care of her for a month only to never be heard from again. This was the equivalent of the surprise pregnancy trope for me and even though Sophia was fairly tolerable as far as kids go this was still a huge ick for me in the book.
This book’s only redeeming qualities were that I thought it was pretty well written, albeit monotonous, and I did like the narrator of the audiobook, which made it slightly more bearable to finish the book. Oh, and I liked the one-eyed Russian blue cat. He was the best character in the whole book.
Throughout the entire book I was waiting for the Count to do something, anything, but instead we get 30 years worth of him being complacent in his captivity under the guise of “mastering his circumstances”. His only form of rebellion was to cook a meal using banned, hard to acquire ingredients with the other members of his “Triumvirate”. If it weren’t for Sophia going to Paris, I believe he would have been content to live out the rest of his days at the Metropol. I wanted him to do something to better his circumstances rather than “master” them like planning his escape sooner or secretly sneak out of the hotel and do something to rebel against the Bolsheviks like sending information in secret to the Americans or other anti-Bolshevik parties. But alas, he did nothing of the sort except at the very very end.
And another thing I don’t understand…the Count went through all this effort to arrange for Sophia to get out of Paris and to America, but then he doesn’t even reunite with her. He goes back to where he grew up and meets up with Anna. I was under the impression that the whole reason he escaped from the Metropol was so that he could be with Sophia.
I saw somewhere that the romance between the Count and Anna was described as “fantastical”. Whoever said that has never read a real romance novel, fantasy or otherwise, in their lives. That was not a romance, that was a long standing booty call. We never got any details on how the Count felt about Anna, he never wooed her, or interacted with her much outside of their trysts. He kept their relationship, if you can even call it that, separate from everything else in his life. He didn’t even know that her and Sophia talked and were friendly.
I also never got the sense that there was even much of an internal mental or emotional struggle going on within the Count. And it also didn’t seem like much of a punishment to be confined to a luxury hotel even with his small living quarters. He seemed perfectly content to still be able to have his weekly haircuts, dine at the fancy restaurants, drink his wine, and have his nightcaps of brandy at the Shalyapin bar. There were only brief moments of discontent that we hardly got any insight into like when he went up to the roof to end his life because he felt like the world had moved on and forgotten about him, but then all it took was a chance encounter with the handyman and his bees to renew his hope in life and then we jump to four years later to where he’s happy as the head waiter at the Boyarsky.
I also hated Nina and her rude, selfish, serious, and distant nature along with the fact that she unceremoniously dumped her young daughter on the Count asking him to take care of her for a month only to never be heard from again. This was the equivalent of the surprise pregnancy trope for me and even though Sophia was fairly tolerable as far as kids go this was still a huge ick for me in the book.
This book’s only redeeming qualities were that I thought it was pretty well written, albeit monotonous, and I did like the narrator of the audiobook, which made it slightly more bearable to finish the book. Oh, and I liked the one-eyed Russian blue cat. He was the best character in the whole book.
aeliesee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
3.0
Great story, brilliant, very descriptive
brianbasketball's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this was a phenomenal book. Although long it was paced super well, and I loved the time jumps to be able to see the Counts progression and maturity through life.
And I enjoyed the count/narrarators style so much. The references , half of which went right over my head, are a very fun way of telling the story and describing people and places. A lot of chekov’s gun moments too, which makes sense as he is a pretty big side plot w mishka.
I want to read the bread book.
And I enjoyed the count/narrarators style so much. The references , half of which went right over my head, are a very fun way of telling the story and describing people and places. A lot of chekov’s gun moments too, which makes sense as he is a pretty big side plot w mishka.
I want to read the bread book.