A review by lunatic_jg
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

4.0

I have to say this was a bit of a strange reading experience. I started it and while I liked the writing and the tone of the story it wasn't pulling me in. There's a moment very early in the book when the main character is reading a book but really just looking at the clock and willing the time to move and I found myself unfortunately relating to that experience.

But this was my bookclub read and I had a limited time to get through it so I got the audiobook and I have to say I enjoyed listening to this story much more than reading it. Maybe if I gave it a little more time the reading experience would have improved too but I didn't have that time to spare.

My favourite parts of the story involved kids showing up in the Count's life, especially Sofia was such a great addition to the story.

The book was surprisingly light and sweet taking into consideration the time period and the setting it took place in. In the end it was just a story of a man who found his place in the world and his people even when he was sentenced to be moved into obscurity. I really enjoyed that even though there are points of high tension the story never turns into a dramatic tale.

When I started it I thought I'd end up disliking it or at least being indifferent to it but it ended up being a really enjoyable time.