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niharikaaaaaa9 's review for:
A Gentleman in Moscow
by Amor Towles
I really enjoyed this book. In the spectrum of "character driven books" to "plot driven books", this book fell firmly in the "character driven books" category, with Towles describing, in great detail, our protagonist, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, the people he comes into contact with while under house arrest in the Metropol, and the events that transpire during his time at the hotel. Never had I given so much thought to seating charts during formal dinners until this book, until the Count explained (multiple times) how important they were!
What I really enjoyed about this story was how the Count changes through the duration of the book. When we first meet him, he's just been put under house arrest, and while he slowly (and mostly, out of necessity), tries to adjust to his hundred square foot room, there's still a wordly, regal manner about him. When he first meets Nina (and when we see him interact with his friend, Mishka), we see him soften - there's a side to him that's not "Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt", a side that learns to appreciate other human beings' perspectives and even starts to care for them (and we see this even moreso in his relationship with Sofia). That being said, one of my favorite sides of the Count was the one that emerged in his interactions with Emile and Andre - he was purposeful and driven, but at the same time lighthearted; I imagined him, in these interactions, to have a frequent twinkle in his eye (especially when discussing seating arrangements).
I would definitely read this book again - I found myself wholly immersed in the world Towles created.
What I really enjoyed about this story was how the Count changes through the duration of the book. When we first meet him, he's just been put under house arrest, and while he slowly (and mostly, out of necessity), tries to adjust to his hundred square foot room, there's still a wordly, regal manner about him. When he first meets Nina (and when we see him interact with his friend, Mishka), we see him soften - there's a side to him that's not "Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt", a side that learns to appreciate other human beings' perspectives and even starts to care for them (and we see this even moreso in his relationship with Sofia). That being said, one of my favorite sides of the Count was the one that emerged in his interactions with Emile and Andre - he was purposeful and driven, but at the same time lighthearted; I imagined him, in these interactions, to have a frequent twinkle in his eye (especially when discussing seating arrangements).
I would definitely read this book again - I found myself wholly immersed in the world Towles created.