Review: A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh this book...frustrating and beautiful all between the front and back covers. At any given time it could have been 1 star or 5 stars.

Confined to The Hotel Metropol in Moscow after being sentenced to a house arrest (as opposed to being executed) after the Russian Revolution, Count Alexander Rostov becomes a staple of hotel life. He knows the staff, the guests, the secrets of the building. Remember -- he never leaves.

This is why I was frustrated through 2/3 of the book because nothing really happened. It was all character driven interactions and the daily minutiae of hotel operations. The writing was beautiful and the characters unique and multifaceted -- but no one ever left the building!

Then Nina appeared. Then Sophia. Then the last 1/3 of the book was this beautiful, complicated story of love, friendship, relationships, politics, and conflict that were built over the proceeding years (and many, many pages).

So -- I'm so glad I persevered and finished the book. It was a totally worth it in the end.

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