Through various anecdotes from the Count’s past, the reader is transported to other parts of Russia and the wider world. Certainly, the world that Amor Towles creates within A Gentleman in Moscow extends far beyond the confines of the hotel. Luckily, this was not the case! From beginning to end I was transfixed. Initially, as most of the events in the book are set in the Metropol Hotel and written from the limited perspective of the Count, I was worried that the narrative would lose momentum halfway through. It was a heartwarming and touching addition to a wonderful novel. I especially loved reading about the Count’s relationship with his adopted daughter Sofia, and their games of Zut (which they invented) in the Boyarsky. Endearing and dynamic, the Count is self-assured and intelligent, and throughout the novel we watch as he develops close friendships with various individuals that either work or reside in the hotel. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this book are its characters, particularly Count Rostov, on whom the narrative is built. I’m sure many in lockdown can empathise with the Count’s sentence of house arrest!

As a “former person” – that is, an aristocrat – the Count must adapt to these changing circumstances in order to survive, and with the help of various friends that is exactly what he does. Confined to the Metropol Hotel in Moscow between the years 19, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov watches from the sidelines as Russia is transformed from an imperial state into a global superpower. But, although relatable in some aspects, the novel is situated firmly in the past. A Gentleman in Moscow was originally published in 2016 (5 years ago! Can you believe it? Sometimes I think we still are in 2016), but as a result of the pandemic it has had a resurgence. It’s full of charm, humour, love, friendship and mouth-watering descriptions of food, and it perfectly incorporates the turbulent history of 20th century Russia. This book was recommended to me a while ago by a friend from university, and when I finally got round to reading it last week I did not expect to love it as much as I did. ‘If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.’ But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval.Ĭan a life without luxury be the richest of all? On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov – recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt – is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol.ĭeemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely.

Review a gentleman in moscow