In 1992, in the square across from the Kremlin, is the Metropol Hotel, where Count Alexander Rostov was put under house arrest and banished to a small attic room. He had been found guilty of being the author of seditious poetry.

This book co era architecture & literature. It's also at times funny, but it will also make you shed a tear. It's very well written and will make you think about things you have just read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Amor Towles for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book is well written, the characters are drawn out masterfully and the story held my attention. However, the whole idea is so preposterous and far removed from reality of the times and place it describes, that I found it difficult to suspend belief.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I wanted that this book never ends. It is so beautifully written, and the story is so captivating, that it is hardly leaving the reader unchanged at the end of the lecture. This book can be about many things: about the world that have been, about being loyal to your own values, about intellectual integrity and the art of mastering the circumstances with dignity. It gives a chance to the noble love and the life of spirit, through a story with some fantastic twists and a beautiful, unexpected ending.

I had heard a lot of great things about this book so I am glad I have finally gotten to read it and find they are all true.

Count Rostov is a wonderful, intriguing character. The descriptions in this book are vibrant and really draw you in. There is a vast array of characters who Alexander interacts with during the 30 years the book spans.

I found this to be beautifully written and very insightful not only in terms of its characters, but the politics of the day against the backdrop of the Metropole hotel in which the story takes place. From the reflections on his aristocratic childhood to his enforced house arrest we see Count Rostov in many different guises. Despite his change in fortune the Count remains optimistic and seemingly accepting and I particularly relished how he finds new riches in his relationships especially with his unexpected 'daughter'.

Every now and again a book comes along that sings with such beguiling beauty as to shock and amaze the reader. For me, that book is A Gentleman in Moscow. Words fail to describe how highly I rate this novel. I require more stars, please! Five will not do.

A Gentleman in Moscow paints a portrait of the life of Count Alexander Rostov, an aristocrat in 1920s Russia, who has been sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol by the Bolsheviks. That may not sound like a real hardship, but, to a worldly man like Count Rostov, the severe clipping of his wings changes his life substantially. Being a gentleman of the first order, he takes every knock back in his stride and establishes a new life within these limiting constraints. He builds strong relationships with those who work at the Metropol and many who come to stay. Though his day-to-day life could appear lackluster at first glance, his world is rich with new intrigue and the surprising detail found in the minutiae of hotel life.

The Count adapts to his circumstances and remains incredibly formal and polite in a way that only those brought up with a finely wrought silver spoon in the mouth could possibly do. His charm, wisdom and elegance in all things is a testament to the beauty of a by-gone age. What is most interesting are the observations from the Count as years pass and events shape Russia into a communist country. It is sad to witness the crushing of regal splendor under the utilitarian boot of the communists but, oh, such an insight!

A Gentleman in Moscow is undoubtedly one of the best books I've read in the last few years. It has delivered more than just a compelling story but given me much to think about too. There are numerous lessons to learn and new perspectives to appreciate. The richness found here has stolen my heart and delivered a book I will continue to cherish long into the future.

A wonderful piece of historical fiction that had me utterly enthralled! At first I didn't think a book set completely in a hotel could possibly be that interesting. How wrong I was! I fell in love with the characters straight away. This is a whimsical story but it has lots of heart too. Totally spellbinding.

This book begins in Moscow in 1922. Aristocratic Count Rostov is sentanced to house arrest for writing a poem several years before. This was seen as an act against the state and Rostov sees himself fortunate that he has escaped with his life. Removed from the suite of rooms in which he had been living, Rostov finds himself in a tiny garret room. He lives in the hotel and becomes a party to the great many little actions which make the hotel run smoothly. Rostov has friends who visit from the outside and also friends within the hotel - the nine year old girl with whom he explores the depths of the hotel, the handyman with whom he shares coffee on the roof, the seamstress who mends his clothes...........
I was really taken with this book from the start. I liked Rostov who was determined not to let his standards slip despite being forced to live in the garret of the famous Metroploe Hotel. He keeps up with the current affairs via his friends and the newspapers. He also hides behind a pillar and listens in on the many assemblies which are held in the hotel. Rostov is the gentleman with everyone he meets. The minute detail in which the hotel is described is wonderful and in places amusing. We also learn about Rostov's background with flashbacks to his younger days.
This was all very interesting and I was enjoying the book when it seemed to stop progressing. Nothing more seemed to be happening. There was no real progression of Rostov's life. In committing the main character to live permanently within the hotel, the author has naturally restricted the background for the story. Rostov isn't going anywhere so we only get small snippets of the outside world. The characters remain more or less the same and the setting is the same. There comes a point where the author has to find something new to add to the book in order to move the story forward. Unfortunately I came to a point about half way through the book where I felt that the story had ground to a halt. I read a few more chapters but I found myself reluctant to return to the story. I had to make a choice as to whether or not to complete the book and I chose not to. There were a host of other books clamouring to be read and this one just wasn't pulling me back.
It is a great shame that this story ground to a halt in this way. I loved the whole idea and the main character but the author just failed to follow through on the early promise. It is possible that this patch in the middle was only a patch and the book improved later but having shown no signs of improvement for a few chapters I just wasn't interested enough to find out.

An author in love with a character? I detect a slight case of character crush in Amor Towles new book, A Gentleman in Moscow, and do not blame him. The Gentleman - poet, aristocrat and gourmand - takes to a lengthy incarceration in a Moscow hotel by reinventing himself several times and charming (almost) all he meets. His slightly inflated ego is pricked at regular intervals to humorous effect. The politics and social history woven into the book enhance its enjoyment. A lovely winter read with twists in the tale.

If you've not read Towles' earlier novel Rules of Civility, I highly recommend it. Set in 1937 New York City, it is a book that builds to much more than meets the eye.

The Russian Revolution is successful so Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov returns to his home country from Paris. Managing to get his only family member remaining out of Russia, so he decides to stay. After settling in Moscow at the Hotel Metropol things at first move along quite peacefully, that is until he is hauled in front of a tribunal in 1922. Saved as such by a poem he penned years before Rostov is placed under house arrest at the hotel.
Rostov is thrown out of his hotel room and placed instead in a disused servant’s room in the attic. Taking his own furniture with him it isn’t too long before he has settled in. Thus we follow Alexander over the years, as he makes friends, has to make adjustments and even gets a job in the hotel, with numerous situations arising. We also find out more about the legendary poem, and the Count’s past, as well as that of other characters.

Although this is a well written story I found my attention wandering & being easily distracted. I normally devour a book finding it hard to put down & enjoy the escapism. Sadly I didn’t feel this for this book, it felt more like a compulsory read. I didn’t connect with the characters even though they were well portrayed. I can understand why a different reader could really enjoy the book, just not for me