A Gentleman in Moscow By Amor Towels

Description

Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow is a vast, personal, and genuinely human tale that shows how being locked up may lead to tremendous freedom and significance. The story begins in 1922 with Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, an unrepentant aristocrat, standing in front of a Bolshevik tribunal in revolutionary Russia. What did he do wrong? When he was young, he wrote a poem that went against the rules. The Count is not going to be executed or deported to Siberia. Instead, he will be under house arrest for life in the luxurious Metropol Hotel in Moscow.

The Count loses his wealth and social status in an instant when he is sent from his beautiful room to a small attic for servants. But what should have been a story of deterioration and despair becomes, according to Towles’s skill, a bright meditation on dignity, adaptation, and the unbreakable human spirit. The Metropol, with its fancy dining room, hidden corridors, busy staff, and steady stream of guests, is a brilliantly conceived small version of Russian society during the years of great change.

For more than thirty years, the Count sees and takes part in the extraordinary changes that happen outside the hotel, even though he is stuck inside. He makes friends with a lively nine-year-old girl named Nina who shows him how to get around the hotel’s many mysteries. He also has a tumultuous but loving relationship with the gorgeous, strong-willed actress Anna Urbanova. He also makes lifelong friends with the devoted maître d’ Andrey and the creative chef Emile.

The most heartbreaking part of the book is when Nina, now an adult, gives her daughter Sofia to the Count. The Count’s world gets smaller in terms of location but much bigger in terms of significance when he has to raise a child in such difficult conditions. He gives up the perks of being a nobleman for the quiet heroism of love, teaching, and giving up his own needs. Towles shows that even the most improbable places may grow meaning and optimism via Sofia.

Towles’s writing is beautiful, delicate, and often sneakily funny. The Count is a delightful, smart, and philosophical narrator. His thoughts on politeness, history, and the value of little rituals give the book a timeless aspect. The Count keeps a small area of elegance and humanity behind the Metropol’s borders, even as Soviet power gets stronger outside. He builds a life full of friends, good food, music, books, and times of reflection. This shows that true freedom may be a choice.

A Gentleman in Moscow has interesting characters, but it also has a quietly radical message: that the value of a life is not in power or money, but in how one respects others, finds meaning in limitations, and stays true to one’s morals even when faced with oppression. It is a book that honors the strength of the human spirit and the lasting power of art, beauty, and connection even when things are at their worst.

About the Author

Amor Towles is an American novelist acclaimed for his refined storytelling, elegant prose, and richly drawn historical settings. A former investment professional turned full-time writer, he is best known for his bestsellers Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow, which have been translated into over 30 languages and captivated readers worldwide.

Product Details

• Title: A Gentleman in Moscow
  
• Author: Amor Towles
  
• ISBN-13: 9780143110439
  
• Publisher: Penguin Books
  
• Published: March 2019 (paperback edition)
  
• Pages: 512
  
• Binding: Paperback