A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Never have I read a book like this one.  Original. Polished to a high shine and the characters live indelibly from page to fascinating page.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  The very Russian Count Alexander Rostov is an aristocrat by birth, but also by inclination.  A man of high character and impeccable manners. Every inch the gentleman, in his appearance and in his unaffected conversation. He treats everyone with respect and yet is a shrewd judge of personalities. 

Unfortunately, Count Rostov was born in one age and now lives in another.  A time traveler?  In a sense.  He’s in Moscow at an elegant hotel, just as the Russian Revolution destroys the world the Count was born into. In the new Russia, Aristocrats are now by definition enemies of the people. The Count faces the unenviable task of having to adjust and yet maintain what he is.

Called before a tribunal, he answers questions forthrightly, without rancor or hesitation, or prevarication.   One thing he cannot hide, nor deny, is that while being politically neutral, he is an aristocrat.   The tribunal decides not to inflict the ultimate punishment on a man who is clearly of the old nobility, but instead his punishment is for him to be listed as a ‘Former Person,’ and confined to the same hotel forever.

However, there are some differences in his style of living.  He will no longer occupy the elegant suite as he has done for several years. 

A Gentleman in Moscow is the story of what happens while he is confined within the walls of the hotel.

The first question is:  How would you handle that situation?  Would you go whack-o ?  Lose your manners?  Would your life lose all meaning? And were you in the Count’s place, what would you to give yourself reasons to go on living life to the fullest?

The reader’s first inclination is to leap to the conclusion that this must be a very dull book.  One man, in a hotel, while the entire country is in flux, does not present itself as an exciting situation.  Your instinct would be very wrong. Much happens in any hotel and in this one, there is a constant swirl of strong currents as the political change slaps like heavy waves upon the shores of an entire nation.  In the midst of this barrage, the Count tiptoes between who he is and who he must be to survive.  Friendships are forged and rent asunder.  Impossibilities lead to unexpected adventures.  All the while, the denizens of the hotel parade before you in a most extravagant and unlikely circus of activity.

Amor Towles has written an extraordinary book that roils and seethes and forces you to read ‘just one more chapter’ before your eyes close for the night.

This is a close-up glimpse of what communism brought and did not bring in an often brutal exchange of one totalitarian regime for another.

In many ways, life goes on in the hotel and as it does, foreign diplomats and journalists and even tourists dodge in and out of scene after indelible scene.

As a writer, too often when I read a novel I find myself at odds with syntax or a faulty plot, or unlikely situations, driven by not totally believable persona.   A Gentleman in Moscow has no such defects.  In fact it has no defects at all.  Nitpicking reader that I am, I would not change a word or a plot twist or even so much as a mustache on a single character.

In short, this is the most honestly written and enjoyable novel I ever remember reading.

A Gentleman in Moscow is an unforgettable tale that rides high above other modern novels.  I was glued to the pages from beginning to end.  I feel certain you will be too.

Only one word of caution, without fear of contraction, I advise it’s best to read this book in an electronic version.  One simple reason.  Mr. Towles’ vocabulary is larger than yours or mine.  As you may know, an electronic edition allows the reader to simply push the word to get an instant definition. You will appreciate this tip!  But, most of all, you’ll appreciate such an enticing novel.  A Gentleman in Moscow.