I highly recommend the book “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles.  The book tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov and several decades of his life under house arrest at the Metropol Hotel.  While the story takes place at one stationary spot, the Metropol Hotel, the story had enough twists and turns to keep my interest from start to finish.

A “highly recommend” from me is due to three factors – a character I like, an atmosphere I like and the book gives me several takeaways.

Count Alexander Rostov was born to an aristocratic family in the last decade of the 19th century.  His early life was one of Russian high society and manners.  He finds himself in mid-life under house arrest at the Metropol Hotel during a time in Russia (early 1920s) where high society and manners are no longer recognized.  The story takes us on the journey to see his attempts at living at the Metropol Hotel, as well as glimpses into his early life.

The background of the story is set in 1920s to 1950s in Moscow.  The book spends enough time to help the reader picture life in Moscow and Russia during this time.  The book also paints a gorgeous picture of the Metropol Hotel.  From the restaurants, the dining experience, the visitors, the business meetings, the service people, the changes the hotel went through during the story, I felt by the end of the book I was a visitor at the hotel.

I have several takeaways from the book, one is related to a movie from the 1940s (read the book to find out the movie!!) which I plan to re-watch.  The book mentions a small scene in the move, and I can’t recall if I noticed this or not, I have to re-watch.  The other is my plan in 2019 to read one of the many books Count Alexander Rostov mentions in the story (he is reader!!!).  This I will reveal, I plan to read “Anna Karenina”.

I highly recommend “A Gentleman in Moscow”, and a visit to the Metropol Hotel.

Me:  I am Diane M. Spolar and I live in Willowbrook, Illinois (a suburb outside of Chicago) with my husband, son and cat.  I am a CPA by day and a reader the rest of the time.  I am a life long lover of books.