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    A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel
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    A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel
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    A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel
    Audiobook17 hours

    A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel

    Written by Amor Towles

    Narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    He can't leave his hotel. You won't want to.

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility--a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel.

    In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

    Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count's endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

    Editor's Note

    Bill Gates’ Pick…

    The Microsoft founder recommends this for your reading list. On his blog, Gates writes “Towles’s novel about a count sentenced to life under house arrest in a Moscow hotel is fun, clever, and surprisingly upbeat.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 6, 2016
    ISBN9780735288539
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for A Gentleman in Moscow

    4.5/5

    2,388 ratings275 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This is an elegantly conceived and written novel, and it is utter fantasy, but very engaging fantasy.
    • 4/5
      Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel by forces in the Kremlin in 1922. How he grows from dilettante to a fully responsible man is paralleled by the stages of the Russian revolution and Soviet era in which he can take part only as the newspapers and personages come to dine in the fine hotel eateries. But he is a sharp observer, and he has help, first in the form of Nina, a young girl who lives in the hotel as she waits for her father, and then by her daughter, thrust upon Rostov unexpectedly at the age of 6. His growth, her growth, and the tight community of the hotel are the essense of this story.It was easy to read. In fact, I was able to put it down when I had to and pick it up with no loss of interest, which is unusual for me. I suspect the short chapters, the defined years, and the characters themselves made this possible.My discussion group felt this wasn't a 'deep' book, describing it sometimes as 'frothy'. I disagree. While there is little drama in the story, there is a deep sense of a man coming to know himself.Note that in the beginning of the book, Rostov tries to read the essays of Montaigne, which of course are all about knowing yourself, and he cannot. But that book remains a talisman, and signals, I think, the core of this book.
    • 4/5
      This book took me a long time to read and although I loved the authors prose it was a slow moving read for me. The story itself was slow moving but in the end I am happy I kept with it because I fell in love with the gentleman from Moscow.It is a beautifully written novel.
    • 4/5
      This was a solid novel. It concerns a count who is trapped, effectually, in a hotel for the majority of his life and how he deals with the unfolding, and often cascading, events that occur outside (and inside) of it. The characterization is the strongest point here and I would say the plot is workable, but that is not what the book is about. It is about exploring the characters and seeing how time changes them. Overall, a good novel.4 stars.
    • 5/5
      An enjoyable read, gave you an insight to Russia
    • 5/5
      Look - make no mistake, this is a fairy tale novel about a gentleman who actually embodies what we all wish a gentleman should be, just as the fairy-tale kings and queens actually embody noble qualities. Still, its delightful humor, sometimes thrilling drama, and rich historical underpinnings make it a wonderful read. Born into the aristocracy pre-revolution in Russia, the hero is sentenced for life imprisonment in a luxury hotel located across the street from the Kremlin. And through this lens, his life and the life of his nation unfold in intriguing, somber, and wondrous detail. Enjoy this today, critique it intelligently tomorrow. I promise I will read your review.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant storytelling.
    • 4/5
      I started “A Gentleman in Moscow” twice and it took some effort for me to keep going the second time before I was far enough in to know I would keep going. In 1922 Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentence by a Bolshevik Tribunal to life imprisonment in the grand Moscow Metropol Hotel, across from Red Square. A poem attributed to him, written in 1905 is what saved his live. He looks to literature and accounts of men similarly banished and bases his live on Robinson Crusoe, a plan for each day, an acceptance not a railing against what has occurred. An interrupted suicide attempt leads him to work as a waiter in the hotel. This and six year old Sofia who is left with him ‘for a short - long time’ give his life a new dimension and purpose.His circle of friends and acquaintances is broad and keeps him in touch with the world outside the hotel to a certain extent. However his on-going loyalty to Russia is questionable. Particularly when one sees how some of his friends are treated. The years and history pass in stages. People grow up (Nina, Sofia) and grow old. In 1954 it all comes to an end with the help of others and a touch of “Casablanca” and a vagueness to the future.I found the author inconsistent in his telling of the story. In some cases he uses long footnotes to (1) point out to the reader a minor character they should remember, (2) to cover some historical events that are happening, e.g., the depression or (3) comparisons of historical events, Napoleon and Hitler’s marches on Moscow and their failure to capture it became they ignored the weather. There were many events omitted. I downloaded a library copy through Overdrive and it used a number of fonts, in some cases three on a page, without any reason for the change. I don’t know why this occurred but it was bothersome.I don’t know if Towles was trying to write a 20th. century grand Russian novel in the likes of “War and Peace” and other historical novels he refers to or not. If yes, I think he failed. But he did write an entertaining novel about a hard-to-define, complicated country with an interesting twist.I think it is more than 3 1/2 and less than 4 ⭐️‘S, but I will come down on the side of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written and amazing ending. Although some parts dragged along, the reward was the witty, charming interactions with Count Rostov. Certainly not a light read, but worth the time.
    • 3/5
      A bloated, bureaucratic novel, so much detail and some points a waste of words. The Count's story is an intricate one, and at times fascinating, quite visual and detailed. But sometimes it gets labored in the author's own sense of importance in the story. Sometimes the narrative flourish works charmingly well, other times it's just overblown, pretentious and wordy for its own sake. Clever or conceited? I'm obviously outvoted on this, but that is my take.
    • 2/5
      Rambling uneventful story, interesting and well written in parts but totally disconnected, like s series of short stories badly joined together I gave up towards the end and just could not finish the book.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. I put off finishing it for a day because I didn't want it to be over. Yet, at the end of each "book" as the novel is divided I thought the story could end here and the novel would be perfect.The writing is just beautiful. Count Alexander has accepted and learned how to live well with his fate. His friends and "family" are deeply loved and loving. This novel contains everything: humor, literature, history, geography, music, politics and intrigue.The following is not part of my review but is relevant in these times. I just so happened to be reading this novel the last weekend of January 2017 as the newly inaugurated president tried to enforce a “Muslim ban.”This paragraph jumped out at me:"...I know you don't want to accept the notion that Russia may be inherently inward looking but do you think in America they are even having this conversation? Wondering if the gates of New York are about to be opened or closed?"
    • 5/5
      Sweet and sentimental in the best ways. It's also witty, insightful and life-affirming. Everything that has happened to you brought you to where you are now.
    • 5/5
      Boy I adored the main character of this book, and for me that can be everything. The sensory descriptions in this story were amazing, the story charming. I simply can’t do this one justice in a few words.
    • 5/5
      Utterly charming. Oh for the days of gentlemenly ways and overall decorum.
    • 5/5
      I never imagined a book about someone stuck in a Moscow hotel for decades would be so entertaining, and, well, delightful. Count Alexander Rostov is charming, quirky, and somewhat remarkable. As his life moves along, so does Russian history, but he is still stuck in that same hotel. It's amazing how much of the world he can experience from there., even though this is not an action-packed thriller. The writing was often wry, and I loved the way the reader was occasionally mentioned, and drawn into the story.Okay, maybe the story is not entirely believable, but I've believed less plausible fiction when I'm deep into the story. Still, it all COULD have happened. And I love the narration by Nicholas Guy Smith in my audio edition.Given all that, I understand why some people rated it poorly; it won't be everyone's cup of tea. For me, it's one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time.
    • 5/5
      A Gentleman in Moscow was my book club's choice for April and the title was not intriguing to me but I was charmed by the narrative and the character. My favorite genre book to read is Historical Fiction and this novel tells the tale of a Russian Count from Post Russian Revolution to the 1950s. Previous to reading this novel, Dr. Zhivago was the first novel which introduces this reader to the revolution time period. As a young woman reading Dr. Zhivago, I felt for the aristocrats who were thrown from their homes and stripped of their wealth. Fifty years later, I understand the frustration of the poor and the novel made me think, can the population of American's 99% stand up against the greedy 1%.This novel is a slow read but the prose is so engrossing that you savor each word.
    • 3/5
      So many people have loved this book, and I'm sad to say I'm not among them. They rave about the writing - I found it a bit smug, a bit too pleased with itself. Hard to describe, but it was irritating. As was the Count, whom so many found charming - I found him smug as well, a bit too pleased with himself. Not to mention that so much of the book was boring - nothing happened!As a rabid fan of both Karl Ove Knausgaard and Proust, it's odd to find myself complaining about writing where nothing happens. Maybe it's because this is fiction, and so I have no attachment to the characters (who I also found rather thinly drawn). I forced myself to finish it. and I did enjoy the ending. Finally something was happening! and I loved all his mysterious preparations for the event. 520 five star ratings! I'm just a 3, and even that feels a little too high.
    • 4/5
      A Gentleman is Moscow. Amor Towles. 2016. Oh WOW! I loved this book. Thank you, Ellen, for giving it to me. It is beautifully written, and the style reminds me of All the Light We Cannot See. The gentleman is Count Alexander Rostov. The Bolsheviks deem that the count is an enemy of the people and sentence him to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel. (I did find this unrealistic—he’d have been shot if this were a true story.) The Count is moved from his elegant rooms to a small attic room and we follow his life from the 1920s to the early 1950s. Through all the upheavals the Count maintains his gentlemanly demeanor and refuses to bow the cruelty of the Bolsheviks. That is what makes the story so horrifying: no matter what is thrown at him by the various bureaucrats and their flunkies he refuses to give in. A devastating description of the Soviet Union.
    • 4/5
      A delightful, feel good read, which where bad and sad things do happen, the overall tenor of the book are optimistic and uplifting.Also peppered with aptly illustrated wisdom, which although perhaps might seem cynically trite when quoted out of context, reinforce the book's positive feelings.A great, easy and satisfying read
    • 5/5
      A Gentleman in Moscow works on many different levels.It is the story of “Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt,” who had the misfortune of being a member of the upper class following the Bolshevik (later called Communist Party) revolution of 1917. He probably would have been executed except for a poem attributed to him written prior to the “failed revolt of 1905.” This literary “call to action” saves him from the firing squad. Instead he is sentenced to house arrest. However, Rostov's home is in the Metropol, a first class hotel in Moscow. There is a massive lobby with restaurants, a seamstress, and a barber. There are also people who come and go, along with many people who stay for a long time. Rostov finds he is capable of adapting to his new situation and making friends. Here's a quote:“It is a well-known fact that of all the species on earth Homo sapiens is among the most adaptable. Settle a tribe of them in a desert and they will wrap themselves in cotton, sleep in tents, and travel on the backs of camels; settle them in the Arctic and they will wrap themselves in sealskin, sleep in igloos, and travel by dog-drawn sled. And if you settle them in a Soviet climate? They will learn to make friendly conversation with strangers while waiting in line; they will learn to neatly stack their clothing in their half of the bureau drawer; and they will learn to draw imaginary buildings in their sketchbooks”So on the first level this is about a man adjusting to what life has sent his way and of that man observing the changes happening to his country from a place of seclusion. Here are some of the other ways this novel works.1. It is the story of a man who treats people well, when they deserve it, and has those small niceties returned from friends when he needs help. I suppose this is a story of a man's Karma, but all within a single lifetime.2. It is the story of what a man gains when he befriends a young girl and, years later, raises another. He explains it like this: “To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka – and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me the most.”3. It is the story of a man whose seclusion helps him observe and understand life. These observations occur in the novel as very quotable lines such as: “For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”There are a number of coincidences in the plot and an ending I had to research in order to understand, but the strength of the character, Rostov, the subject matter of post revolution Soviet Union, and the quality of the writing make this a wonderful book and an easy novel to recommend.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul, White Horse Regressions, Hopatcong Vision Quest, and Under a Warped Cross.
    • 4/5
      The writing is beautiful, the characters are charming, the mood is soothing and uplifting. 4.5 Read it!
    • 5/5
      LOVED this BOOK!!! Totally absorbing and SO much detail---I didn't want to lose Nina but then, we are rewarded with Sofia!
    • 5/5
      Perfectly marvelous read. I kept trying to find fault with it, but it kept making me laugh. Certainly it's sentimental and arch and a little neat, but, like its protagonist, it's also delightful and charming and willing to puts its head down and get on with it. Readable and fun.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure what to expect when reading this; the blurb didn't make it sound all that interesting. But only a few pages into it I was hooked and completely engrossed. In fact, when the telephone rang, I was startled from my journey into this fictional world. The author tells the tale of a Russian aristocrat, during the 1920s who is placed under house arrest in an exclusive Moscow hotel, for merely BEING an aristocrat. We follow him through the years. At first he is shunted off to an attic storeroom as a "Former Person", but decides to make the best of his situation. First he improves his surroundings and then a little girl enters his life and shows him the wonders of the hotel--a world all unto itself. We see the quirky and loveable characters he comes in contact with: a temperamental chef and other hotel staff, an actress, Nina, the little girl, a dissident poet. Later he takes care of Nina's daughter, Sophia, a piano prodigy. He copes with the craziness of Soviet bureaucracy and a micromanager of a boss. The author had the gift of making me feel for his characters through his clever writing style and I chuckled at flashes of humor. The last few chapters were a bit improbable. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful story. The type of book that sucks you into it's world, the characters become your friends and you find yourself thinking about them. Will be discussing it in book club next week, excited to see what others think and looking forward to the discussion.
    • 5/5
      I usually avoid books that take place in Russia (perhaps it's my Cold War childhood), but this one was a book club read, and I'm glad it was. I found myself doing some research on the hotel and some of the history while engrossed in the novel. It was interesting to read of Russian history through the eyes of someone quite ordinary. The Count's life prior to the Bolshevik revolution gave this character an added insight that made his observations more interesting. I adore the Count and would have loved to include him in my circle of friends.
    • 4/5
      An utterly original and highly engaging account of Count Alexander Rostov; returning to Russia after the Revolution, the authorities are unable to decide if he is an enemy of the people...or, thanks to an ambiguous poem published by him,is on the side of Bolshevism. They sentence him to house arrest in the Hotel Metropol.The novel takes place over the next 30+ years, in which Rostov never leaves the hotel. He is 'demoted' from a respected 'Your Excellency' in a luxury suite to a head waiter in a garret room. But Rostov knows how to make the most of every opportunity. A beautiful actress; friends from his past; the 'triumvirate' formed with his fellow restaurant workers. And an intelligent and interesting 9 year old who befriends him... As Russia emerges from post-revolutionary chaos through Stalin's regime and into Khruschev's, events seep into the world of the charming Count who (usually) manages to live by his maxim that "if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them." The whole thing is a highly unusual structure, with chapters of events intercut with those focussing on memories or thoughts on life.But a very enjoyable and lovely read.
    • 5/5
      Count Rostov's story is of the people in his life who of course are the staff and denizens of the Metropol Hotel where he is under house arrest. Written in third person narrative it is witty, tender, funny and at times quite profound in its observation of the human condition. With an entertaining plot that eventually focuses on the raising of Sophia who has been left in his care by a friend forced to flee to Siberia, the book touches on a number of themes: political, cultural and emotional. Perhaps its only flaw is the lighthearted & humorous handling of serious themes, but that is a personal choice of how to look at things. All In all, a finely crafted book and a highly enjoyable reading experience that leaves you richer.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best books I've ever read. It was so well written and such a rich story. Each chapter was packed with twists, turns, character, movement and fun. It's a book that may make you smile, laugh or cry all in a few pages. It's just absolutely wonderful. I plan to read it again. I borrowed the book from my brother, but I may have to buy my own copy. Now I'm looking for what else this author might have written.