In 1922, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is brought before a Bolshevik tribunal and found guilty of the crime of being an ‘unrepentant aristocrat’. Once a recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club and Master of the Hunt, the Count is now considered a Former Person and is sentenced to live out the rest of his days under house arrest in his current place of residence, Moscow’s Metropol Hotel. Forced to leave his luxury suite and move his possessions to a tiny room in the attic, the Count refuses to let his spirit be broken and decides to make the best of his situation, continuing with his daily routines as far as he is able without leaving the building.
With the help of Nina, a nine-year-old girl in a yellow dress, the Count explores the hidden corridors, rooms and staircases of this magnificent old building, and later he finds some fulfilment in working as a waiter at the hotel’s grandest restaurant, the Boyarsky. Although it’s never nice to lose one’s freedom, there are certainly worse places to be held prisoner than the Metropol Hotel. But what truly sustains the Count as the years and decades go by are the friendships he forms with the other hotel employees, guests and visitors.
The Count develops a close bond with Emile and Andrey, the two men who work alongside him in the restaurant, he embarks on a romance with a glamorous actress, comes to value the help and advice of the hotel seamstress, and debates politics, poetry and philosophy with friends old and new. But the most moving of his relationships, in my opinion, is the one with Sofia, who comes to the Metropol as a child and grows to think of the Count as a father. The Count is an educated, cultured, intelligent man, but he also has a good imagination and a playful sense of humour and I loved watching as he and Sofia devised their own games to entertain themselves and help pass the time.
Spending most of his adult life under house arrest, the Count is largely insulated from whatever is happening in the outside world, but through the people who pass in and out of his life he is able to keep up with current affairs. This allows the author to provide the reader with some commentary on Soviet-era Russia and to put the Count’s story into historical context. The balance between the political and the personal is about right and despite the length of the book, I was never bored.
I had been looking forward to reading A Gentleman in Moscow since seeing it appear on several people’s best-of-year lists at the end of 2016. Now that I’ve had the chance to read it for myself, I can understand all the praise that has been bestowed on it and although I don’t think I would describe it as an absolute favourite, I did find it a lovely, enjoyable story. I loved getting to know the Count and I’m sure that if you choose to read this book you’ll love him too.
She Reads Novels 
I just finished this and loved it (my review will be up soon). And I think it will definitely be on my list of books of the year!
I’m glad to hear that! I thought you might like it, with your interest in Russia. Looking forward to your review. 🙂
This is on my list of books that I really want to read this year! I enjoyed Towles’ previous novel, and have been looking forward to checking this one out. Glad to know that you liked it. That makes me want to read it even more! 🙂
It’s a great book and I hope you have an opportunity to read it this year! This is the first Towles novel I’ve read, so I still have his previous one to look forward to. 🙂
It was on my best of 2016 list but I don’t think it would quite make it to my all-time greatest 25 list (or whatever). I hope this year brings a book as good!
Yes, let’s hope so! I’m glad you liked it, even if it’s not your all-time greatest. 🙂
Oh, good, I’m glad you liked this so much, since it’s on my TBR pile. I enjoyed his previous book very much, so was already looking forward to this one – even more now!
I hope you like it! I’ll have to look for his previous book after enjoying this one so much.
I have been seeing amazing reviews for the book. I wanted to read the book in Jan. But that did not happen. Hopefully I will read it before April.
It deserves the amazing reviews! I hope you’re able to read it soon.
Sounds like a cozy interesting read. Nice review.
Thanks. Yes, it is.
I’ve been seeing this one a lot too. Came over to see how you liked it. I’m definitely very curious about it after GR said that it was one of the most popular books for book clubs. Glad to see you liked it!
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
Follow me on Bloglovin’
You could have some great discussions about this book, so I can see why it’s a popular choice for book clubs. I really enjoyed it. 🙂
I too enjoyed this one. I agree that the relationship between the Count and Sophia was the emotional core of the story.
I remember reading your review and that you enjoyed it. I loved watching the Count’s relationship with Sofia develop. 🙂
This sounds like a must read to me. I looked to see it is a novel because as nonfiction it might be too cruel to read of this bizarre punishment.
Yes, it is fiction and I think it’s definitely a must read!