Happy Friday!
I recently finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and I absolutely loved it! I thought it would be fun to write a little review. I had heard great things about this book and it was even better than I expected!
A Gentleman in Moscow follows a Russian Count, Alexander Rostov, who is placed under house arrest at The Metropol Hotel in Moscow after the Communist Revolution. The story follows his life and the various situations he gets drawn into during his time at the hotel. Through the book we see that while his surroundings are limited, it doesn't at all detract from the relationships he develops and the experiences he has.
I particularly loved the way that Count Rostov's narration was written. He has such a logical way of looking at situations that nothing truly seems to take him by surprise. He approaches each situation with a level head which means that he rarely gets into arguments or impulsive fights while being able to get out of tricky situations. Amor Towles' writing throughout the book is spectacular; for a slower paced book I found myself completely immersed in the story. It didn't feel like I was reading a book, rather it felt like I was reading the Count's diary.
Towles uses foreshadowing throughout the book which I found interesting and fun. Many of the footnotes are slightly humorous and provide a fresh perspective which contrasts the seriousness of the setting. However, I didn't find the foreshadowing too much. The main events of the book were never given away; Towles used foreshadowing more to provide context on characters rather than to introduce main events before they occurred.
Overall, I thought the book was fantastic. The reader is provided with a nice history of Russia throughout the book and the narration is straight forward which fits the setting of the book well. I found myself immersed in the story and characters even though it was a slower paced book without a ton of "action". I loved all the characters and felt that they were well developed.
Thanks for reading, I'll see you next time!
I gave the book five stars on Goodreads! If you want to see more of what I am reading you can see my Goodreads here.
Comments
Post a Comment