War and Peace meets Grand Budapest Hotel
In 1922 Count Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal. He 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 a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the Count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
Our reading panel of staff from The Reading Agency and public library staff loved A Gentleman in Moscow – here are some of their comments:
“This is a beautifully-written novel. I loved the way the Count’s story full circle; some exceptionally entertaining writing about food and hotel etiquette too!”
“I think this is the best book I have read this decade, I loved it for the nuance, the flavours, the characters, the Orwellian double-speak. I have now gone out and bought both his other titles!”
“A rich plot written with such style, wit and warmth, I really loved this novel.”
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