'A Gentleman in Moscow' by Amor Towles
'A Gentleman in Moscow' by Amor Towles

The good

  • At times, the writing is beautiful.

  • Charming characters. The scenes with the Count and Sofia are particularly endearing: their conversations; racing through the hotel to surprise each other; playing games together at dinner. The interaction of the Count with the chef and waiters was fun too.

  • An interesting glimpse of life in Russia / the Soviet Union from the revolution and beyond. The story of taking the labels off all wine bottles was a wonderful microcosm of the absurdity of communism.

The not so good

  • It’s a bit of a quiet, slow moving book, taking place, by design, almost entirely within a single hotel. Some parts are genuinely beautiful and work well in this closed context, but it can occasionally be a bit boring.

  • Communism was horrible, but this book might have a bit too much fondness for the aristocracy that came before.

Rating: 4 stars