This is the most charming of books, every sentence is finely crafted, every page a delight. When Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, a former personage, is brought before the new Bolshevik regime in the Russia of 1922, they show him mercy because he had written a stirring revolutionary poem back in 1913. So instead of killing him, they sentence him to permanent house arrest in the luxurious Metropol Hotel in Moscow. His world is confined to the life of the hotel but what a rich, interesting and varied life that is. He is the most accommodating and philosophical of men who forges wonderful relationships with those he meets. A good friend of the Count states at a fairly late point of the book “Who would have imagined, when you were sentenced to life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia.” It’s all about perception and what you make of it.

The book covers four decades but the tale slips by so easily that I didn’t want it to end. It is packed with memorable lines and vivid scenes, characters that leap off the page and a wonderful story. A true gem.

A great read about Moscow, Russia and the 1920s. The Count is forced to live in a luxurious hotel in Moscow and this novel is about the adventures that occur as a result. On one level, this is a fun, funny read, particularly when the Count explores the Metropol with Nina, another resident. However, when he realises what the removal of labels from expensive wine bottles means, this novel tells us so much more: one of these things is the killing of one's culture, something that the Count feels strongly about, particularly when he considers taking his own life. I really enjoyed this novel - extremely well-written and, I imagine, well-researched.

Moscow, 1922, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov has been sentenced to house arrest at the grand and famous Metropol Hotel in Moscow. This book follows his life at the hotel from a young man-into old age, as he makes friend and even enemies along the way.
Over the course of the book Alexander makes a home and life for himself within its 4 walls, discovering that there is much more to a hotel than the facade you see as a guest.
This book is written beautifully and is packed with detail. I highly recommend savouring this book and reading it slowly.

Delightful and very entertaining, the best book I've read in a long time.

Russian History is something that I have rarely ever explored so seeing it through the eyes of the Count really peaked my interest. I found myself invested into his life and constantly fearing that he would be executed even though he was under house arrest. I adored the writing style, though I will admit that it was a little info heavy at times, and the description of the Hotel was divine. The various characters that we come across in the novel seemed thoroughly realistic and the events in the latter sections had me on the edge of my seat, staring expectantly about what is to come. It was a delightful read and the only problem I had with it was the excess amount of information received, yes it set a scene but at times it could be a bit much for the reader.

Count Alexander Rostov is placed under house arrest and forced to live in an attic room in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. This is the story of what happens to him inside that illustrious hotel...

This is a lovely story; beautifully observed and deftly written, it allows all life to be observed through the eyes on one man - the most excellent Count Rostov. It's quite hard to say what goes on because this is more a story of observation rather than about enormous happenings. Nevertheless, the characterisation is wonderful and the story so beautiful you just have to read it!

Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is an aristocrat in Russia in the 1920s. Declared by the new Bolshevik government as a Non Person, he is sentenced to lifelong house arrest in he Metropol Hotel where he has kept rooms for the previous four years. Thinking that being imprisoned in luxury wouldn't be too bad, he was shocked to discover that he was to be banished to a small attic bedroom with only the antique heirloom furniture he could fit inside. This is where The Count spends the next 40 or so years of his life.

You would think that a book where the protagonist can't go out into the world would be boring and claustrophobic, but while Alexander can't leave the confines of the Metropol, Towles brings the world through the doors of the hotel where all the drama and life you could wish for finds its way to the Count.

I adored this book. The writing is exquisite, yet not at the expense of character development and story. And my, what a lot of story there is. The author expertly allows the political changes in Russia to seep into daily hotel life: the head chef has to creatively find alternatives to the previous luxury ingredients of his dishes, an order comes down that the labels have to be removed from wine bottles as 'all wines are equal' and only offered in red, white, or sparkling. I could go on.

Staff members become Alexander's friends, guests add the seasoning to a vanilla life, and old friends come to call. Through it all Alexander maintains his upbringing and maintains civility and good manners.

As another reviewer said, I fell in love with the main character. Witty, urbane, elegant, educated...what's not to love? 

Alexander Rostov and his story will stay with me for a very long time indeed and I can't recommend it highly enough.

In 1918, following the execution of Tsar Nicholas II, Count Alexander Rostov moves into a suite in the Metropol hotel, in the centre of Moscow. It’s a grand Art Nouveau establishment, completed just eleven years earlier, and its situation on Theatre Square provides excellent views of the Bolshoi Theatre and the Kremlin towers. He’d cleared out his country residence and packed all he needed to take with him. But a few years later he is dragged before the Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs and it seems that this might be the end for him. He is fortunately spared the firing squad due to his association with a poem he was though to have written, which satirised the corruption of his class. As a result, he is sentenced to a lifetime house arrest within the hotel – but this time not in his luxury suite but in a cramped attic room that was once used as servant’s quarters. So begins this engagingly whimsical tale of Rostov’s life in the Metropol.

This is a book that took me ages to read. That’s probably because although it’s beautifully written and encapsulates many small happenings that made me smile, for much of the book little of any consequence actually takes place. Of course, as the years roll by there’s plenty going on outside the walls of the hotel and we’re alerted to these by way of conversations Rostov has the people he meets, but within its own confines life goes on pretty much as it always did. But this does to some extent hide the narrative that’s going on underneath the surface. Early on the Count meets a young girl, Nina, who takes him on a tour of the ‘hidden’ parts of the building. They strike up a friendship and it’s to have a significant impact on his life.

The charm here, I think, is in the little things. Having overcome a bout of despair that almost caused him to leap from the roof of the hotel, Rostov takes delight in the meals provided in the upscale Boyarsky restaurant, identifying the ingredients the chef has used to produce his excellent dishes. It’s clear that a supply of meat and vegetables is hard to come by, but the chef is ever inventive. Then there’s the conversations he strikes up with a random supply of visitors to the bar and the relationships he builds with members of the hotel staff. Our lead man is cultured, well read and demonstrates an appealing empathy with everyone he comes across. It’s all really well done but I kept wondering where this was all leading. In the end all becomes clear and I have to say that the convoluted ending was a very satisfying way to round off this endearing tale.

I’ve seen loads of superlative reviews of this book and I can see the appeal of it. For me, though, it falls just short of a five-star offering. I enjoyed my time with the Count but there were times I felt like I was serving a life sentence inside the hotel myself. For all that, it’s a story that sure to stay with me for some time.

What a wonderful find. I suppose that this review is way too late to have any impact of prospective readers views, but Mr Towles has written a work worthy of being considered for any of the great literature prizes that are out there today. The author has managed the impossible, to write a "Russian" novel with all the feel, sensibility, idiosyncrasy and culture of a true "Russian" novelist.
I am sure that there errors and inconsistencies from an historic perspective, but Mr Towles has captured the phlegmatic, fatalism of the Russian literature while still building a narrative that drags you along at pace without being bound within a traditional plot line.
Our hero, Count Alexander Rostov is the complete hero in every sense of the word.
Bravo Mr Towles, keep up the good work.
FJC

I have to admit I went into this book with a little bit of trepidation. Historical fiction is not my favourite genre and given it was a story about a man stuck in a hotel for decades I feared that it would be slow, heavy and dull. Thankfully my fears were completely unfounded. It isn't a fast paced, plot driven story but while it's slow it's beautifully written and seemed to transport me to both time and place.

I would probably describe it as more of a character study than a narrative of historical events, although these are woven into the story in subtle but memorable ways. The story covers a very long period of time and a time when there was a lot of change in Russia, but by limiting it to within the walls of the hotel you are in many ways a step removed from events. Like the Count you're forced to experience events through the guests and visitors to the hotel, something I'm sure a lot of people won't like but I absolutely loved.

This is a book that's very heavy on descriptions from the guests, to the hotel, to the food and wine and it was beautiful. I felt like I was there in that time period with those people. Having a drink in the bar with the foreign reporters or enjoying a hearty stew and glass of wine in the piazza. There are just so many incredible moments, some funny, a few edge of the seat and many heartfelt. They are quiet but they're full of emotion.

The characters are wonderfully rendered and I became much more attached to them than I ever expected to. The Count was absolutely brilliant. He is the definitive gentleman, well mannered, cultured, witty and laid back. I adored him from the very beginning to the very end. I admired how he dealt with everything with real class but especially loved how he developed over the course of the novel. The other characters are also brilliant. Each and every one has been created with such skill that they felt absolutely genuine and I could picture them in my head.

There isn't huge amount to the plot, it's not an action packed story, but it raises a lot of big issues and questions without ever becoming too heavy. Something which takes real skill from the author. It brought in a lot of philosophical questions that I found fascinating and that didn't make me want to run for the hills, something which really takes skill. It was a story that drew me in completely and is the first book in a while that I've been talking to everyone about.

If by now you can't tell, I loved this book. If you're looking for fast paced or full of action it might not be for you but I do think it's a book everyone should give a try.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy. As always all thoughts are my own.

Count Rostov narrowly avoids execution and is 'sentenced' to life in a hotel, promoting him to say that only the USSR had invented exile in one's own country. How he might have like to be sent abroad, but it was not to be. Instead he adapts quoting: “If a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them”. This whole book is just delicious. By that I mean it is just so enjoyable you do not want to stop reading. There is no real plot but the 'story' of the Count's life and everyone he meets, or comes into contact with, is just huge. Even if you have no knowledge of the history of Russia, you cannot help but be spellbound by this book. It is masterful and, despite its sometimes dark backdrop, one of the classiest and most enjoyable reads. It is not often a novel leaves you with a smile on your face. I shall be recommending it to everyone.

One of the best books I've read this year. "The Gentleman," Count Rostov, is particularly well developed, as are his relationships with those around him and in his past. There is humor, suspense, fun, danger, mystery, and entertainment, as well as an opportunity to learn some Russian history. A real pleasure to read, so much so that I was sorry to have it end.

I enjoyed Amor Towles' first novel, Rules of Civility, very much and reviewed it for a book review website, so I looked forward to this one.

In June 1922 Count Alexander Rostov, an idle aristocrat, is sentenced to house arrest in the luxurious Metropol Hotel. He has been living there since his return to Moscow after the 1917 Revolution, but has to move from his suite to a former servant’s bedroom, though he is allowed to wander around the rest of the building. Over the next 32 years he becomes a waiter and acquires a variety of friends.

As an ageing leftie with some sympathy for the Russian Revolution, I found this novel to be something of a guilty pleasure. Rostov adapts to his new situation with an eccentric and witty charm. He is never outraged by his loss of wealth and privilege, though he never loses the confidence that his background as a gentleman must have given him.

I particularly enjoyed seeing how Rostov relates to two lively children in the novel, Nina who comes to live at the Metropol with her father and a governess, and Sofia who is later entrusted to his care.

Rostov seems oddly insulated from events outside the hotel, though he does learn news of them from time to time. Some of these are briefly outlined between chapters, but they are not very well integrated with Rostov’s story. History in the hotel and beyond its doors are two very different things. This is a wonderfully entertaining novel in an interesting historical setting, but possibly not the best way to learn about major events or day to day life in the Soviet Union.

I tried. I really did. I loved Amor Towles' Rules of Civility, but I just couldn't get into this one. I kept coming back to it and giving it another go, but in the end, I've just given up. There are other books I'd rather read and this could linger on the pile for months more before I get anywhere near finishing it. Not bad, just not for me.

Set during the early years of the Russian revolution through until the fifties, this novel is a breath of fresh air and I highly recommend.

Amor Towles takes you straight into the atmosphere of classic Russian literature, with the story of Count Rostov and the events in his life post the revolution. It's a tale of love, life, social class, history, and how the world develops around one man. The reader is drawn into the character of the count, his adopted daughter Sofia, and the inhabitants of the hotel in which he's held under house arrest as a member of the aristocracy post-revolution.This is a compelling read and led to a few late nights where I couldn't put the book down. A highly recommended read, and I'll be quickly picking up some more from Amor Towles.

Found it hard to get into

I did not finsih this, I was in midst of a reading slump and cast this aside.

While the plot seemed to lag sometimes and the story seemed like it would not be moving forward, this was nevertheless a great read that is an interesting viewpoint of the Russian revolution.