Review: A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars This was chosen as our December book club selection for this year. The premise is interesting: In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to live out his life under house arrest at the Metropol Hotel with the promise that if he leaves the hotel, he will be shot to death.

From that day in 1922, we are told the story of Rostov's life as it then unfolded, from his friendships with the hotel's staff, guests and fellow resident, Nina, a young girl of nine when they first meet.

I found I had a really hard time getting into this book. I liked the premise but did not care for the author's whimsical writing style. I found myself wondering quite often why no one questioned why Rostov, a grown man, was spending so much time with a little girl. I also found the lengthy footnotes annoying - why not just include them as part of the story if you are going to go to that much effort to write them?

I will say that Rostov did have a pretty good life throughout the years while living at the hotel as a "former person." I had read there was a major twist at the end and some tear-jerking moments but I didn't find the book to have either - though I did feel the ending was a bit abrupt and left some unanswered questions. Overall, it wasn't a bad book; I did enjoy learning some tidbits about Russia's history and probably would have enjoyed it a lot more had it been written in another style.

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