Melinda and I sometimes read the same book at the same time. It’s usually a lot of fun, but it can get us in trouble when one of us is further along than the other—which recently happened when we were both reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

they seemed to depict an America in which corruption and cruelty lounged on the couch; in which justice was a beggar and kindness a fool; in which loyalties were fashioned from paper, and self-interest was fashioned from steel. In other words, they provided an unflinching portrayal of Capitalism as it actually was.” A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles Read by Nicholas Guy Smith | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine . Retrieved 2020-05-21. But what appealed to me personally in this novel was the character-work and the deep thematic currents that run through A Gentleman in Moscow. This is a novel with an abundance of things to say, with profound moving ruminations on selfhood, friendship, parenthood and the devastating unattainability of modest hopes. It is a novel driven so fiercely and so clearly by a deep urge to make observations about people, to see them, truly see them, and in turn, let them see themselves in all their glorious and sometimes mundane glory. The resulting narrative is an emotionally and intellectually rewarding experience; people, after all (to borrow some of the count's own words) “deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration.”From 1991 to 2012, he worked as an investment manager and director of research at Select Equity Group in New York. [6] [7]

Andreeva, Nellie (2017-08-18). "EOne Ups Carolyn Newman To SVP Scripted Programming, Acquires 'A Gentleman In Moscow' Book Rights For TV". Deadline . Retrieved 2022-09-02.Beyond all else, Count Rostov remained a gentleman. At times, his focus on manners and his devotion to various formalities seemed ridiculous. After all, he was essentially imprisoned in a gilded cage. What did he have to lose? I will explain my reaction. Much depends on what you are looking for. First and foremost this is a novel, a fairy tale, a fantastical story. A mystery, suspense and the question is: will all turn out well? Will good win over evil? I prefer books that are gritty, depressing even sad, as long as they are realistic. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 2022 Disney Plus series. (Image credit: Lucasfilm) Who else is starring in A Gentleman In Moscow? The Duchess of Cornwall shares a reading list | Prince of Wales". www.princeofwales.gov.uk . Retrieved 2022-03-03.

How delightful that in an era as crude as ours this finely composed novel stretches out with old-World elegance.” The NYT bureau chief in Baghdad from 2017-18, Coker takes the reader inside the war in Iraq from the perspective of Iraqis themselves, some of who fought Isis and some who decided to help them. This book reveals the terror that was brought on a country in extremely personal circumstances and it seems that no one was left unscathed. A superbly researched and written book from a journalist who tells a story from Iraq, not from a western perspective. – Sean Davey Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura Bachelder, Chris (October 5, 2021). "Amor Towles's New Novel Takes You on an American Road Trip". The New York Times . Retrieved October 17, 2021.Alexander Ilyich Rostov: somehow this man knew that life was never meant to be a struggle. If only I could learn from him. As The Count learned from his ancestors..... Towles was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an M.A. in English from Stanford University, where he was a Scowcroft Fellow. When Towles was 10 years old, he threw a bottle with a message into the Atlantic Ocean. Several weeks later, he received a letter from Harrison Salisbury, who was then the managing editor of The New York Times. Towles and Salisbury corresponded for many years afterward. [4] Career [ edit ] a b Kaufman, Joane (September 23, 2016). "Amor Towles, a Gentleman in Gramercy Park". The New York Times . Retrieved February 23, 2017. A Gentleman In Moscow is directed and executive produced by BAFTA award winning director and Emmy nominee Sam Miller who most recently directed, and executive produced the Apple TV+ series Surface and previously directed the award winning British comedy-drama I May Destroy You, for which he won a BAFTA. He has also received three Emmy nominations for Luther and for I May Destroy You. In 1930, the Count runs into Nina as she and three other members of the Young Communist League are about to travel east to help collectivize farms. One of the other members is a boy she later marries. When he is arrested in 1938 and sent to Siberia, Nina prepares to follow. She asks the Count to look after her young daughter, Sofia, for a month or two, while Nina goes to Siberia to find work and a place to live. The Count never sees Nina again. For the next sixteen years, he raises Sofia as his daughter, always with Marina advising him as a mentor and friend. The Count, for his part, becomes the informal tutor of a government official named Osip Glebnikov, who wants to learn—discreetly—about the values and culture of the West. Eventually, the Count and Osip move from books to films, and soon after are trading opinions about Humphrey Bogart movies.

The reader is confined to the hotel along with the central protagonist, Count Alexander Rostov. In 1922 a Bolshevik tribunal has judged him to be an unrepentant aristocrat. The story follows this one man, born in 1890, sentenced to live his entire life in the Hotel Metropol. He isn't shot immediately, only because he is said to have written poetry critical of the aristocrats, but one step out from the hotel, and he will be executed. The setting of the novel is a world famous opulent hotel that sees all manner of events taking place with scrumptious, delicious food being served with all the pomp and circumstance of proper fine dining. In that regard, Towles gave the Count the heart and mind of a seasoned, well traveled bon vivant who knows high-end cuisine with an exceptionally refined taste. I am a classically trained chef and I've worked in many high-end hotels and high-end kitchens and I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with the snappy and clever level to which the author imparted food and wine into the count's tale. From the preparation and serving of authentic dishes, to the wine varietals, to the top-notch appellations and vintages, to the detailed pairings, I was wide-eyed and dazzled because it was all on point. Without pretension, the descriptions were a truthful account of the etiquette of respectable cuisine. Because of my own culinary acumen and epicurean sensibilities, I am always looking for the use of food and wine symbolism in books I read and in movies/TV shows I watch. 'A Gentleman In Moscow' is perhaps one of the best iterations I've encountered in a long time. This book will be pure delight for the lover of fancy food and for the gastronomes and epicures like me who are in the know. In the year 1922, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov has been sentenced to House arrest at the famed Moscow Hotel Metropol. Once of the landed elite of Nizhy Novgorod, the Count must live out the rest of his days in one small hotel room. As the Bolsheviks have persevered following their revolution, no long are there ruling classes in Russia, only comrades. It is under these conditions that Count Rostov has become a former person who can no longer step outside of the Metropol. Using this premise, Amor Towles has woven prose to create an enchanting story that makes up the Count's changed course of existence. The day after his failed suicide attempt, the Count asks the Metropol’s maître d’ for a job as a waiter. Knowledgeable about food, and skilled in dealing with people, the Count becomes the headwaiter within four years. He, the maître d’, and the hotel chef form a Triumvirate of friends who run the Metropol’s dinner services, including the Boyarsky restaurant and special events in private rooms. The Bishop is a continual thorn in the Triumvirate’s side. leading man...."Count Rostov" ....[Alexander Ilyich Rostov]....or "Sasha", to a select few old friends, is THE MOST EXCEPTIONAL male character to come along in recent literature. I can't think of any other male character with the type of astounding dignity that 'Count Rostov' exhibits.The story begins when Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is unceremoniously sentenced to life imprisonment in Moscow’s Metropol hotel. And for all that it is a prison, it is a luxurious one. The year is 1922, and behind it all, looms the haunting specter of a country that is at the fragile end of a brutal history: an ill-timed glance or a foot set in an unfortunate spot can bring down death and woe upon anyone, in the form of a bullet to the head or an exile to Siberia. However, I came to appreciate the formal mannerisms of Count Rostov. He truly was a gentleman. By staying true to himself, he refused to let the regime win. He wasn't bitter. He didn't waste energy on blatant defiance of the Bolsheviks. He kept his head high and maintained his composure. It was truly impressive. The only other confirmed cast member for A Gentleman in Moscow right now is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who is set to play Anna Urbanova, a glamorous, independent and self-made film actress, at the height of her fame.