A Gentleman in Moscow

Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, Recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt is confined to the Metropol Hotel for the duration: thus unfolds the opening scenes of Amor Towles's masterful A Gentleman in Moscow.

And so the reader comes to know Rostov, a former aristocrat who openly declares to the court that it is "not the business of gentlemen to have occupations" but will spend decades working as a waiter at one of the Metropol's hotel simply, it seems, to give a bit more structure to his days. So, too, is the reader introduced to the events unfolding in the new (and later not-so-new) USSR. Some of the events are smallish, such as the rationing that impacts the menu and some, like the workings of the communist bureaucracy, which leave no stone unturned - including the labels on bottles of wine, are indicative of the larger events brewing outside the Metropol. From the safety of his rooms in the hotel, Rostov lives World War II, the Cold War, and so many other seminal events.

As the century winds on and the Cold War plays out, Rostov transitions from a young man to a grandfatherly one. He befriends both staff and guests, the fabric of his life becoming ever richer despite the restrictions on his movement. Likewise, Rostov retains his wit (and his wits), his sometimes uncanny perception, and his loyalty to his friends and to the old Russia.

Towles's story seems to tell itself, unfolding languidly, like Rostov's years and building gradually. Every word reads as if plucked from the pages of Russian literature, such is A Gentleman in Moscow infused with zeitgeist. It is a pleasure to read in every sense of the word.

Five stars.