A Gentleman in Moscow

The ABC Radio National book countdown reminded me about Amor Towles' 2016 A Gentleman in Moscow, which had been on my radar for a while. It was very popular at my libraries, but I've finally got hold of it. The premise is a cute one: in the early years of the Russian Revolution, Count Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in the Hotel Metropol (a real place), and spends the next thirty-odd years within the confines of the building, maintaining his aristocratic cheerfulness, making friends with the staff (and eventually becoming head waiter) and even adopting a daughter.

I hadn't anticipated how much Towles' novel would remind me of Eva Ibbotson. Not just because of the Russian setting, but because of the gentle humour and whimsy which is such a hallmark of Ibbotson's writing. A Gentleman in Moscow is a fable; even the KGB operate off-screen, as it were. It's as if the hotel acts as a lovely bubble, protecting us, the readers, as well as Rostov, from the outside world. I assume Towles did his research, but I was surprised that the hotel managed to function with so little disruption during the tumultuous years of communist revolution, war, and Stalin's purges. Rostov glides through these pages, unruffled and courteous, charming and cogitating.

If you're looking for a gritty account of Russia's history, this is probably not the novel for you. But if you're yearning for a fun, sweet romp set in an international hotel, with a delightful protagonist, A Gentleman in Moscow will fit the bill.