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A review by ruthieduthie
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
2.0
When I began this book, on the recommendation of a friend, I was under the impression that it was a political thriller, and perhaps this misapprehension has coloured my appreciation. This is more a novel of character, charming, not afraid to showcase the author's culture and learning, but very thin on plot.
The main character, Count Rostov, could be the twin brother of Alexander McCall Smith's Professor Dr von Igelfeld, except that he is a Former Person, under permanent house arrest in a posh hotel shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution. Despite the the very particular historical setting, Russian political history hardly impinges until one or two chapters before the end.
I enjoyed the array of characters who inhabit the hotel: nearly all very humane, and (dare I say it ) American in all but name. But for me the novel was way too long with not enough to sustain interest, in fact bordering on the pretentious.
However I did enjoy the denouement, and empathised with the Count. It just took too long to get there - and I am not a person who is put off by the length of a novel.
The main character, Count Rostov, could be the twin brother of Alexander McCall Smith's Professor Dr von Igelfeld, except that he is a Former Person, under permanent house arrest in a posh hotel shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution. Despite the the very particular historical setting, Russian political history hardly impinges until one or two chapters before the end.
I enjoyed the array of characters who inhabit the hotel: nearly all very humane, and (dare I say it ) American in all but name. But for me the novel was way too long with not enough to sustain interest, in fact bordering on the pretentious.
However I did enjoy the denouement, and empathised with the Count. It just took too long to get there - and I am not a person who is put off by the length of a novel.