A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles ~ Book Review

In 1922 Russia,  30 year old Count Alexander Rostov is brought before a Bolshevik emergency committee for writing a poem that was considered a call to action after a failed revolt.  Being found guilty he is put under house arrest permanently at the Metropol, a grand hotel that serves statesmen and actors and the upper class.  It is also close to the Kremlin.  He is never to set foot outside it's doors.  Count Alexander watches in shock as he is taken from his rather lavish room which he had been occupying fit for his position as an aristocrat and taken to the fourth attic floor where he is put into one small claustrophobic room.  This is where he must now live out his days.  But being a man of culture and knowledge, Count Alexander refuses to let his circumstances get the best of him and instead looks to what he can do to make his life the best it can be.  As he fits his usual routine into his new normal, the Count is able to forge friendships with those from all sorts of walks of life and he is able to observe how Russia changes over the decades from his unique vantage point.  When a young girl is unexpectantly placed into his care, he must make room not only in his tight living quarters but in his heart.  But what is an old count to do with a young child?

I loved this story.  The count has a unique perspective as he watches Russia's most tumultuous years roll by.  He is a learned man and find ways to keep himself learning and engaged with the world around him.  The friendships he is able to forge over the years were entertaining and heartwarming and his attitude and personality were engaging.  You couldn't help but like the guy.  His care and concern over his young charge was fun to read as he was taken from an aristocratic, single man to a foster type dad in the blink of an eye and reading how their relationship developed over the years was wonderful.  This story is by no means an action packed, edge of your seat read.  It is more of an unfolding of a life, of getting to know a character and how his strong sense of self guides him through what certainly would not have been easy circumstances to find a life still filled with joy and purpose in spite of being contained within a hotel.   Wonderful story!

I gave it a 10/10 

2021 Reading Goals Met:  - March prompt from Read Your Bookshelf Challenge:  book recommended by a friend, a book purchased in 2019 -2021