Play Book Tag discussion

I'm not the first in a long line of people who have reviewed this book recently, so I'll skip straight to my thoughts.

It pains me to say that this was only a 3.5 star read for me. I really wanted to love it as much as everyone else has, but I just didn't. Don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't dislike it. In fact I found it to be an extremely pleasant read, and Amor Towles in undoubtedly a superb writer. The characters, particularly the Count, were very well developed and incredibly endearing. I appreciated the message that one should make the best of one's circumstances. I just didn't find it compelling. It actually took me a long while to get through it, and I wasn't constantly drawn to it as I am with a four or five star read. It didn't hook me. I do wish that I had listened to it in audio as I think it may have improved my experience, however it is not being published here in Australia until early next year so it wasn't available on Audible.

I am not sorry to have read it, and as I said I found it to be very pleasant, but I don't think it will remain present in my mind for long. I did like it enough to give Rules of Civility a go at some stage though.

I am also struggling with this one a bit. I am enjoying it, but like you I am. It called back to pick it up. I think it may be suffering from too high of expectations...

Nicole R wrote: "I am also struggling with this one a bit. I am enjoying it, but like you I am. It called back to pick it up. I think it may be suffering from too high of expectations..."

Well, I'm happy to see some tepid reviews come in because it lowers my expectations and I'm less likely to be disappointed.

It's a meditative book. I enjoyed the philosophical asides, but I can see where they might not capture everyone's attention. There's a lot of subtle social and political commentary that sinks in slowly without getting in the way of the story.

I think I just loved the old world feel, spliced with humor and ingenuity. Here in the center of Moscow where regime is prime, conformity, arrest, there is a piazza, wine cellars, gilded pistols, rooftop barbecues, political meetings, social assignations, movies, jewels, seeing. It reminded me of Downton abbey, somethings trying to hold onto a sense of custom and decorum, while the world is exploding with change and constraint right around you. I thought it was brilliant and ingenious, and he like the book, was old world, clever, traditional yet playful, indentured server, prisoner, and Count/Guest all at once. I particularly liked the bit about Misha (no spoilers), and his experiences of the memories of his travel and former life. He well uses those to his advantage. I was truly pleased. Often a book with high expectations lowers for me. This one did not.

I do love the Count. I enjoy his general attitude toward life and that Towles has created an entire world inside the hotel.

I wonder if I would be more intrigued if I knew more about Russian history...

I wanted more of the history, however I do understand that it was meant to be subtly woven in the the story and that the point was that he was removed from what was going on in the outside world.

Nicole R wrote: "I am also struggling with this one a bit. I am enjoying it, but like you I am. It called back to pick it up. I think it may be suffering from too high of expectations..."

I studied quite a bit of Russian History in my BA-History and went to the USSR, maybe that made it more interesting to me. However, I also think the audio was wonderful. Did you get the audio?

Barbara wrote: "Did you get the audio? ..."

I am listening to the audio, which is delightful!

It is picking up a bit. I am sure that Nina will be important later in the story, but I was not a huge fan of hers so I think that was bringing me down. Now she has moved and the Count has formed a friendship with the chef and the other guy (maitre'de?) and I find them charming!

Oh that was so much fun! I loved some of the relationships he forms!

Nicole R wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Did you get the audio? ..."

I am listening to the audio, which is delightful!

the Count has formed a friendship with the chef and the other guy (maitre'de?) and I find them charming! ..."

Absolutely, these characters are just wonderful. So glad you are beginning to enjoy it!

I'm glad you guys got me onto This is Us. Brilliant the interplay with time periods 36 years apart. In the first one the 3 initial stories suddenly developed a time trench right at the point someone lit a cigarette in the hospital. A bit of a tearjerker like Kelly said.

This one was also 4 stars for me, but teetering toward the 5 and not toward the 3. I thought the writing itself was solidly 5 stars . . .loved the atmospheric feel to the book and the characters and how well they were drawn. But unlike some others, I wasn't a fan of the ending. Parts of it seemed truly out of character to me, and I had to re-read sections to make sure I had a handle on the plot.

Liked it a lot and would recommend it. I would absolutely read Towles next book. But it wasn't quite as good as Rules of Civility was for me. However, I do think readers can extrapolate from one book to the other. If you liked one, you probably would like the other. If you thought one was okay, I think you will come out feeling similarly.

Anita wrote: "This one was also 4 stars for me, but teetering toward the 5 and not toward the 3. I thought the writing itself was solidly 5 stars . . .loved the atmospheric feel to the book and the characters an..."

I really went into this read thinking I would like it more than Rules of Civility because of its setting. But, while I did love it, I don't think it was as rich as Rules. It is still going to be one of this year's favorites. But, Rules was just something very special.

The thing is, in the five years since reading Rules, I don't have any clear memories of the characters, even Eve, which does make me want to read it again. But I can't imagine forgetting the characters in Gentleman, any of the characters, not just Rostov. Rules was special, but the Gentleman gets my heart.

Jgrace wrote: "The thing is, in the five years since reading Rules, I don't have any clear memories of the characters, even Eve, which does make me want to read it again. But I can't imagine forgetting the charac..."

That's interesting. The reason I'm more drawn to Rules was I found the relationships a bit more authentic. I was able to relate to some of the dynamics within the relationships and I thought the painting of the era was more evocative in Rules. That's probably because the majority of Gentleman takes place inside a hotel.

I find it interesting to see what draws different readers to different author's work.