A Gentleman in Moscow discussion

After completing this entire book which is very lengthy, I was unclear about the ending. Was the lady the count met in the kitchen of the Inn the Inn his lover Anna, his friend the poet's lover, or possibly even Nina (Sofia's mother)

I believe it is Anna. Previously, it is stated that he never saw Nina again. It was a clever end to the book. And I love the "Round up the usual suspects." I liked the weaving of Casablanca into the development of the ending.

Thanks. I appreciate your insight. It was such an unclear ending I was a bit disappointed.

I thought it was a beautiful book. The ending, I felt, was poignant. The "obvious" way to have ended the book would have had Count Rostov show up in Paris and live the rest of his life in leisure with Sofia. But, the twist is, he returns to his ancestral home (what is left of it).

Thank you. It is good to have your point of view. I did like the twist, but felt disappointed in myself for not seeing it clearly. Your comments have helped me see the beauty in the ending. It was interesting to be reading the book at th same time all the Russian hacks were being discussed.
Have you read Rules of Civility

I have not, but look forward to it in the near future.

Thank you as well.

I thought the ending was beautiful and then the believability in modern society to live undetected made me a little sad. With Anna being so well known, I thought it would be impossible for them to remain together in this town.

Jon wrote: "I believe it is Anna. Previously, it is stated that he never saw Nina again. It was a clever end to the book. And I love the "Round up the usual suspects." I liked the weaving of Casablanca into th..."

Hate to t/j but since you brought up Nina, I must have missed what happened to her? Can you fill in the details for me. Thanks.

I think my favorite part of the ending was the Count's friend Osip (I assume he was the unnamed Kremlin official at the end) quoting Casablanca as he inwardly smiles at the Count's escape and doesn't do anything much to attempt to track him down. The Count gets to live out the rest of his days with Anna in the Russian countryside while Sofia heads to America for musical stardom and life at the Metropol goes on as usual - perfectly done.

Penny wrote: "After completing this entire book which is very lengthy, I was unclear about the ending. Was the lady the count met in the kitchen of the Inn the Inn his lover Anna, his friend the poet's lover, or..."

Penny wrote: "After completing this entire book which is very lengthy, I was unclear about the ending. Was the lady the count met in the kitchen of the Inn the Inn his lover Anna, his friend the poet's lover, or..."

The willowy woman was Anna.

Anita wrote: "Jon wrote: "I believe it is Anna. Previously, it is stated that he never saw Nina again. It was a clever end to the book. And I love the "Round up the usual suspects." I liked the weaving of Casabl..."

The sad thing is we don't know exactly for sure what happened to Nina but given the situation in Russia at the time, it is assumed that she is dead.
The harsh reality of the Communist era is that millions of people died. Towles just implied that Nina died rather than stating the fact.

Thanks, Dinh. I didn't think I missed anything, but I listened to the book and could have perhaps not paid attention for a couple of minutes. I did assume she was dead. I liked the fact that he doesn't tie all the ends up in a bow.

Anita wrote: "Thanks, Dinh. I didn't think I missed anything, but I listened to the book and could have perhaps not paid attention for a couple of minutes. I did assume she was dead. I liked the fact that he doe..."

The audio was read really well. I read and listened to the book together. I agree with you about it not being a hollywood ending- you have to have an ending that is appropriate. I liked the ending with meeting Anna at the Inn. Seems a bit like Casablanca?

Jon wrote: "I believe it is Anna. Previously, it is stated that he never saw Nina again. It was a clever end to the book. And I love the "Round up the usual suspects." I liked the weaving of Casablanca into th..."

I thought the *Casablanca* theme was well-played, too.

Penny wrote: "After completing this entire book which is very lengthy, I was unclear about the ending. Was the lady the count met in the kitchen of the Inn the Inn his lover Anna, his friend the poet's lover, or..."
The "willowy woman with the graying hair" was the give-away that is was indeed Anna. We are left to assume that he and Anna would live out the rest of their days together, in Russia.

Another possibility....the women was his sister. His sister's reported death may have only been a cover up to protect her life. Would he have given up his daughter to live with Anna? Could his sister been living in obscurity is the remote ancestral village. The portrait was so important throughout the book but was left behind at the end...perhaps because he no longer needed it.

Fidele wrote: "Another possibility....the women was his sister. His sister's reported death may have only been a cover up to protect her life. Would he have given up his daughter to live with Anna? Could his sist..."
The book specifically refers to the willowy woman- and that willowy woman is Anna. His sister was never described that way.

I agree, the woman has to be Anna. I don't think the ending means the two lived out their lives in a small Russian village. Unless I am missing something. Anna was wealthy. Couldn't there be a car Anna brought and the two escape Russia together? Why would they stay in Russia? They would certainly be detected.

I thought he stayed in Russia because it is his country and he loves it. The same reason he didn't leave when he helped his grandmother. It would also be really hard for Anna to escape.

I thought the detail about the silver streak in the woman's hair indicated that it was Sophia. She had to use the black hair dye on the silver streak in her hair to complete her disguise. The only other option is Anna, it seems to me.

Just went back and re-read the end. I think it's Anna, but I loved the book. I loved the inside story, the outside story, the characters, and most of all, the telling. Loved the literary allusions.
I'm a fan. I loved Rules of Civility too.

"The willowy woman" is Anna. The author refers to her as such when the Count first sees her on p. 110 as "his eyes were drawn to a willowy figure coming through the hotel's doors" and "Stop it! the willow commanded in a surprisingly husky voice". On page 113 in a scene in the Boyarsky again Anna is referred to as willowy. "it was only settled in that he realized the willowy beauty in a long blue dress was sitting on the banquette..." and "while the Count was smiling at his own obervsation, he happened to meet the willow's gaze." Those descriptions stayed with me (and there may be other references) so at the ending I knew it was Anna when the author described the woman as "the willowy woman awaited".

For me, the woman is Anna, and although it is unlikely they could live in Russia undetected, it is in a time period before our ubiquitous technology that constantly monitors our every movement. Certainly there are/were older people who could live a relatively unobscure life out in the countryside (although probably not in your own ancestral seat). Although Anna was a film star, it seems that she is now past her prime and has not been recognized for a while now and could probably keep to herself and not have it be a big deal. That's how I choose to see it anyway!

Since Anna's fame later in life was on the stage it is doubtful anyone would recognize either the Count or Anna in the small town they returned to and if anyone did recognize the Count after so many years and without his mustache it would not be likely they would reveal him. What an exquisite gem of a book.

Anna was the woman, that was clear. But Why would the Court steal a Scandinavian passport if he planned to stay in Russia? Did I miss something or do I just interpret it differently? I know he wanted to show her the home of the apples and all but was it not Anna that said once that everyone given the chance would want to move to America while showing him a magazine? Why else find the American Embassy where he had the American friend if sophia wanted to hide out in Paris and he in Russia?
What made everyone believe that he would never see Sophia again? I got the impression that it was likely that they all would end up somewhere eventually where they could be together while allowing Sophia to spread her wings and allowing Anna her washing machine. ANY thoughts?

... oh the guy put on the jacket and went to finland. But still I am not convinced that he would sent Sophia alone to america. Could it be possible that once at the embassy her job would be to get passports for them both to go? It seems unlikely that he would send her off never to see her again so he could die in the Russian countryside.

Anna. Terrific book, terrific ending.

Osip would validate the departure via his investigation, and any search for him would end. He supplies a false narrative by rounding up the usual suspects...just as in Casablanca, when the chief knows Bogart has shot the enemy but chooses to ally with the outlier. This diversion would allow him to live in the outskirts of the power center of the Soviet Union. Moscow was far more on the KGB radar than the outskirts. We cannot say for sure that he would remain in his ancestral area- but he has choices, and that is a rich gift after all the years of constriction.

I just loved this book. The Count and his relationships with everyone at the Metropol will stay with me for a long time. He was truly the perfect gentleman. His relationship with Nina and then Sophia was so warm and genuine that I also have a hard time believing he did not intend to reunite with Sophia once the dust settled. I agree that the woman he was with after his escape was Anna. I recommend this book a lot.

Leslie wrote: "But Why would the Court steal a Scandinavian passport if he planned to stay in Russia?"

I'd like to know where he could have found a Scandinavian passport... There were not that many foreign visitors in Stalin's USSR. Also they, too, would need that passport in order to get out of the country.

I LOVED this book and raced through it to find out the ending. Really enjoyed the ending, although I should probably reread it considering the rush I was in to found out what happened
Important question: How did the Count fund his lifestyle in the hotel? Towles mentions he has golden coins in his desk, but also mentions they are never used again until the end of the book. Was the Count allowed to keep some of his money from before? :)

Tytti-- He found the passport in the 40 year old Finnish couple's room. He got the passport to mislead the Russian authorities about where he was:)

Well, that sounds just about equally unbelievable than the whole story. I'm not sure why there would have been any Finnish couples or their rooms (or their passports, Finns generally didn't use those when "visiting" the Soviet Union), but that passport would have probably got him shot. (Also Finns are not Scandinavians...)

Desi wrote: "I thought he stayed in Russia because it is his country and he loves it. The same reason he didn't leave when he helped his grandmother. It would also be really hard for Anna to escape."

I don't think he wanted to leave Russia. Remember when he was asked if he was Russian? His answer was "To the core." He's lived his life and is enjoying his older years. I think he is quite happy to live the rest of his life with the willowy woman, Anna, in his country.

In reference to whether the woman he met at the end of the book was Anna, it is confirmed in his description of her at his first sight of her in the Metropol: "...his eyes were drawn to a willowy figure coming through the hotel's doors." p 110.

I just finished reading this book for the first time and I loved it! I don't know if anyone is even reading this board anymore, but I am dying to discuss the book with someone and alas - there is no one!!! So I will post my thoughts here anyway just to get them off my chest! :) If anyone reads please engage me - I am happy to discuss!!

At first I was very angry with the ending. I thought- oh no - not another Zhivago! "He can't leave Russia!" Not more of that! That hyper dramatic link those Russian authors think their characters must have with their land of birth! Very difficult for an American girl born of immigrants to understand. But still, even if I hate the Zhivago story line I was angry because everything else Towles had written in this book was NEW: the whole backdrop of the 20th Century Russian history playing out, just outside the windows of this story, the characters only drowning in it when they left the hotel. . .keeping the story both universal and intimate at the same time - fascinating!

But then after I calmed down, swallowed my porridge and accepted that good literature doesn't give one the American-ideal of a Disney happy ever after, I was more able to study the ending at length. . . over days and days. . . another sign of a truly good book I believe, when the darn things stays with you, and two weeks later you're still trying to figure out what happened to the hero over your eggs and bacon. . .

It was a great ending. Whether Rostov and Anna live on in anonymity in the Russian countryside devoid of any "conveniences" for - what ten years? (at the rate that man drinks -
and smokes-he can't hope for too much more than that!), or they concoct a plan to escape Soviet territory and find Sophia, that is all irrelevant. The story was over.

The story began when the Count was taken into physical captivity, and the story ended when the Count was truly and completely free. As Americans we think of freedom as a place, but as this book clearly shows us, freedom is not where you are - The book (Non-fiction) Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankle poses a similar theme: Freedom is within, and in his case, the concentration camps stripped him of everything in life he was clinging to until all that was left was pure him. In the Count's case, he almost (subconsciously Towles?) represents the contemporary American ideal of "entitlement.' Reread the opening description of what the Count plans to do with his day before he remembers his incarceration. He's not a gentleman. He's inconsiderate, selfish, rude, lazy (half past nine?), gluttonous, nosy and over and over we get implications that the guy is really a lech with women too. He talks the talk but does not walk the walk of a gentleman. He lives in a luxury hotel for crying out loud! He's not feeding the poor, or ministering to educate lost orphans or ANYTHING noble, even so much as taking a wife and raising a family! He woke up for four years in his luxury suite, determined to live the new AMERICAN dream, and be convenienced, served, and pleasured.

His incarceration and the consequent effects of the Russian tragedy playing out on the stage outside the hotel then strip him of his identities and pleasures one by one throughout the first half of the book. First space - I love that he can't even stand up straight in his room - fantastic! Then the next thing to go is those stupid facial hairs with which he has adorned himself, like garlands on a tree. Scene after scene, he loses his vanities and pleasures until he decides with the loss of the wine cellar that he is no longer a valuable entity and decides to end it all.

I LOVE how Towles uses his connection to his home, the origin of his life, the beginning of his humanity, to call him down off the plank. The flavor of home (brilliant!) seems to say "There is more to you than moustaches, pastries, jackets and wine!" And the second half of the book then proceeds forward by HIS (the Count's) will. He begins to take on his own human experience through humility, labors, work, real friendships, and real living, until one day he confesses to Anna that the most inconvenient things in his life have brought him the most blessings! (Don't have my copy here sorry to misquote!)

As we neared the end of the story, the Count was still not completely free. He was of course still a prisoner in the hotel, but he was still attached to his duty to Russia "I am neither a spy nor a gossip" and still clinging to his home memories with diligent rhapsody, and now he has a "family" to cling to as well. All three must go if he is to achieve complete freedom.

Count Rostov is not a Zhivago because he DOES betray Russia. For love of his child he betrays Russia and sends along important political information to the Americans. Russia no longer has a hold on him. Finally family. Over and over in literature we see that love is sacrifice. To hold on to Sophia would be the easy thing to do, but selfish. He is wise enough now to know that Russia will no longer be healed in a matter of weeks. He let's Sophia go to a world where she can be truly free and to protect her from whatever else Russia will undergo in the next years. And finally, the last scene, he goes home, and when he stands over the ashes of his beloved home, he is emotionally unaffected. He is free of that too. THAT'S why he had to go home. He had to be free of it.

What will happen to Rostov and Anna is irrelevant, because in coming to him, Anna has also thrown aside all her desires for success and "conveniences." But what is important is that they are both free, and to leave them in Russia makes an incredible ending to the book. Because Russia is NOT free, and as Towles is writing from the future, he knows that is will NOT be free for many many years to come. But the state of Russia is irrelevant to the inner freedom of a man.

One could discuss why he and Anna had to reunite at the end for hours probably. Towles might just say he didn't want to leave his hero alone! I don't blame him! But their reunification was not necessary to the story. Towles could have ended it with Rostov on the ashes of his estate. . .and we all would have hated him and never read another of his books!

Because the Count and Anna are in the end only fictional characters, it is left to each individual imagination to think how they came together (did Rostov tell her to meet him, or did she guess where he would be?). Do they find a way to sneak out of Cold-War Russia and die in the company of Sophia? Up to us - in the end the final creators of their unwritten paths.

The only other thing I want to write - because I have shamefully purged myself of this need onto the board- is that I just LOVED that Rostov HIKED all the way home! I mean the guy was just so eager to be OUTSIDE, I have visions of him sleeping in open fields and swimming in every stream he comes across, unwilling to put a roof over his head for as long as he can. . . nice touch.

Okay. Phew. I'm done. I feel SO MUCH BETTER now!! I can go back to housework. I need a cigarette. . .

I read this book 8 months ago and loved it, but the details have begun to fade in my memory. I will have to read it again some day. I enjoyed your enthusiasm for the book and wish you could have been at our book club to discuss. Thanks for sharing.

I just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow and I too wanted to discuss it w/ someone. I enjoyed comments made by others and must say thank you for the insightful analysis provided just a couple of days ago in message 36 by (coincidentally) Valerie. She said it all.

Hey Valerie! Thank you! I am reading a second time this week and I'm still happy to discuss! More like desperate. . . :) Shall you raise a subject or I?

Hey Valerie! Thank you! I am reading a second time this week and I'm still happy to discuss! More like desperate. . . :) Shall you raise a subject or I?

thank everyone for their comments. From my perspective, I view the ending of the book like the ending of Casablanca, I'm fine with it not being clear leaving it up to the reader to envision what happens next. Does it really matter if it's Anna or another willowy woman at the Inn? I'm not over thinking it and enjoying the feeling I have when I watch a good old movie on a winters day

Remember, Anna had some graying hair while performing on stage and the hair dye she used was what the Count recalled when he retrieved some from his barber (?) for Sophia to use to cover her own white streak before her departure for Paris. Clearly, the willowy graying woman is Anna.

Tytti wrote: "Well, that sounds just about equally unbelievable than the whole story. I'm not sure why there would have been any Finnish couples or their rooms (or their passports, Finns generally didn't use tho..."
Finland continued to trade with the USSR throughout the cold war - as a neighbor, their relationship with the Soviet Union and Russia has always been different from other non-Soviet bloc countries. It is entirely believable.

Claire wrote: "Finland continued to trade with the USSR throughout the cold war - as a neighbor, their relationship with the Soviet Union and Russia has always been different from other non-Soviet bloc countries."

Oh, yes, it has been "different"... I forgot the year when this was supposed to happen, was it 1954? Because before that there wasn't trade, there were the war reparations, there were no business men doing business, it was more like "sent the goods or we will occupy the country". Pretty much the only Finns in the USSR at that time were prisoners of war at the forced labour camps, and they didn't have any passports.

Things only started to changed after Stalin died and more significantly after Khrushchev in 1956. Before that Finns visiting the USSR would have been almost as likely as Jews visiting Hitler's Germany... Read In the Clutches of the Tcheka if you want to know more, it can be found here: https://archive.org/details/1929InThe...

"From 1924 to 1926 the Soviet Government – or, to be more accurate, the Tcheka – detained me, a foreigner, guiltless of any offence, in various prisons, and finally sent me to the Solovetsky concentration camp for three years – without trial, but simply by the authority of the Gpu (Tcheka)..."

Valerie, you say that Rostov is "not a gentleman. He's inconsiderate, selfish, rude, lazy (half past nine?), gluttonous, nosy and over and over we get implications that the guy is really a lech with women too. He talks the talk but does not walk the walk of a gentleman." The word "gentleman" comes from the French word for "nobleman" which has more to do with having the correct parentage and pedigree, or peerage, not necessarily possessing the qualities of good conduct. It was not uncommon for noblemen (real and fictional) to act anything but "gentlemanly."

Grace wrote: "I LOVED this book and raced through it to find out the ending. Really enjoyed the ending, although I should probably reread it considering the rush I was in to found out what happened
Important que..."

He may well have been paid for his job as head waiter at the hotel, since his store of gold seems to have been relatively untouched at the end of the novel.

Valerie wrote: "I just finished reading this book for the first time and I loved it! I don't know if anyone is even reading this board anymore, but I am dying to discuss the book with someone and alas - there is n..."

Valerie--I think perhaps you are wrong when you say that Rostov, unlike Zhivago, does betray Russia, when he arranges for Sophia to leave the country. I don't think he considers the Soviet Union to be the same thing as Russia. Indeed, I think he believes the USSR has betrayed the Russia he loves and knew. He has spent years subverting the new regime, which from his point of view cannot be looked at as a betrayal of the old Russia, but a protection of her.

Many thanks to Valerie for your thoughtful analysis of this book. I'm facilitating discussion of "A Gentleman . . . " this week and feel fortunate to have your input as a guide.

I LOVED every word of A Gentleman in Moscow until the ending. I am so disappointed. Rostov did some very ungentlemanly things at the end which were totally out of character. Why in the world would Towles have Rostov hold the Bishop at gunpoint, shoot the picture of Stalin and imprison Rostov in the furnace room? These actions seemed totally unnecessary and counter to anything a gentleman would have done. To me, I feel like Rostov should have been able to outwit management, government officials, etc., to ingeniously get to Sophia's performance without acting like a common criminal. He is not common!! And I'm sorry but I don't buy Rostov living out the rest of his life as a fugitive in his hometown. Wouldn't that be one of the first places the officials would look? We learn in the book that Rostov was not the author of the poem Where Is It Now? which led to his house arrest in the first place. I felt sure that Towles would use this fact to get Rostov exonerated in the end. A Gentleman is Moscow is a masterpiece until the conclusion, which left me flat :((

Rosanne wrote: "We learn in the book that Rostov was not the author of the poem Where Is It Now? which led to his house arrest in the first place. I felt sure that Towles would use this fact to get Rostov exonerated in the end."

People who were practically blind and deaf were arrested and sent to prison for spying, so were young children who didn't even speak Russian. It didn't matter if someone hadn't done anything because most people in Gulag and Soviet prisons were innocent.