UK Book Club discussion

Hi all, so the group read for May is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

Please use this thread to share your comments, whenever you start. Remember to state 'SPOILERS' at the top of your post if you want to discuss critical plot points.

Happy Reading!

I have just downloaded the audio of this book, ready to join the May group read :-) ... good timing for me, as I'm about to finish my latest book (The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martin: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...) which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I love a historical fiction story!

My husband has a copy, so I'll be borrowing his Kindle for this one! He promised, no spoilers, but I know he really enjoyed it...

Looking forward to this one. I got Adie Larue but didn’t read so need to catch up!

This has been on my Kindle for a while; now I've got an excuse to read it!

I am not having much luck with these group reads so far; I haven't really enjoyed any of them so far and unfortunately I'm not enjoying this one either. I am finding it quite hard to see the story in it to be honest. What are everyone else's thoughts on it?

I am just about to begin reading it, having just finished the April month reading nature and finishing with The Overstory, so I am looking forward to a nice change. This is not my normal type of book read, I'm interested how I will get on.

I haven't started yet, as I'm juggling so many challenges at the moment, plus my in-person book club. Paul, how did you find 'The Overstory'? I've heard good things.

Hi Liz, The Overstory is a very good read. It tells the story of trees through the eyes of several disparate people, threading through the narrative prose scientific fact. Think Silent Spring but a more entertaining read! It's a Pulitzer for a reason. If people have stayed away from nature books because they think they may be dry, this is a great book to begin with. It definitely made me think.

Thanks Paul, I will have to bump it up my to read list!

Leanne wrote: "I am not having much luck with these group reads so far; I haven't really enjoyed any of them so far and unfortunately I'm not enjoying this one either. I am finding it quite hard to see the story ..."

I must admit I am feeling the same about this one. I was listening to it as an audiobook, but really am struggling to understand the story. Thought this might be because it wasn't an ideal audio book. I have persevered but am on the verge of giving this one up as I am just not able to follow the story....

@paul - I will add The Overstory to my list... sounds interesting.

Book Review - A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

I am new to GR and this group. I wouldn’t normally pick this type of book, but very glad I read it as part of the May BD, already I am benefitting from peoples thoughts and suggestions.

Amor Towles writes well, the pages turn easily, and I found myself looking forward to reading time. I won’t go into the plot, let that unfold as you read it. The narrative begins with a MacGuffin that drives the plot through decades in time, and the politics of Russia and the world.

I guess this is a story about overcoming, being content in all circumstances, and relationships. That no matter how time seeks to change a person they can still rise and build their own world.

The protagonist Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov has charm and intelligence and likes people. This for me was the core of the book, the relationships he has with the people he gathers around him, that make his created world not only sustainable, but enjoyable and fruitful. The riches here are not money or title or prestige, but people. He has that effect on everyone, other than the one constant antagonist, a man with little experience of the world outside the doors of the hotel where most of the narrative is set. This is the great irony of the book, the mirrored image of the Count’s existence.

No book set in Russia and Moscow over a period extending from the late 19th century to the cold war of the 20th century and spanning revolution, world wars, and dogma, could be ever free of the great writers. You feel the presence of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Chekhov in the shadows of the streets we rarely see, Siberia is sinister and threatening, Paris seems a fantasy. This is the undercurrent that drives one thread, another is the psychological games played by the state, and used to beneficial effect by Rostov. His ‘turning’ of a major political figure into a fan of American life through film made me smile. The observations of life within Russia at that time are sometimes disturbing, other times funny, with a seemingly endless passion for those at the top to inflect untold horrors on those below, and those below accepting them with reticence.

There is food too. And cooks, and waiter service, think of the cover of Larousse Gastronomique with white table settings, silver cutlery, and fine wines. Proust came to mind, his long explanations into the minutiae of social etiquette and graceful living in In Search of Lost Time cast a light shadow across many scenes in Towles book. And I thought of Gigi by Colette.

The end is not foreshadowed, at least I did not notice it, and it is a lovely ending.

I enjoyed the book and have no hesitation recommending it.

Paul

Posted my comments in the main channel chat my mistake…so to be quick, loved this book, really nice writing style and a great cast of characters, almost historical fiction with a good seasoning of drama and references to (mostly) Russia literature and music, good book 🙂

I've only just started A Gentleman in Moscow, but I am already appreciating how Amor Towles writes - as if he were in the 1920's himself - the count's world feels so authentic. I'm looking forward to see how he experiences changing times through his hotel window!

N.B. I suggested this one as I had really enjoyed his previous book Rules of Civility.

Paul Besley: Thanks for the great thoughts. I look forward to discussing the ending with the group. Glad you liked it. I found it somewhat curious.

William wrote: "Paul Besley: Thanks for the great thoughts. I look forward to discussing the ending with the group. Glad you liked it. I found it somewhat curious."

Thank you William.

Paul wrote: "Book Review - A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

I am new to GR and this group. I wouldn’t normally pick this type of book, but very glad I read it as part of the May BD, already I am benefitting..."

I enjoyed your comments, Paul.

It took me a while to finish A Gentleman in Moscow, but I really enjoyed the journey. It's a slow burn and from a quick look at the reviews there have been quite a few who 'did not finish'.

Rather than being a bleak read, I found it a very hopeful story. The count's drive to master his situation rather than letting it master him, was sustained by the friendships he formed and the curiosity he retained.

I loved the characters and felt that the count's world, which at first seemed confined within the walls of the hotel, opened up increasingly over time, as did the reader's experience. I also appreciated how all those little details did actually matter and came together in a very satisfying ending.

The structure made me think about David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas - a very different story - but one than likewise doesn't start coming together until the second half. The book also reminded me of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', which I love and will have to watch again soon!