A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

genre: historical fiction

Count Alexander Rostov knows that when the alternative to house arrest is death, it's the best, most gentlemanly thing to do, to accept your sentence with grace and aplomb.  And such begins his life confined to the posh halls and dining rooms of Moscow's Metropol hotel.  As the years go by and life races past, Count Alexander turns the Metropol into his wide world. The people he meets and the surprising antics he experiences makes this book an absolute delight.

So many people told me I should read this before I actually did and I feel genuinely sad that I waited so long.  The writing is elegant and clever.  It captured my attention and I didn't have to work overly hard to keep people straight, as is often the case in Russian novels.  The changes we watch happen in Russia, the impact of political systems and economies and culture at large make their way even into the Metropol in ways both overarching and very individual.  The truth is that maybe I fell a little bit in love with the beloved Count.   His introspection, his love of things good and beautiful, the patient embrace of his lot, all of it.  I highly recommend this book to lovers of the written word, lovers of stories with mildly quicky main characters and those who appreciate historical fiction that doesn't attempt to paint a width swath but gently places its eye on a tiny slice of humanity.

Five stars from me.