Cultural Dessert

‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ by Amor Towles

17 September 2021

‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ by Amor Towles (which I have just finished reading as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith) is perhaps the ultimate lockdown novel. Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is very much part of the aristocracy the Russian revolution intended to overthrow but, because he appears to have written some pro-revolutionary poetry, the Bolsheviks don’t know what to do with him. Their compromise, in 1922, is to place him under indefinite house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Moved from his grand hotel suite to a small spartan room on the top floor, the Count lives for years as a permanent guest, dining in the hotel restaurant, reading the newspaper in the lobby and having his hair cut by the hotel barber. A polite and thoughtful gentleman, he gradually becomes good friends with many of the hotel staff and some of the regular returning guests. Meanwhile the world outside the hotel moves on and Amor Towles cleverly shows us a dramatic period in Russian history through the microcosm of the hotel. This technique reminded me of the history of 20th century Germany recounted through its effect on the inhabitants of a small rural village in Edgar Reitz’s magnificent epic film ‘Heimat’. ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ is a remarkable book - charming, moving, clever and witty. It ranks with my two favourite recent historical novels - ‘Golden Hill’ by Francis Spufford (reviewed here in August 2017) and ‘Now We Shall Be Entirely Free’ by Andrew Miller (reviewed here in April 2020) - beautifully written, historically fascinating and playful. Nicholas Guy Smith’s narration is brilliant, particularly his characterisation of the novel’s many voices, but it is occasionally odd to hear this English narrator using the American author’s pronunciation (eg of basil and oregano) in this tale of the early 20th-century Soviet Union. Alexander Rostov is a wonderfully well drawn character: by the end of the novel he feels like a well-loved family member - slightly old-fashioned, occasionally pompous, but perceptive and caring, and deeply loved, by his friends, his colleagues and us readers.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 3:44 pm