A Gentleman in Moscow

A Novel

By: Amor Towles

Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith

Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a Showtime/Paramount series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

©2016 Amor Towles (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The novel buzzes with the energy of numerous adventures, love affairs, [and] twists of fate."—The Wall Street Journal

"If you're looking for a summer novel, this is it. Beautifully written, a story of a Russian aristocrat trapped in Moscow during the tumult of the 1930s. It brims with intelligence, erudition, and insight, an old-fashioned novel in the best sense of the term."—Fareed Zakaria, "Global Public Square," CNN

"Fun, clever, and surprisingly upbeat . . . A Gentleman in Moscow is an amazing story because it manages to be a little bit of everything. There’s fantastical romance, politics, espionage, parenthood and poetry. The book is technically historical fiction, but you would be just as accurate calling it a thriller or a love story.”—Bill Gates

Brilliant, heartfelt, inspiring

The prose is elegant, the performance masterful, and the wisdom of the words something to consider, reconsider and cherish. But I will admit, when I first started listening, I had no idea where the story was going -- nor any idea of where its main character and his friends would take me. I'm so glad I persevered through the first hour, because it's turned out to be the best book I've "read" or listened to in decades -- and I read a lot. For those who like to savor life, it is a must read.

A vacation for your mind!

I was looking for a book to take my mind off of all the stress of the news. This book was perfect! I was so sad to have it end. It immediately relaxed me..held my attention and had me smiling through out. I can't recommend it more highly!

An almost perfect story

This story brilliantly weaves together a tale of historically important moments, insight into human nature, advice on living well, suspense, humor, kindness and cruelty. I can't recommend it enough.

Delightful, moving, profound

If you are concerned that the story of a man forced to spend most of his life in a luxury hotel in Moscow might be too uneventful to hold your interest, I can disabuse you. This is one of the great works of the transition from one world to another. Unashamedly focused on the positive aspects of the aristocracy from which Count Rostov comes, it is a beautiful and touching portrait of a gentleman who is a genuinely gentle man, and the values of art, beauty, future and artistry in a world determined to focus only on the mundane.

Absolutely pure joy!

If you could sum up A Gentleman in Moscow in three words, what would they be?

Towles' novel is one of the most engaging, compelling, and addictive I've read in some time. The humanity with which he treats the Count and his circle of friends is noteworthy, and the evolution of his main character believable, inspiring, and unforgettable.

What did you like best about this story?

Everything.

What does Nicholas Guy Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Smith's narration brings the story to life, feeling more like a virtuoso performance. Although this is a third-person narration, the blending of the narrator's voice and the reader''s reading give the novel a first-person feel. The "literary ventriloquism" is perfectly rendered.

One of the best!

I so enjoyed this book. one of the best I have read.

I could not help caring immensely for the main character and those he became close with.

Utterly and Irrepressibly Brilliant

What a pleasure to have found this novel. I am heartened. I am moved. Such story craft buoyed on masterly and unassailably writing. I will read Maestro Towles entire body of work.

And narrator Nicholas Guy Smith, he too a maestro. His performance is robustly engaging keeping me breathless for more.

Salute. I am grateful for all Towles and Smith have gone through to deliver so impeccably this gift to readers like me.

Delicious

This wonderfully written story will most appeal to readers who appreciate a lovable main character, charming human bonds, and not bothered by heavy dialogue and limited action. It’s helpful to know a little Russian revolution(s)
history, dating between 1918 to 1955.

Very Highly Recommended

Great characters, insightful and captivating story, with a balance of totalitarian tragedy and individual triumph.

Excellent Read

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I felt deeply invested in all of the characters; great writing!