Book review: A Gentleman in Moscow

Why this Book?

I don’t review books often, but sometimes a book is so good it deserves praise worthy of the attention, detail, and uniqueness the author managed to bring to life.

A Gentleman in Moscow is one such book. It made me gain a wider appreciation for the old-school manners, charms, and etiquette of aristocratic societies.

Background

Count Alexandar Rostov was born into nobility and over the years, spent time paying attention to what most folks would call banal.

For example, the manner of addressing people and noticing what is in place as well as what isn’t. This attention to the finer and somewhat trivial details alludes to a lot of what’s going on and how to best approach situations.

The Count, travels across Europe and at the ripe moment of the Russian Revolution, returns to his homeland only to be tried in court and sentenced to life imprisonment in the beloved Metropol Hotel in Moscow.

Painting a Colorful Picture

Through the changing seasons, to how moods turn over time, Amor paints a vivid picture of Soviet Russia from post revolution to post World War II.

Amor slows down where it matters, and skips through the years to show how the Count’s life and situations change significantly.

The Count is charming and always trying to make the best of his situation. He is witty, but never a prisoner to his circumstances.

He befriends the local staff, learns about their stories, making conversation, and later taking the helm of head waiter at the Boyarsky.

Reading the Room or Person

Often with technology it’s easy to disconnect from the human aspect in all the noise. But a simple greeting tells the listener a lot of what is going on in their world.

How and when they decide to initiate small talk, enables the Count to understand what’s bothering them. The Count uses his vast experience in social circles to make them feel that they can tackle any circumstance.

Their affinity for certain words, conveys how they like thinking about ideas, events, and opens a window to better understand the nature of the person.

In real life, lot of this is often ignored or just not visible with people across sharing photos, reels, and ideas, but without all the context that makes us all tick in unison.

Long Term Residents at Hotels

We usually think of hotels as a place of rest during a trip, vacation, visiting foreign lands, or places of interest. Amor takes inspiration from hotels in Geneva where many residents live semi-permanently and enjoy nature, people, and scenery without the rush of meeting deadlines.

Soviet Russia during and after the revolution was famous for the house imprisonment it would grant to the aristocracy if they could avoid being beheaded first.

Combining both these ideas in a fascinating way. Amor tells the story of the Metropol Hotel, a symbol of elegance in times past, but also a place where everyone could rub shoulders and conduct business in the heart of Moscow.

Amor paints a charming picture. He paid a lot of attention to what makes a hotel unique, and what gives it character. The story grew on me, as I wanted to see the world as Count Rostov did.

Conclusion

Count Rostov, a charming and witty character, grows as the hotel does. He learns to adapt to his situation, but is never a prisoner to the sentence he was served.

I admired the way Amor paid close attention to the finer details, making me consider what things we tend to ignore in the digital age, and how they can so greatly affect us.

Etiquette and manners have a negative connotation for being too strict, pedantic, and only existing to serve the aristocracy. In A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor highlights the human side, focusing on what we often forget, and should be given the utmost importance.