That sense of loss is exactly what we must anticipate, prepare for, and cherish to the last of our days; for it is only our heartbreak that finally refutes all that is ephemeral in love.
I can hardly describe the pleasure A Gentleman In Moscow gave me. For once, the wealthy aristocrat is not the villain. Although there are plenty of people in 1920 Russia who would consider him one, to the reader he is a hero.
Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov was in Paris when the Hermitage fell, and returned after the Revolution. While we learn slowly of his story, we are under house arrest with him at the Metropol, the fine hotel in which he lives, for the authorities have forbidden him ever to leave lest he is shot.
How can one live in a hotel, no matter how extravagant it may be? Surely the rubles hidden in the legs of his grandfather’s table can afford him the luxuries to which he had become accustomed. But, life in Moscow passes him by as the streets and parks change without him ever seeing it first hand.
When actress Anna Urbanova falls from grace, after Stalin’s disapproval that the films she stars in refer too grandly to “waltzing and candlelight and marble stairs”, in other words nostalgically looking at times gone by, she and the Count unwittingly join the Confederacy of the Humbled.
Like the Freemasons, the Confederacy of the Humbled is a close-knit brotherhood whose members travel with no outward markings, but who know each other at a glance. For having fallen suddenly from grace, those in the Confedarcy share a certain perspective. Knowing beauty, influence, fame, and privilege to be borrowed rather than bestowed, they are not easily impressed. They are not quick to envy or take offense. They certainly do not scour the papers in search of their own names. They remain committed to living among their peers, but they greet adulation with caution, ambition with sympathy, and condensation with an inward smile.
One day, the Count is paid an unexpected visit by a man named Osip Ivanovich Glebnikov, former colonel of the Red Army and an officer of the Party, who wishes to learn the Count’s secrets of being a gentleman. To develop certain diplomatic skills, for he has noticed that the Count is not reconciled to his position. Rather, he is resigned to it, with grace and style.
But these two characters are not my favorite. No, I am enchanted with Nina, the child whom the Count befriends, and with whom he plays, in the lobby of the hotel. Then suddenly Nina is grown up, and she comes back to leave her daughter Sofia with the Count. This little girl is now in his charge. She sleeps in his room on a mattress hoisted above his with cans of tomatoes stacked on top of each other. She invents a game with him called Zut (after the French phrase, “Zut alors!”) which is the only thing one can exclaim when one has run out of answers. They are utterly beautiful to read about, as Sofia grows up, and their relationship grows with them.
This novel is about Russia, and politics, and the time period from 1922 to 1954. But, it is mostly about the Count, and his friends, and life lessons seen from the interior of one hotel which somehow seems to encompass the whole world.
“I’ll tell you what is convenient,” he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka-and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.”
The publishers have granted me one copy to give-away, to a U.S. address only please, so if you wish to enter the drawing please mention it in a comment below. A winner will be drawn one week from today.
Thank you to all who entered! The give-away period has ended, but you can buy this book with free shipping worldwide here.
I’ve heard so many people adore this book. I love stories that are both about a few people and about the wider world. I think I need to do a double feature and read this one along with Rules of Civility!
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I’ve seen so many great reviews about this book, I can’t wait to read it. I would love to win a copy. Thanks for the chance.
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Lovely review, Bellezza! I’m glad you enjoyed reading this Russian novel. Please enter me in your giveaway, and thanks very much for hosting this giveaway. I will add it to my blog’s sidebar.
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The book sounds lovely and I would love to win a copy of it. Thank you for hosting the giveaway. 🙂
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I’d be so happy to win a copy of this! I had it from the library but they made me return it well before I’d finished. Written by an exceptional wordsmith, it deserves to be savored, not galloped through.
Thank you.
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Thanks for this captivating and memorable novel which I would enjoy greatly. Your review was wonderful.
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This novel sounds like an unforgettable and spellbinding saga which is intriguing and unique.
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One of my favorite books is “Rules of Civility.” I look forward to reading this new novel.
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I am about halfway through this wonderful book…………I would like to make a correction if you don/t mind. The count says that he is resigned to his position, but he is not reconciled to it. Love your blog. janisca
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I had to go back and reread that section, and you are absolutely right. So now I have reversed the words “reconciled” and “resigned” on my post to reflect their accuracy, and I thank you for pointing it out. Somebody was reading too quickly. 😉
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I’m at the back of a long queue for this at my local library, so of course I’d love to be entered into the draw.
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I have this one on my wish list. Count me in for the drawing–looks so good. Thanks!
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This sounds like a wonderful addition and twist on a book about someone isolated from the world in some way. I don’t know when I will ever get to it, but it’s on my list!
Also, the beginning of your review took me back to when my family was in transition and we had to live out of a hotel room for a while. For us it was only 3 months, but we were so glad to get out of there!
(No need to add me to your giveaway – I’m not in the US.)
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Sounds like a great book of historical fiction, Bellezza. Thank you for hosting the giveaway.
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Sounds fab. I’m in Canada so don’t add me but I’m adding this to the tbr!
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Nina sounds like a delightful character. If you loved this book, I need to read it. Please throw my name in the hat!
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I’m interested in a copy. It sounds charming; I could appreciate a few more charming things in my life.
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this one sounds like a russian novel I could enjoy finishing
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I think I would like this book… I have been listening to a series of lectures on Russian literature, which naturally convey a lot of Russian history and culture, too. I have come to the place in the lectures where we are learning about the literature of the turbulent 20th century, all of which has prepared me to enjoy the story of Count Rostov. Thank you for an engaging review!
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I have a tremendous passion for Russian literature, as well as history. I took so many classes in those subjects during college that I almost had a minor in them. I have read Anna Karenina more times than I can count, and as soon as I finish I want to begin again; same with The Brothers Karamzov and Dr. Zhivago. Anyway, I think you will like this as much as I do, although it doesn’t have terribly much to do with Russia itself, our hero is so winsome, so admirable, one can’t help loving him. Or, wishing to dine with him in the Metropol.
I just received Helen Rappaport’s latest book, Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia 1917-A World on the Edge. I would be glad to send it to you when I finish if you would like. xo
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What a generous offer! That looks like a fascinating book and I only hesitate to accept because I am so behind in my book stacks – but there’s no reason I couldn’t put that one on the top of the stack. So, I will say yes, but obviously, there is no hurry on this end! Thank you!
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I’m glad there is no hurry on your end, as I have quite a few on my end to get to before this! 😉 But, rest assured, when I finish: it’s yours, my friend.
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I enjoyed the book immensely: playful, thoughtfully written,very subtle suggestions and a surprise ending.
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