Summary & Analysis: A Gentleman in Moscow By Amor Towles : A Novel

by Black Book

A Gentleman in Moscow is an intricately crafted novel by Amor Towles that manages to tell a decades long story involving only a few main characters and one location – the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is sentenced to permanent house arrest within the Metropol Hotel in 1922 because of he is considered a threat to the Communist Party. Upon being sentenced, the Count is forced to move from his lavish suite in the hotel up to the isolated 6th floor. Rather than dwelling on his new riches to rags situation, he chooses to embrace practicalities and foster the aesthetics that are central to his spirit. While living in the hotel, he befriends the hotel staff and a young girl named Nina who also lives there. Nina opens Rostov’s eyes to all the hotel offers. With her help, he learns about every corner of the hotel and learns the intricacies of hotel life. After Nina presents him with her secret hotel passkey, Rostov can explore any area he wants, and he discovers the hotel is a whole world itself. Eventually, Rostov throws himself into working at the hotel’s fine dining establishment, the Boyarsky, where he develops strong bonds with the maître d and the chef. Along the way, he also becomes involved in an intimate relationship with a hotel guest, the famous actress, Anna Urbanova.

41 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2019