The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Spring 2018 Group Read A Gentleman in Moscow . Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

I'm not reading this for the challenge because I read it just a few months ago. This was a four star read for me. I really enjoyed how Rostov created a life of purpose while imprisoned in the hotel. Then was able to make his move once that purpose was fulfilled.

My book group is reading this so this was a reread for me. I tried it on audio this time. I liked how the social and political changes over the years were reflected by the events in the hotel. I thought it was clever and charming.

I am not well versed in the history of this time period (1930's - 1950's) in the world with the exception of the United States so this novel filled a void in my education despite the fact that it is fiction. Moreover, Rostov is an engaging character forced to deal with circumstances with which he is unaccustomed. The best parts, from my perspective, were his interactions with Nina and then later with her daughter Sophia. Both quick witted young girls when they first encounter the count, they force him to look at the world in a different way that he has heretofore. The results of this new perspective gives the reader as well, a new look at life.

I thought this book was fabulous (5 stars)! I got off to a rocky start because I tried listening to the audiobook and was not following it. So, I waited a month for the e-book to come in. So glad that I did! I loved the author's writing style (esp. his use of personification), the characters, and the historical details! I couldn't help feeling sad thinking about all of the people who suffered/died during the Soviet regime. (How many creative geniuses did we lose either through state-sanctioned torture and murder or decades of censorship?) The Count was indeed lucky, as he states, to be confined to the hotel for life. That turned out much better than the alternatives (being executed or sent to a gulag in Siberia). I agree with Andy re: the characters of Nina and Sophia. They were both delightful and the relationships they developed with the Count were so important to the story. My favorite scene was the first luncheon that the Count had with Nina. His discussion about dueling was so funny! My favorite meal discussion was the Latvian stew scene. I found the recipe on line and hope to make it. To top it off, the ending was perfect! I can see why this book has been so popular! (This is the 3rd GR group I am in that has chosen it for a group read this year.)

I read the author's first novel, Rules of Civility, last year, and I loved it. I admit I wondered if this next would be as good. It was better. I was drawn in right from the start. I don't know how to adequately put it in words, but reading it made me feel at home. The character development was flawless. Some authors present historical information in a textbook manner; Towles did not. He deftly wove the historical information into the storyline so I never felt I was getting a lesson.

There was plenty of humor as well. I laughed out loud when the Count split his pants crawling around the balcony with Nina. I also enjoyed his encounters with the chef Emile.

I gave this book five stars. I look forward to what this author has to offer next.

I enjoyed this novel. Whilst you could say there wasn't a huge obvious plot in the novel i found that as it was a beautifully structured and written novel and a good representation of someone making the best of a bad situation i didn't really mind. The Count's character and how he deals with events happening through-out his years in the Metropol intrigued me and i really enjoyed his life stories.
(view spoiler)[For me the best scene of the novel was the seconds bees scene, where he tastes the apples of home. I must admit i shed a tear there and a yay that he changed his mind about jumping off the roof. (hide spoiler)]
I also really enjoyed the larger than life character of Nina. Whilst i was reading i first had visions of an Anne of Green Gables type character when she was getting up to hijinks with the Count in the Metropol but as she got older she turned into Paris from Gilmore Girls in my head!

I want to read Amor Towles Rules of Civility now.

While I enjoyed this book, it took me a while to get into which was not the case with Rules of Civility. I loved the Russian history of which I am woefully ignorant.

I thought it was realistic that the Count never did find out what happened to Nina. I would guess she was one of many anonymous dead that was shot in her attempt to free her husband, or just shot before she got that far. However, I would have appreciated the omniscient narrator to fill the readers in...

This book was a 4 star read for me. I really enjoyed the character development and how the story drew me in. I laughed at some of the scenes between Rostov and Nina when she was a girl and shed a few tears during the reading as well.

I will be adding Rules of Civility to my reading list as well.

I rarely rate a book 5 stars but this book was wonderful. I have found another author who rates among my favorites now. His crafting of the characters and life in the hotel and Moscow throughout the years was masterful.

This book was absolutely charming and a 4 star read for me. I loved the Count's perseverance despite his reduced circumstances, and his relationships with the women in the story (Nina, Anna, Sofia) were all very engaging. Plus, all the Casablanca references and wine pairings were right up my alley.

This was a 5 star book for me. I loved the way that the Count gradually adjusted to his life in the hotel, especially the part that Nina and Sofia played in that. The years of building relationships is interesting and it is not until later that I saw how it was all woven together to provide everything he needed at the end. My favorite part is when he answers Sofia question about regrets and he says in his whole life he was needed in one place and time and that was when Nina needed someone to look after Sofia. Everything else led to that moment.

This was a 5 star book for me also. Enjoyed it tremendously.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. The characters and the interactions between them were very charming. It was very very different from other novels set in Soviet Russia, much sweeter, almost to the point that it seemed like a fairy tale.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I had put off reading it because I thought it would be much more tragic and violent than it turned out to be. I loved the characters and how they all coped in their own ways with the radically changing times. I liked that no one was really black and white, but did and said surprising things along the way. The ending was very satisfying to me! I gave it 5 stars, and its now one that I recommend to my friends and patrons at the library.