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A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

Like another hero of Western fiction who was frequently referred to as "the count," this novel's protagonist, Alexander Ilyich Rostov, is sentenced to a life in confinement early in the story.  As a young aristocrat in Moscow in the 1920s, he appears before a tribunal many of whose members think he should be summarily shot.  Because of an early pro-revolutionary poem that he was thought to have written, however, Rostov is sentenced instead to perpetual confinement in the place of his residence at the time of his trial, Moscow's large and elegant Metropole Hotel. Rostov's education and expansive knowledge of the world at the beginning of his 30+ year confinement parallel's that of Edmond Dantes after the latter's escape.  But Rostov is not an angry man (though he is capable of anger).  And in addition to remarkable knowledge and surprising talents, he is endearingly human, capable of making, and admitting, mistakes, revising first impressions, forming close personal bonds and demonstrating fierce loyalties, despite constraints to which he is "resigned" but not "reconciled."  He is also capable of decisive and dramatic action when the moment calls for it.

Misapplying criteria that might be applied to a portrayal of a tragic hero, which Rostov is not, Craig Taylor in the NYT, complains that "Rostov seems destined always to succeed."  But he goes on as follows:

"Towles is a craftsman. What saves the book is the gorgeous sleight of hand that draws it to a satisfying end, and the way he chooses themes that run deeper than mere sociopolitical commentary: parental duty, friendship, romance, the call of home. Human beings, after all, 'deserve not only our consideration but our reconsideration' — even those from the leisured class. Who will save Rostov from the intrusions of the state if not the seamstresses, chefs, bartenders and doormen? In the end, Towles’s greatest narrative effect is not the moments of wonder and synchronicity but the generous transformation of these peripheral workers, over the course of decades, into confidants, equals and, finally, friends. With them around, a life sentence in these gilded halls might make Rostov the luckiest man in Russia." (Craig Taylor, New York Times review)

Anyone who has read the month’s selection is welcome, as are new participants; no long-term commitment required. Contact Peter Greenfield ’67 with questions or suggestions.

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