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A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a Showtime/Paramount series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov
From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
- Listening Length17 hours and 52 minutes
- Audible release dateSeptember 6, 2016
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB01E0CCSXA
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 17 hours and 52 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Amor Towles |
Narrator | Nicholas Guy Smith |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | September 06, 2016 |
Publisher | Penguin Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B01E0CCSXA |
Best Sellers Rank | #204 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #1 in Political Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #2 in Political Fiction (Books) #13 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) |
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Character development and plot. The plot was as subtle as his word craft. Gentlemanly. All the characters were wonderfully developed, but the one who stands out is the Bishop, the Count’s foil. Since protagonists are measured in contrast to their antagonists, the Bishop serves an essential role. Slithering on the bias rather than moving by rank and file, the Bishop embodies the qualities of the “anti-gentleman”. His decision to reorganize the Metropol’s wine cellar is one of the more memorable scenes in the book. As a tip of the hat to egalitarianism (but more likely in the spirit of retribution), the Bishop orders that all wine labels be removed from the one hundred thousand bottles in the Metropol’s inventory. This is possibly the most symbolic of the Bishop’s acts in that in one afternoon it eradicated the individuality of each bottle, by distilling untold permutations of climate, grape and vintner into but two categories “white” or “red”. If one wanted to toy with symbolism, individuality was sacrificed to provide a simple choice, Royalist (white), versus Bolshevik (red).
“Whichever wine was within, it was decidedly not identical to its neighbors. On the contrary, the contents of the bottle in his hand was the product of a history as unique and complex as that of a nation, or a man. In its color, aroma, and taste, it would certainly express the idiosyncratic geology and prevailing climate of its home terrain. But in addition, it would express all the natural phenomena of its vintage. In a sip, it would evoke the timing of that winter's thaw, the extent of that summer's rain, the prevailing winds, and the frequency of clouds. Yes, a bottle of wine was the ultimate distillation of time and place; a poetic expression of individuality itself.”
Historical accuracy? Who cares? Douglas Smith’s the Former People (2012) provides an accurate and acclaimed historical account of the nobility’s plight. The Count should have been terrified given that his fate was determined by class. The Red Terror’s form of “justice” was quite simple,”Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what is his background, his education, his profession. These are the the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. “ (Martin Latsis in Douglas Smith, the Forgotten People). So it is odd that the Count escapes with his life while in full view of the Metropol’s patrons, some of whom are party officials. So, how does the Count survive? Towles employs a gimmick, i.e., the emergency committee is moved by a revolutionary poem attributed to the Count. I have read the poem a number of times and fail to see its power, especially when you contrast it with competing revolutionary verses. Had he written the following Song of the Peasant, he might have stood a chance of escaping the gallows.
…We’ve suffered insults long enough, and submitted too long to the nobles! … Altogether now let’s plunder …And from the bitter aspens shall we hang every last lackey of the VampireTsar. (1917)
Now, that is a rallying cry!
Because of this, it was difficult for some readers to suspend belief. In my view (which is also Towles’ view) such insistence on historical accuracy misses the point. Gentleman is not an historical novel. It is a novel loosely set in a period, but its emphasis is firmly set on inner life of the Count and the relationships he fosters over the course of thirty years of internal exile. The criticism that “Gentleman” is somehow flawed because of a few historical short cuts is particularly irritating to Towles. In an interview he quipped, “why should a novelist he held to a higher standard of truth than the President of the United States.” You could take his point one step further and ask why modern literature should be held to a higher standard than Shakespeare’s Henry V in which certain facts (e.g., the King of France was insane) are suppressed and others emphasized. In so doing, Shakespeare crafted the tale he wished, one that is purely English and extolling the virtue of English courage.
In Towles case, adding graphic detail about the “Red Terror” would have produced a completely different book. It would have detracted from his intent which was to engage his characters, toy with phraseology, and philosophize about the human condition. Characters are his focus, not external events.
Where do these elegant lines come from? Towles revealed in an interview that the phrases and musings materialize on the page as if the characters were authoring them and he is simply a witness to his art. He says as much in voicing the Count’s response to a question posed by emergency committee at the beginning of the book. “Vyshinsky: Why did you write the poem? Rostov: It demanded to be written. I simply happened to be sitting at the particular desk on the particular morning when it chose to make its demands.”
Allegory for our time? Towles claims this book is not a parable, but that leaves open the possibility that it might be an allegory. Like the hotel, the book has secret passages, or at least passages that invite interpretation. What strikes me most about Gentleman is how much his writing struck a chord. Most everyone who has read the book is in agreement that his style is mesmerizing. It is lyrical and poetic. But, I have a feeling that people are drawn to the book for deeper reasons, one being that it serves as an antidote to an unending drone of tweets, click journalism, hypocrisy and lies.
Towles plays with sentences, even a sentence about sentences. In some cases he plays for the sake of it. For example,
“Here, indeed, was a formidable sentence--one that was on intimate terms with a comma, and that held the period in healthy disregard.”
He could have written “That was a long sentence.” Glad he didn’t.
Another,
“But, alas, sleep did not come so easily to our weary friend. Like in a reel in which the dancers form two rows, so that one of their number can come skipping brightly down the aisle, a concern of the Count’s would present itself for his consideration, bow with a flourish, and then take its place at the end of the line so that the next concern could come dancing to the fore.”
He could have written, “He fell asleep counting troubles instead of sheep.” Glad he didn’t.
Then there are passages that have no straight forward translation, but leave you to ponder, and then ponder some more.
"...a gentleman should turn to a mirror with a sense of distrust. For rather than being tools of self-discovery, mirrors tended to be tools of self-deceit."
“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.”
Perhaps Towles most important achievement is reminding us that we are not immune to change, either as individuals or as a nation. In fact, change is a theme that recurs throughout the book. It is either glacial (on the personal level), circular (cannons melted for church bells and bells for cannons), or dramatic (in the case of the revolution). It was the Count’s view that change was both inevitable and disquieting, and for Russia’s nobility terrifying. His deep sense of purpose that took root during his exile in the Metropol was born of humility. Once stripped of his possessions and his link to the past severed, he was forced to confront his fate with a freshness of purpose. That was the preparation he needed in order to invite Sophia into his life and chart a new direction, one propelled by childlike innocence.
On a grander scale, one might argue that dramatic change was long overdue in Russia. The feudal system had produced a backward economy populated by the illiterate and poor. “Red Terror” was the result, and its henchman ruthlessly purged institutions that were even tangentially connected to Tsarist Russia. That meant the nobility, works of art, religion, historic buildings, writers, painters, and poets all were destroyed or exiled in the pursuit of a more egalitarian state.
I believe that this wanton destruction of institutions in the name of egalitarianism is what has gotten readers attention, and is partly responsible for driving the book’s popularity. For aren’t we seeing something similar today. Scientific institutions, social norms, the legal system, logical discourse, and religious tolerance are under attack. Aren’t we now feeling some remorse for ignoring the plight of the poor in America (as in 1917, the Russian nobility regretted too late the plight of the serfs). Admittedly, the scale of the attack is nowhere near as vicious as the Bolshevik’s leveled against the Russian nobility, but it is similar in form. Perhaps we are witnessing more of an Orange Horror than a Red Terror. Regardless, Towles reminds us that well intended change will be disquieting. If Towles did nothing else, he at least gave us the Count as a guide for how to navigate the uncertainties produced by the onslaught of change!
Could the Count countenance an escape to the U.S.? Where did he go? America is portrayed ambiguously in the book. It’s music suggests its free wheeling life affirming nature, but on a dark note, Osip (former colonel and party member, studying English and American culture under the Count’s tutelage) suggests that change is as destructive in America as in the Soviet Union. In short, the dialogue between the Osip and the Count reveals America’s contradictions. In a few short paragraphs Towles lays out the ambiguity of American society, a few of which are borrowed from Tocqueville’s impression of America.
The freshness of jazz
“And yet, the art form had grown on him. Like the American correspondents, jazz seemed a naturally gregarious force – one that was a little unruly and prone to say the first thing that popped into its head, but generally of good humor and friendly intent. In addition, it seemed decidedly unconcerned with where it had been or where it was going – exhibiting somehow simultaneously the confidence of the master and the inexperience of the apprentice. Was there any wonder that such an art had failed to originate in Europe?”
Destruction of the past (creatively in the U.S., administratively in the Soviet Union)
"but do you think the achievements of the Americans-envied the world over-came without a cost? Just ask their African brothers. And do you think the engineers who designed their illustrious skyscrapers or built their highways hesitated for one moment to level to lovely little neighborhoods that stood in their way?...we and the Americans will lead the rest of this century because we are the only nations who have learned to brush the past aside instead of bowing before it. But where they so do in service of their beloved individualism, we are attempting to do so in service of the common good."
American’s need for comfort
“There is not a single country in the civilized world where less attention is paid to philosophy than the United States” And, The minds of Americans, he says, are universally preoccupied with meeting the body’s every need and attending to life’s little comforts.”
The darker side of American capitalism
“they seemed to depict an America in which corruption and cruelty lounged on the couch; in which justice was a beggar and kindness a fool; in which loyalties were fashioned from paper, and self-interest was fashioned from steel. In other words, they provided an unflinching portrayal of Capitalism as it actually was.”
I suspect that the Count would welcome some aspect of American culture and might even be willing to tolerate an American economic dynamism fueled by a cycle of creation and destruction. What he could not countenance is the darker side of American capitalism and its people’s preoccupation with comfort. The Count’s view is just the opposite. He says, “But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.” Nor would he feel at home with a people so preoccupied with themselves. He says,”…a gentleman should turn to a mirror with a sense of distrust. For rather than being tools of self-discovery, mirrors tended to be tools of self-deceit." I will leave it up to the reader to guess which end of the spectrum the Count occupies and which end tends to be more American. Lastly, I would add that the pace of life in America would not suit the Count well, for time in America is meted in seconds rather than the clang of the twice tolling clock. If for no other reason than that, America would appear to be a poor choice. Instead, I opt for his escape to Paris where he occupies a small back room in Sophia’s flat. I can envision him living his last days simply un-intrusively, sipping fresh coffee at a nearby cafe, conversing with the regulars, … after the twice tolling clock’s first chime.
The Gentleman and Rules of Civility. Towle’s Rules of Civility gets its name from a list of rules George Washington developed to guide persons of culture to comport themselves in high society (the American nobility). No doubt, the Count exhibited many of the behaviors the rules were intended to foster. However, the rules were not causative. In the Count’s case he was guided by an internal compass (his own rules) forged over the course of a life. It was the intertwined helix of love and loss that shaped him and gave him direction. By way of contrast, Tinker Grey, a main character in Rules of Civility, makes a conscious effort to shed the “Rules” in his search for ephemeral freedom. The only thing they share in common is, they are both on the run.
The most appealing aspect of this story for me is the Count himself. He is a nobleman, but more importantly he is a NOBLE MAN. Count Rostov is a likeable person who masters his oft-volatile circumstances the best way he knows how: with grace, poise, dignity, and impeccable taste. The Count rallies courageously against his misfortunes through the years, which in the end prompts him to utter my favorite quote of the novel, “A life without luxury can be the richest of all.” There are many themes in this book, but my favorite overarching one relates to the triumph of the will.
There are many aspects of this novel which make it a delight to read. The Count is surrounded with a rich community of believable characters whose burgeoning friendships seem palpably authentic. I appreciated that there were so many strong, intelligent, and three dimensional female characters within the Counts interpersonal orbit. Chief among them is his clandestine lover, actress Anna Urbanova. I would be remiss without mentioning what a pleasure it is to read so many artfully detailed passages about food and wine. I have epicurean sensibilities, and found several passages about food-wine pairing fascinating, tantalizing, and educational.
The tapestry of A Gentleman in Moscow is brilliantly weaved with luminous prose threads in this remarkable imaginative story. I’ve highlighted many quote worthy sentences, paragraphs, and phrases-more so than in any other work of fiction I’ve read in my lifetime. This book will give most every reader several important take- aways, and this is a hallmark of good fiction in my opinion. The Count’s godfather Grand Duke Demidov best sums up one of the more important themes when he says, “Either master your circumstances, or they will master you.” Count Rostov proves to have ample stores of fortitude and masters his circumstances with verve. A Gentleman in Moscow is witty, charming, and engaging—much like the Count himself. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for readers who enjoy historical fiction.
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2021
The most appealing aspect of this story for me is the Count himself. He is a nobleman, but more importantly he is a NOBLE MAN. Count Rostov is a likeable person who masters his oft-volatile circumstances the best way he knows how: with grace, poise, dignity, and impeccable taste. The Count rallies courageously against his misfortunes through the years, which in the end prompts him to utter my favorite quote of the novel, “A life without luxury can be the richest of all.” There are many themes in this book, but my favorite overarching one relates to the triumph of the will.
There are many aspects of this novel which make it a delight to read. The Count is surrounded with a rich community of believable characters whose burgeoning friendships seem palpably authentic. I appreciated that there were so many strong, intelligent, and three dimensional female characters within the Counts interpersonal orbit. Chief among them is his clandestine lover, actress Anna Urbanova. I would be remiss without mentioning what a pleasure it is to read so many artfully detailed passages about food and wine. I have epicurean sensibilities, and found several passages about food-wine pairing fascinating, tantalizing, and educational.
The tapestry of A Gentleman in Moscow is brilliantly weaved with luminous prose threads in this remarkable imaginative story. I’ve highlighted many quote worthy sentences, paragraphs, and phrases-more so than in any other work of fiction I’ve read in my lifetime. This book will give most every reader several important take- aways, and this is a hallmark of good fiction in my opinion. The Count’s godfather Grand Duke Demidov best sums up one of the more important themes when he says, “Either master your circumstances, or they will master you.” Count Rostov proves to have ample stores of fortitude and masters his circumstances with verve. A Gentleman in Moscow is witty, charming, and engaging—much like the Count himself. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for readers who enjoy historical fiction.
The problems with it were between certain areas of the book (especially between 50-75%). For instance, there is a new character introduced after the book's midpoint and the characterization of the Count's relationship with that person is shallow, with only a handful of 2D memories over a 20 year period. Which would be fine if that person was just a friend but unfortunately they are not.
The other issue is that it's a bit too neat for my taste. Things work out for the Count too easily. The amount of plot armor he has is kind of ridiculous.
And the last issue is that for a book set in Russia, you could tell it was written by an American or Westerner. It's not exactly historically accurate, but I don't think it intends to be so that's fine. But all the pro American bias in it kind of made me roll my eyes. It might has well been titled an American Gentleman in Moscow.
Top reviews from other countries
In anime, we have a term for this genre and it’s called “slice of life.” Unlike plots driven by conflict and heroes, "slice of life" narratives focus on the richness of characters and their everyday existence.
As Bill gates puts it, “It’s a little bit of everything. There’s fantastical romance, politics, espionage, parenthood, and poetry.” It will make you smile more than once or twice, even as it discusses one of the most brutal periods and places in Western History: Russia under the Red Terror and during Stalin’s reign.I loved reading about Russia too. I wish to visit Moscow once to see what I have imagined the count to be in. Some of the things I learned about Russia are -
Shukhov - Radio tower
Bolshoi - Opera house
Samovar - Metal container used to boil tea The places around Moscow,
Red square - Square in Moscow
Kremlin - The official residence of the president of the Russian Federation since 1991.
Cathedral of St. Basil - A church that has a unique and magnificent architectural display, each of its 10 domes differing in design and colour.