eBook
English language
Published Nov. 18, 2016 by Viking.
He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a 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 …
He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a 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. --penguinrandomhouse.com
Reminded me of Armando Iannucci's 'Death of Stalin'. The resilience of the human spirit during isolation and incarceration. Humour and routine essential and surrounding oneself with qualitative beauty; a hideaway and characters.
There were times I nearly gave up on this. I didn't and overall I am glad I persevered. I do feel it could have had soem editing gown in parts though.
historical fiction covering the overthrow of the tsar to the world wars in Russia. didn't know much about Russian history so it was a delight to read / listen to. the writing style, befitting a gentleman, was quite formal so it listening meant I didn't need that period of adjustment to get the author's flow. I especially like the part when, as a detached former aristocrat, the count feels he is slowly becoming invisible and plans to kill himself with a ritualistic countdown. but then he is distracted by idea of honey bees and the next we see him, he is transformed into a working man, a fixture of the hotel, with concrete connections to the staff and a renewed purpose. the count adapted to his every circumstance, as history unfolded in Russia.
An absolute delight!
I've never experienced a book like it. I didn't want to read it, I couldn't bear to pick it up, and I left it for over a month. Not because it's terrible but because I knew that eventually the beauty would end. It is stunning and delicious.
