Reviews

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

shashanks's review against another edition

5.0

Count-less memories ,experiences ,anecdotes ,surprises,encounters ,discussions,delicacies menus,dresses,poems,prose,films,flowers and 'notes' for gentlemen and women .Extraordinary ! Ticket to Russian 20th Century.

puppers's review

hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

alybarranda's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

hlntn's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

siennasan's review

adventurous inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

cgter's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

jmyers1's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

emreads0's review

slow-paced

4.0

julialk's review against another edition

2.0

Dear god. I got to page 277 and could bear it no longer. I have read plenty of books and this is the first time in my life I could not finish one whole. I’ve finished books that I hated just because I despise to leave anything unfinished and there’s always a little uncertainty. Maybe one day I’ll revisit this book but if I wanted to read over 400 pages of an insufferable man undergoing no character development the span of his and being unnecessarily dramatic in thought and speech... well I’d go turn on the news or speak to my father. In trying to make the Count a complex character Towles got confused with tedious (in every horrible way).

I will admit I enjoyed the Counts relationship with Nina and I think something really beautiful could have come out of that in a different timeline (don’t mistake it for romantic please that’s not what I mean). Simply put, this book needed at least one other interesting, consistent character to run along side the Count to be a success. All the time spent working on Nina was over and done with when Towles made her met her fate in Russian communism. If I had a Nina returns/redemption arc to look forward I think I might have had the strength to carry on. But alas, this is the Counts story so we are stuck with for the long haul and when you have serious issues with a books sole protagonist it’s always best to get out of there ASAP.

To perfectly sum up this book, it reads as if the author got paid per word.

mullinscl9657's review

dark emotional informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A Gentleman in Moscow was a great literary historical fiction. It did a great job of putting you in the time and place of the character. As in most historical fiction books I learned a lot about Russia from the early 1900 - 1960’s and how the country developed. The main character was fun loving and entertaining. This made it possible for the scene to be in one hotel (only a few rooms) for the entire book without becoming boring.