I loved this novel about a middle-aged man who was sentenced to house arrest in a hotel in Moscow not long after the Russian Revolution. He was considered part of the aristocracy, but had written a famous revolutionary poem, so he was allowed to live. Rather than being sentenced to Siberia or elsewhere, he was punished with house arrest and forced to move from his suite to an attic room. The novel details his life as he makes friends with other house guests, young and old, and eventually asks to be taken on as head waiter in the hotel restaurant. He eventually adopts a young girl whose mother disappeared after leaving the girl in his care. He befriends people of all walks of life, from famous actresses to bureaucrats, writers, and spies. This book is funny and touching, and it's extremely well-written. Just writing about it makes me want to read it again! I highly recommend this book.
Amor Towles.
A Gentleman in Moscow. New York: Viking, 2016. 462 pages. ISBN 9780670026197. (Advance uncorrected proofs, signed by author.)
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