This book, by Amor Towles, has been on my to-read list for a long time. When my Secret Book Santa gave it to me in a holiday gift exchange at school, it moved to the top of my list and has been my read for the last week.
In a word, the novel is splendid. At turns sentimental and suspenseful, Towles weaves together a simply wonderful story of a man whose life seems limited but instead is limitless. Pressed to make the best of a difficult situation as his beloved nation sinks into the ridiculous rigors of Bolshevism, Count Alexander Rostov remembers his father’s most valuable bits of advice: “Master one’s circumstances or be mastered by them” and “constant cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom" and puts them to good use. With these pearls, his life —— seemingly constrained by his captivity in the Hotel Metropol —— becomes an existence of wonder, joy, and friendship. The Count is a man the reader both likes and admires. The novel is well-written, the narrator well-read and as charming as the Count, the Russian history at the center of the story is both well-understood and well-utilized. It was the perfect read for me as I wait out the delay for my hip surgery and struggle to master those circumstances. I loved the novel and will set it aside to be read again some day, grateful for the ways in which a book has once again saved me.
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