Plot: 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 in Moscow. Rostov, an indomitable & witty man, 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 loss of luxury leads to joy being found elsewhere. 

Review: I don't where to start except to say this is now one of my all time favourite novels. I loved this SO much and I didn't want it to end. If you, like me, love Russian literature, history, music & ballet, you are in for a delightful treat. This was a powerful ode to Russian culture and the impact of the Bolsheviks (for good and bad). One of my favourite (I have many) passages, is when Rostov defends what Russia has provided to the world e.g. Tolstoy & Chekhov or Tchaikovsky. The way Rostov describes the music for the Nutracker was divine as I love it too.

Rostov is now one of my all time favourite characters, he is witty, generous, passionate about Russia and insanely cultured & sophisticated. I loved the emotional journey he goes on throughout the novel, with his new found family, my heart was full after reading it. I loved the intimacy of it and the small details. Rather than being one big history lesson, it made it about the people. Mirroring the small world of Rostov in the Metropol, having to experience history from within.

Towles wrote so beautifully and was inventive with the format, using footnotes and a few jumps in time to add suspense and emotion. Towles included so much about life under Bolshevik, then Communist rule in Russia. While I was familiar with the general history of Russia during that time period, I loved how Towles explored Russian citizens adjusting to their new country. 

This was not a plot heavy novel, but an insightful character study that sweeps you up and transports you to Russia and I adored it.