I rarely re-read a book, but when a dear friend returned my copy of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, I just couldn’t resist. It’s perhaps my favorite novel of all time. Maybe. But definitely the only ‘hostage’ story I have read and enjoyed.
It tells the fictional story of Count Alexander Rostov who is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin, in 1922.
Unable to enjoy the big world outside, he discovers the much larger world of emotional discovery, and forms friendships with a number of the hotel guests.
It is so beautifully written and a wonderful yarn. Highly recommended.