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  • A Gentleman in Moscow

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Amor Towles
  • Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
  • Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,196 ratings)

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A Gentleman in Moscow

Written by: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
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Publisher's Summary

The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a Showtime/Paramount series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

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 across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, 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 reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

©2016 Amor Towles (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"The novel buzzes with the energy of numerous adventures, love affairs, [and] twists of fate."The Wall Street Journal

"If you're looking for a summer novel, this is it. Beautifully written, a story of a Russian aristocrat trapped in Moscow during the tumult of the 1930s. It brims with intelligence, erudition, and insight, an old-fashioned novel in the best sense of the term."—Fareed Zakaria, "Global Public Square," CNN

"Fun, clever, and surprisingly upbeat . . . A Gentleman in Moscow is an amazing story because it manages to be a little bit of everything. There’s fantastical romance, politics, espionage, parenthood and poetry. The book is technically historical fiction, but you would be just as accurate calling it a thriller or a love story.”—Bill Gates

What listeners say about A Gentleman in Moscow

Average Customer Ratings
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A book I will treasure

I had to be convinced by a good friend to read this book. It was on a book club list and the descriptions were scaring me off. The premise seemed far-fetched and I worried that an American writing about Russian 20th century history, especially with a 'nobleman' as a main character, would result in a skewed version of tragic events. But this is not so much a book about history as it is about how to live your life, how to treasure your friends and how to launch your children into an uncertain world with love and pride, despite your own fears. The characters are memorable and empathetic and for lovers of literature, there are many moments when quotes from treasured texts are brought into the story in a thoughtful or insightful way. I will hold these people in my heart and would highly recommend this book.

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3 people found this helpful

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an epic historical tale relevant today

Although I was not excited at the outset by the stuffy presentation I listened on and in the end thoroughly enjoyed the style. I don't thing it could have been better in any other voice. the novel is captivating and as it spans ages, fascinating. The evolution of the main character reflects the evolution of society in general and yet the author captures the unique Russian experience. A very satisfying novel that I will think about for while.

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A great tale of humanity at its best

This novel about a man who is confined to his residence for 40 years is extremely touching and often very witty. The language is descriptive and dialogue very believable. I enjoyed the actor who read it and was completely drawn in from start to finish. #audible1

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A hear warming story, humorous, fun, very enjoyable

I added patience in my daily life. Much more to enjoy when I live and feel the surroundings and show my family members , my friends, the people that around me kindness and decency.

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Truly excellent

This is a perfect book for the CoVID time, or for a cold winter night. Perfectly read, well written and a bit of interwoven history. Can not recommend it enough!

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A Tonic for our Times

Amor Towles’s Alexander Ilyich Rostov is a back to the future hero whose determination, candour, sophistication, kindness, courage and above all loyalty is the most refreshing tonic for our disenchanted times.

The tenderness and straight forward honesty with which he conducts all his relationships, from that with his barber to that with his close associates and further to that with his daughter, is a blueprint for all of us to unroll, dust off, peer into the fine print of in order to collectively reimagine the world we live in ~ even in it’s most confining and desperate of conditions.

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Characters. The writing. The wonderful narration.

Overall, wonderful. Such a smooth delivery of this story. Highly enjoyable. I feel like I've been slowly simmering with these characters and this setting. They will be missed, until I return.

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  • KD
  • 2018-03-01

A work of fiction constructed on nuanced understanding of soviet histor

Towles invites you into the Metropol hotel where his cast of characters (arranged around a so called former person -the count) tell a story that has many unexpected turns. Through their clever dialogue it considers the consequences of the Russian revolution-good, bad and atrocious. Great narration!

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Fantastic Book! Recommend to.....Anyone!

Really well written historical fiction, minor clues and hints dropped throughout the story that are so very subtle to what may happen later on in the book but nothing patently obvious, lots of ahh hah moments for me. Although, don't think many got terms of house arrest in an Iconic Luxury Hotel under Stalin, at best a work camp, gulag or the infamous "8 grams".

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A slow burn resulting in a lasting flame

Such a beautifully written piece. At first it comes across as slightly dull, picturesque, charming… but before you know it the story envelops you, you become enraptured in the many folds. It seamlessly intertwines culture, history, family and love into a tale that becomes inescapably fascinating.

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