I don’t read a lot this year (17 books only and still counting), but this is the best book I’ve read so far this year!
Read this at the first time with a purpose to get a little touch of Russian history, I ended up “trapped” in every character that Towles create in this book. This book is about a gentleman names Alexander Ilyich Rostov who was sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. We can see how a gentleman with full of wisdom and wit who never worked before had to adjust his life by living in the hotel’s attic, worked as head of waitress, made a lifetime relationships and found a larger life and even a meaningful life as a gentleman despite being prisoned.
I love count Rostov and the Triumvirate, I hold Sofia dearly in my heart, and I despise the Bishop so much. I gasped, shrieked, laughed, sighed to each of the moments our beloved count experienced. I’m happy, sad and thrilled for him and other characters as it’s so deeply engraved in this book. I definitely invested so much emotion in this book.
Something we can learn from this book : live your life to the fullest even though you feel like you’re trapped within 4 walls (literally and figuratively). Make new friends, create new habits, learn something new, and keep your mind sharp & positive!
Thank you, Count Rostov for reminding us such thought during this pandemic situation 🙂
I read the book with my e-book. Good decision as i can’t stop reading it even it’s already late at night and the light has been turned off. I really love this book it made me want to sketch its cover! It also inspired to a new project of mine that will be launched soon!
I also love the way how Towles played with the timeline. He divided decades based on book part. Each decade has a background of a changing Russia between early 1920s to early 1950s. He could telling a story of 10 years after then go back to the present days within a paragraph, without leave us confuse with the story. My favorite character is Count Rostov, of course. And I love how Towles write all those very detail about his character; his thoughts, his manner, and his attitude toward everything around him.
So here’s my verdict :
Story line : 4.5/5
Main topic : 4.5/5
Inspiring words : 4/5
Character development : 5/5
Total : 4.5/5
Primadisya's Locus Pocus 
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