A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

belfry

if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.

The commonest way of softening the hearts of those we have offended, when, vengeance in hand, they hold us at their mercy, is by submission to move them to commiseration and pity. However, audacity and steadfastness—entirely contrary means—have sometimes served to produce the same effect. . . .

But Fate would not have the reputation it has if it simply did what it seemed it would do.

mien.

priggish

By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour.

Sisyphean

détentes.

effeteness

proclivity,

raconteur—you

gallivant.

rambunctious

That sense of loss is exactly what we must anticipate, prepare for, and cherish to the last of our days; for it is only our heartbreak that finally refutes all that is ephemeral in love.

predilection

sanguine

behoove

squelched

recalcitrant

mordant,

pernicious

perfunctory

gadabout.

sardonic

gadabout,

“One must make ends meet,” confirmed Audrius matter-of-factly, “or meet one’s end.”

perchance,

newfangled

persnickety,

happenstance,

For if serenity should be a hallmark of maturity, then impetuousness should be a hallmark of youth.

For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”

stodgy.”

harrumphed.”

For as it turns out, one can revisit the past quite pleasantly, as long as one does so expecting nearly every aspect of it to have changed.