J. Carroll
asked
Amor Towles:
A Gentleman in Moscow is a delight. You have some wonderfully engaging characters in this story. I especially enjoy the scene in which Emile lends his chopper to Andre for the juggling performance. One of the things I appreciate most is the voice of the narration. It reminds me of Turgenev's unnamed sportsman in A Sportsman's Notebook. Did you in fact live at the Metropol while writing this?
Amor Towles
Dear Mr. Carroll,
When I visited Moscow for the first time in 1998, I wandered into the historic Metropol Hotel as a curious tourist simply to take a glance at the giant painted glass ceiling that hangs over the grand restaurant off the lobby. It was the memory of that short visit which prompted me, some years later, to set my book in the hotel. When I set out to write the book, I decided I wouldn't return to the hotel until I was at least two-thirds of the way into my first draft. Why? I didn't want the reality of the hotel to interfere with my imagining it.
When I was about two-thirds done, I returned to Moscow and spent a week at the Metropol in Suite 217—the very room in which the first Soviet constitution was drafted in the aftermath of the Revolution. At that point, I also began researching first hand accounts of the life in the hotel (which you can find in The Metropol section at amortowles.com). I had some sense of trepidation as I began that research, fearing the hotel in history would fall far short of the hotel in my tale. What I learned firsthand and from that research was that the life of the hotel was even more extraordinary than I had imagined.
Best,
Amor
When I visited Moscow for the first time in 1998, I wandered into the historic Metropol Hotel as a curious tourist simply to take a glance at the giant painted glass ceiling that hangs over the grand restaurant off the lobby. It was the memory of that short visit which prompted me, some years later, to set my book in the hotel. When I set out to write the book, I decided I wouldn't return to the hotel until I was at least two-thirds of the way into my first draft. Why? I didn't want the reality of the hotel to interfere with my imagining it.
When I was about two-thirds done, I returned to Moscow and spent a week at the Metropol in Suite 217—the very room in which the first Soviet constitution was drafted in the aftermath of the Revolution. At that point, I also began researching first hand accounts of the life in the hotel (which you can find in The Metropol section at amortowles.com). I had some sense of trepidation as I began that research, fearing the hotel in history would fall far short of the hotel in my tale. What I learned firsthand and from that research was that the life of the hotel was even more extraordinary than I had imagined.
Best,
Amor
More Answered Questions
Lydia
asked
Amor Towles:
Actually, it's not a question that I want to ask! I just HAD to tell you that I believe A Gentleman in Moscow is THE BEST book I have EVER read ... and I have read plenty! I own Westwinds Bookshop in Duxbury, MA. We are celebrating our 70th anniversary this year! Would you ever be able to come to Duxbury and do an event around this great book! Everyone is cheering its arrival! It would be such an honor! (Lydia)?
Mitch Martina
asked
Amor Towles:
Dear Amor, I finished A Gentleman in Moscow over the break and it has quickly become one of my all-time favorites! As such, I'm absolutely stoked for the Apple TV miniseries with Kenneth Branagh. Has COVID-19 impacted its prospective release? When can we expect to see that air, if you're able to share?
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