Current Month Read

[Lily]

The group decided at our February meeting to select a book focused on Russia for our next read:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

[Lily]

NPR review:
http://www.npr.org/2016/09/03/4901018...

"One of The Plaza’s most famous residents is the ever elusive and capricious Eloise. Introduced to the public in Kay Thompson’s Eloise: A book for precocious grown-ups – Eloise’s mischief and antics have delighted readers and visitors of The Plaza since its publication in 1955."

But Eloise is also a recent film: "A psychological thriller set in an abandoned insane asylum known as Eloise. Four friends break in with the intention of finding a death certificate that could land Jacob the rights to a hefty inheritance. While inside, the friends discover the terrifying history of the asylum and the truth about their own pasts."

[Lily]

From the Goodreads bio for the author:

"Born and raised in the Boston area, Amor Towles graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. Having worked as an investment professional in Manhattan for over twenty years, he now devotes himself fulltime to writing. His first novel, Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback and was ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best books of 2011. The book was optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film and its French translation received the 2012 Prix Fitzgerald. His second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was also a New York Times bestseller and was ranked as one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Dispatch, and NPR. Both novels have been translated into over fifteen languages.

"Mr. Towles, who lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children, is an ardent fan of early 20th century painting, 1950’s jazz, 1970’s cop shows, rock & roll on vinyl, obsolete accessories, manifestos, breakfast pastries, pasta, liquor, snow-days, Tuscany, Provence, Disneyland, Hollywood, the cast of Casablanca, 007, Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan (early, mid, and late phases), the wee hours, card games, cafés, and the cookies made by both of his grandmothers."

[Lily]

Author's website:
http://www.amortowles.com/

NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/re...

WSJ Review
https://www.wsj.com/articles/amor-tow...

LA Times Review
http://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc...

[Lily]

I'm sure this has duplicates from previous posts, but these are the review links I included in my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A selection of professional reviews:

NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/bo...

NPR: http://www.npr.org/2016/09/03/4901018...

The video interview here, filmed at the Russian Tea Room in NYC, I found very interesting: WSJ, pre-publication: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amor-tow...

WP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...

Kirkus review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

Amor Towles site: http://www.amortowles.com/gentleman-m...

About Towles home in Gramercy Park: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/re...