Indian Readers discussion
Archive
>
A Gentleman in Moscow - BOTM- May 2022
Yeah! I already have it on my Kindle! I don't know since how many years it is sitting there. Will do my best to join the discussion.
Ah I voted for this one! It sounded promising..! I'll be starting late I guess as I'm yet to complete previous month's one :( Decade challenge had me in a frenzy! and all you people should join in if possible on the decade challenge in our group!!
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Im not even sure ill have the time to read this. But, if i do itll be really late jnto the month. And i really want to read it. 😢
Mod
Will start as soon as my paperback arrives.
Not sure how much I would be able to wrap in this month... i think this will stay on my CR for a while :)
Abish wrote: "Anyone starting book2?"Which is book 2? Do you have the book in two volumes?
I'm at 9% and it has a slow pace. I have the feeling as if the story has yet to start, but I have also the feeling that the book will keep this narrative rhythm till the end.
Sadly I don't have a lot of time to read, and stopping for a few days doesn't help to get into the story as I wish to.
dely wrote: "Abish wrote: "Anyone starting book2?"Which is book 2?
Do you have the book in two volumes?
also ..."
No, I have in digital format the book has 3 parts I'm currently at Ch. 1924 Anonymity.
I think for being the one nominating it, I have to see how it ends and I've actually had a head start of roughly 15 days and still I'm bored with the details of people around the Count.
I just keep myself interested by telling there must be another plot in play. 😅
Abish wrote: "dely wrote: "Abish wrote: "Anyone starting book2?"Which is book 2?
Do you have the book in two volumes?
also ..."
No, I have in digital format the book has 3 parts I'm currently at Ch. 1924 Anon..."
I think this will be a book about musings of the count and also about Russia's history seen from his eyes. Maybe not the usual historical fiction we are used to, though. So I think we don't have to wait for a plot how we are used with other books.
I've seen high ratings for this book, so I really hope it's worth.
Am I the only one having a hard time reading about Russia in this moment with what is going on there? I don't want to talk about politics, but reading this book my mind goes to what is happening right now, so this somehow blocks me. I've always seen Russia and/or the red army as those that defeated German nazism, so I can't believe to how their leader is behaving right now.
I don't know how you are living this war there in India, but here in Europe we feel it very close. We are also hosting a lot of Ukrainian refugees, so for me right now it's hard to read a book set in Russia because I have mixed feelings. However, I never expected that I would react this way because I always loved Russian literature or books set in Russia.
I mean, Odessa was the town where Dostoevskij or other Russian authors went to the sea to relax or for health issues, and now at the news I see a destroyed city.
Read this book last year while sipping vodka (with water) :p. An excellent historical fiction with equal parts humorous and tragic. How you adapt to your changing circumstances and how the decisions you take impact your entire life is the theme of this novel.
Finally I could sit down and read non-stop for a couple of hours! I arrived at the 20% and I can say that I like it till now. It has a slow pace, but I'm in the story and I want to know how it will continue.
Mod
I haven't been able to conquer much of Russian literature. I always get stumbled on the character names. Tried buddy reading with friends more than a couple of times, but had to DNF even Doestoevsky (hope i spelled it correctly. Facepalm :|)
My knowledge about Soviet Union, Russia, world wars and history in general is pretty shallow. I'd love to gain some knowledge, different perspectives and read more about that.
Mod
The physical book also has 3 parts.
Book1 has an icon of a key. I'm relating it to the Count's adventures with Nina.
Book2 has a housefly icon.
Mod
Mod
Mod
Gorab wrote: "Intrigued on why all the chapter names so far have started with 'A'... just like the book title :)"Oh, wow! I didn't notice this on the ebook edition, so thanks for pointing this out. I went to check and also in the Italian translation all the chapters start with the letter A. Well, first there is the article "a" that in Italian is "un/una" (depending upon the gender of the noun) and then the noun always starts wtih A.
Gorab wrote: "Could that be the reason why Count, Sasha is also attributed as Alexander?"Yes, Sasha is an abbreviation of Alexander. It is not always easy because their abbreviations aren't always similar to their full name. I mean, I would abbreviate Gorab with Gori or Go, or Abhinaya with Abhi, and in this way it is easy to understand to whom the abbreviation belongs. With Russian it is really difficult.
I'm sad to read that you gave up some Russian works because of this! You will see, you will get used to Russian names, and even if you aren't always able to immediately understand to whom that name belongs, you can understand it.
Gorab wrote: "My knowledge about Soviet Union, Russia, world wars and history in general is pretty shallow. I'd love to gain some knowledge, different perspectives and read more about that."There are a lot of books about that historical time. I loved Life and Fate, but there are really a lot: The Book Thief, Patterns of Childhood, etc.
I've read so much about that time, that the list would be very long and I'm sure I would forget a lot of books.
There are also a lot about the fall of the Soviet Union: Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets, Goodnight, Mr. Lenin: A Journey Through the End of the Soviet Empire or about the comtemporary situation: Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy, Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped etc.
Will start reading it today and will keep aside Anna Karenina for a while.
Mod
Mod
Elegance!
Mod
Starting book 3 now. The icon now is an antique clock showing ten minutes to twelve.
Gorab wrote: "Finished book 2.Starting book 3 now. The icon now is an antique clock showing ten minutes to twelve."
I don't have these images in my ebook and it is a pity. I understood the meaning of the key, I'm only a few pages into book 2 so I still miss the meaning of the fly. About the third image, the clock, I immediately thought about Cinderella, what happened to her at midnight, when she stops being a princess. I wonder if something similar will happen to our count, or if I'm totally wrong.
Mod
I'll share the pics here when i can.
Gorab wrote: "Pardon me for misreading the image of book2. Its a honey bee (not a fly).I'll share the pics here when i can."
Ok, thank you if you will have time to take pictures and share them.
Even a bee doesn't make sense to me right now. I think I need to read further to be able to understand the connection.
Mod
Em Lost In Books wrote: "I am reading this and I am not very impressed. As Dely said it is about Count's musings with little plot. His other work that I read Rules of Civility was also a mediocre story for ..."I started liking it. It is about the count thinking about his past life (and his present life), but through this we come to know how life was before the communist revolution and after that.
It is a different kind of historical fiction and till now it was able to catch my attention after a slow start. So I hope that you will start liking it too.
Gorab wrote: ""Thanks for sharing the pics! Pic 3 can't be seen, there is an image error.
I wonder why they haven't been added in the ebook edition. At the beginning there is the map of where the Metropol hotel is, so they could have added also these small images.
Gorab wrote: "Today i read this chapter called Adieu.... and it's one of the most beautiful thing I've read in some time!Elegance!"
I finished book 2 and now I understand the bee and I understand why you define it "elegant".
If you want more of such "elegance", then you may like Demons or you may like also Romain Gary's Promise at Dawn.
You may find also very "elegant" the life of Romain Gary, above all how it ends.
It’s an excellent book . You are transported to 1920s Russia ,into the lives of Count and his little friend Nina
Mod
I'm not sure why I am unable to add this pic. Sharing the pic link below:
https://i.ibb.co/Hdf4rv5/image.png
Yeah I think these should have been added to the ebook. Apart from the map in the beginning, and these icons, there are no other images in the book.
I finally finished this book. It took me so long because I went away for a short vacation and I didn't bring the e-reader with me.For me it's a solid 4*. Not 5 because in a couple of places the author writes that everyone in Europe dreams of living in the US. Nope, my dear Amor Towles, only you Americans think that people would love to live in your continent. Here in Europe we live happily in our continent. In another part of the book he wrote something about the West, as if Europe and US would be the same thing. No. I can't stand such things. Here in Europe we have nothing to share with the US. We are completely different people, with a different historical background, with different languages and different cultures and different mindsets.
Besides this, I enjoyed the book. It is very flowing, I loved the descriptions of the characters, they are all very lively, and I loved also how the author deals with the historical part.
Someone else finished the book?
Mod
I haven't read the part you mentioned, but agree in general with the American sentiment of how they think the world aspires to live the great American dream!
Not getting enough reading time. Only 20 pages in a day or so. Loving the beginning of part 3.
An ongoing discussion on "what makes you think I'm not a gentleman" :) :) :)
Gorab wrote: "I haven't read the part you mentioned, but agree in general with the American sentiment of how they think the world aspires to live the great American dream!."It is only in a couple of places and there is only a sentence about it. It catches immediately my attention because it is something I can't stand.
It's several years I dream of a stronger and united Europe because we are in the middle between US and Russia, and I don't want to get used by neither of them.
Mod
Just kidding... or maybe not ;)
Gorab wrote: "Considering US and Russia are immediate neighbors (from Alaska side) the whole world is between US and Russia :D :D :D Just kidding... or maybe not ;)"
Hehe, yes, they could meet for a tea from the other side, but this would be too easy and boring for them :D
Mod
Some parts will stay with me forever.
For instance when the Count tells about three things Russia has given to the world.
When Sofia asks why this particular clock only chimes twice at 12. The Count elaborates on what his father thought.... I don't recall the exact words, but the sentiments were that a person who rises early can be of industrial use till noon. Thats when he hears the bell chime, and can take pride in himself for a day's work, indulge in some good food and siesta, and make use of the rest of the day in leisure. The second chime is at midnight, which one is not supposed to hear, because one must be already sleeping before that.
Another instance was between Anna and count. I think Dely was referring to this part where Anna mentions how everyone wishes to live in America. I loved the Count's thought process here, contradicting all the points that Anna made in favour of that.
Mod
Mod
Mod
The Count had opted for the life of the purposefully unrushed. Not only was he disinclined to race toward some appointed hour - disdaining even to wear a watch - he took the greatest satisfaction when assuring a friend that a worldly matter could wait in favor of a leisurely lunch or stroll along the embankment. After all, did not wine improve with age? Was it not the passage of years that gave a piece of furniture its delightful patina? When all was said and done, the endeavors that most modern men saw as urgent (such as appointments with bankers and the catching of trains), probably could have waited, while those they deemed frivolous (such as cups of tea and friendly chats) had deserved their immediate attention.
On the same lines, the author has written this book unrushed, with slow moving plotline. And I think it is meant to be read in a similar fashion. Not apt for a single sitting reading. There's a lot to ponder over.
Gorab wrote: "I feel the author's thoughts strike a semblance with the Count's thoughts... The Count had opted for the life of the purposefully unrushed. Not only was he disinclined to race toward some appoint..."
Don't you have the feeling that the author is against communism and uses the count and the life of aristocrats (that at those times was the White Army of the zar opposed to the Red Army of the Bolsheviks)? He talks about the times of the aristocrats as the perfect life and underlines often (above all through Nina and his friend of which I forgot the name, the one that always walks back and forth) that Bolsheviks failed in their intents and all the harm they did.
And I'm very very curious to see if you will like the ending.
Gorab wrote: "On the same lines, the author has written this book unrushed, with slow moving plotline. And I think it is meant to be read in a similar fashion. Not apt for a single sitting reading. There's a lot to ponder over."I agree. There will be a lot to think about also when you finish the book.
Indian Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
Demons (other topics)Promise at Dawn (other topics)
Rules of Civility (other topics)
Rules of Civility (other topics)
Life and Fate (other topics)
More...
Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.