BOOK REVIEW - FIVE STARS
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow is an extensive novel covering the years from the end of the czars, and Stalin to Khrushchev. It is filled with witty dialogue and memorable witticism. I found this lengthy tome memorable for its fairy tale lessons woven into its capricious text.
Well done and worth reading.
EXCERPTS: The young man was taken with the whimsical architecture of the churches and the rambunctious tenor of the language. But with a dour expression, the German replied that the only contribution the Russians had made to the West was the invention of vodka. Then, presumably to drive home his point, he emptied his glass. “Come now,” said the Brit. “You can’t be serious.” The German gave his younger neighbor the look of one who had no experience being anything but serious. “I will buy a glass the young man was taken with the whimsical architecture of the churches and the rambunctious tenor of the language. But with a dour expression, the German replied that the only contribution the Russians had made to the West was the invention of vodka. Then, presumably to drive home his point, he emptied his glass.
As long as there have been men on earth, reflected the Count, there have been men in exile. From primitive tribes to the most advanced societies, someone has occasionally been told by his fellow men to pack his bags, cross the border, and never set foot on his native soil again. But perhaps this was to be expected. After all, exile was the punishment that God meted out to Adam in the very first chapter of the human comedy; and that He meted out to Cain a few pages later. Yes, exile was as old as mankind. But the Russians were the first people to master the notion of sending a man into exile at home.
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