A Gentleman in Moscow

I totally got it. Then, I didn't. Then, I kind of did at the end.

By "it" I mean I totally get why really brilliant people like Bill and Melinda Gates speak so highly of this book. But, a couple hundred pages in, I didn't get what the hype was about and I desperately wanted this book to end. When it finally did, I thought, "Oh, wow. That's really something."

This is a terribly explained review so far.

Let me elaborate.

A Gentleman in Moscow is about an aristocratic man who collides with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. He angers the leaders of this new way of life and while his life is spared, he is placed under house arrest in a Moscow hotel for the rest of his life. In a story that spans 30 years and even more lifetimes, we see how he shrinks his life into the walls around him. You sense not frustration, but hope, despite the world passing by outside his windows.

Early on, Count Alexander Rostov meets a young girl in the lobby of the hotel. Their sudden and unlikely friendship changes the course of both of their lives forever.

This book is beautifully, eloquently written. It's sad at times, but mostly hopeful. And Count Rostov is simply a lovely character.

But, y'all, it's SO BORING.

The first 200+ pages could be shrunk down to 100 or less and I swear that's just not the impatient TV journalist in me. There's so much unnecessary background and detail. Still, the writing and the characters were too good to let go of. It wasn't really until the last 30 pages or so that I realized I would really enjoy the fact that I read this book -- but, the satisfaction wouldn't come for me until after it was over.