--- product_id: 115432005 title: "A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel" price: "€ 43.41" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/115432005-a-gentleman-in-moscow-a-novel store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel **Price:** € 43.41 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** € 43.41 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/115432005-a-gentleman-in-moscow-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers • A New York Times “Readers’ Choice: Best Books of the 21st Century” Pick From the #1 New York Times -bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Table for Two, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose. Review: character driven and unique - I would give this book more stars if I could. I love a good simple character-driven unique story that is well written, and it has been a very long time since I enjoyed one this much. I was so sad when the story ended, even if it was a satisfying conclusion. I seemed incredibly well researched to precisely place the reader in a time, place, and zeitgeist. Like a good sauce reduction, the story becomes richer as the reader simmers along with it. Bravo. Review: A Modern Fairy Tale - This is a modern form of the tales of Scheherazade, and not a work of historical fiction. In both Arabian Nights and A Gentleman In Moscow, there’s a telling of a series of stories while imprisoned, with the principal question lingering: will the storyteller ever be free? Many stories reoccur throughout the narratives in repeating motifs. They include historical facts, poems and songs. The author of this book mentions, in sly passing, Rimsky Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” That stayed with me, like the tinkling of that dinner bell, heard only once, but resonating with meaning. And finally, we human beings tell ourselves stories while all the time our lives move inexorably toward the end. This book has an architectural character, with layer upon layer – story upon story – perfectly suited to a story of a life spent in a hotel. These stories, told by the raconteur Count Alexander Rostov, wind through the hallways, up and down stairs, onto the roof, into the cellar, and through all the rooms, bringing him into contact with the diverse population to be found in a hotel. What interested me most was the emphasis on poetry. Poetry, he says, is always a call to action. He seeks out the poetic in life, and he gains stability and meaning from it. He notes the tie to action in his friend the poet’s case, and this friendship connects him actively to the plight of those less fortunate. Without this connection, this involvement, with the truly oppressed, Rostov is a cardboard cut-out of a person, less human by far than a Former Person. The book is written in proper prose, reflecting its subject, who lives with a heightened sense of propriety within the limited scope of his class, of honor, and a defined code of conduct. Within that framework he makes adjustments. His occupations, though he doesn’t call or recognize them as such, are to read, reflect, dine, and discuss. He avoids bitterness through action, using his skills and his wits, and through self-reflection (so necessary for survival with dignity). He “sparked” conversations, and had “an instinctive awareness of all the temperaments in the room.” His ability to engage with other people is his saving grace (as with Scheherazade). Glimpses of the changes taking place in Russia appear in the form of a friend and a girl, both of whom become exiles in their own country. Neither will compromise, while Rostov does make what appear, to the other person or people involved, to be compromises. He has a different kind of courage, grounded in sureness of his identity. The destruction of personal identity is going on around him throughout the book. Historical and cultural identity is being revised. Would survival be easier for members of the aristocracy when all is taken away from them, or for peasant farmers who are suddenly enfranchised (or promised enfranchisement) but never owned anything, except a few hard-earned possessions, never had time for contemplation, and for whom the life and health of family was a continual struggle? While many of the life lessons in the book are not unique or original, they are very pertinent to the story. Of them, I thought this one of the more relevant to modern life. “From the earliest age, we must learn to say goodbye to friends and family.” But our possessions are “invested” with memories and give us solace – but “a thing is just a thing.” Rostov learns to “expunge them from his heartache forever.” We can’t hold onto our homes, our possessions, even our families, because they can all be gone in a minute, or a decade; all we can do is keep our noble sense of purpose intact within ourselves and act accordingly, but with the good sense to increase our chances of survival. Ultimately, this book is a modern fairy tale, which is most clearly illustrated by its ending. Mary A. Clark ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #529 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #4 in Political Fiction (Books) #9 in Political Thrillers (Books) #16 in Historical Thrillers (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 144,961 Reviews | ## Images ![A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91LkGlWO6eL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ character driven and unique *by A***N on July 27, 2026* I would give this book more stars if I could. I love a good simple character-driven unique story that is well written, and it has been a very long time since I enjoyed one this much. I was so sad when the story ended, even if it was a satisfying conclusion. I seemed incredibly well researched to precisely place the reader in a time, place, and zeitgeist. Like a good sauce reduction, the story becomes richer as the reader simmers along with it. Bravo. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Modern Fairy Tale *by M***K on September 6, 2017* This is a modern form of the tales of Scheherazade, and not a work of historical fiction. In both Arabian Nights and A Gentleman In Moscow, there’s a telling of a series of stories while imprisoned, with the principal question lingering: will the storyteller ever be free? Many stories reoccur throughout the narratives in repeating motifs. They include historical facts, poems and songs. The author of this book mentions, in sly passing, Rimsky Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” That stayed with me, like the tinkling of that dinner bell, heard only once, but resonating with meaning. And finally, we human beings tell ourselves stories while all the time our lives move inexorably toward the end. This book has an architectural character, with layer upon layer – story upon story – perfectly suited to a story of a life spent in a hotel. These stories, told by the raconteur Count Alexander Rostov, wind through the hallways, up and down stairs, onto the roof, into the cellar, and through all the rooms, bringing him into contact with the diverse population to be found in a hotel. What interested me most was the emphasis on poetry. Poetry, he says, is always a call to action. He seeks out the poetic in life, and he gains stability and meaning from it. He notes the tie to action in his friend the poet’s case, and this friendship connects him actively to the plight of those less fortunate. Without this connection, this involvement, with the truly oppressed, Rostov is a cardboard cut-out of a person, less human by far than a Former Person. The book is written in proper prose, reflecting its subject, who lives with a heightened sense of propriety within the limited scope of his class, of honor, and a defined code of conduct. Within that framework he makes adjustments. His occupations, though he doesn’t call or recognize them as such, are to read, reflect, dine, and discuss. He avoids bitterness through action, using his skills and his wits, and through self-reflection (so necessary for survival with dignity). He “sparked” conversations, and had “an instinctive awareness of all the temperaments in the room.” His ability to engage with other people is his saving grace (as with Scheherazade). Glimpses of the changes taking place in Russia appear in the form of a friend and a girl, both of whom become exiles in their own country. Neither will compromise, while Rostov does make what appear, to the other person or people involved, to be compromises. He has a different kind of courage, grounded in sureness of his identity. The destruction of personal identity is going on around him throughout the book. Historical and cultural identity is being revised. Would survival be easier for members of the aristocracy when all is taken away from them, or for peasant farmers who are suddenly enfranchised (or promised enfranchisement) but never owned anything, except a few hard-earned possessions, never had time for contemplation, and for whom the life and health of family was a continual struggle? While many of the life lessons in the book are not unique or original, they are very pertinent to the story. Of them, I thought this one of the more relevant to modern life. “From the earliest age, we must learn to say goodbye to friends and family.” But our possessions are “invested” with memories and give us solace – but “a thing is just a thing.” Rostov learns to “expunge them from his heartache forever.” We can’t hold onto our homes, our possessions, even our families, because they can all be gone in a minute, or a decade; all we can do is keep our noble sense of purpose intact within ourselves and act accordingly, but with the good sense to increase our chances of survival. Ultimately, this book is a modern fairy tale, which is most clearly illustrated by its ending. Mary A. Clark ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Lordly Progress *by J***S on September 17, 2017* What can one say about a book written about … and clearly by … a gentleman of great refinement, culture, and learning? The Count chooses to use Montaigne’s statement that “the surest sign of wisdom is constant cheerfulness” as advice for his daughter Sofia (p.419). Being a philosopher at heart, the Count relishes Montaigne’s works of natural science. Being a practical man, he finds the volume ideal to level his table and destroys it to smuggle his money. In fact, Montaigne’s full quote might well be the best description of the Count, one which he surely would have been flattered by: “The soul in which philosophy dwells should by its health make even the body healthy. It should make its tranquility and gladness shine out from within; should form in its own mold the outward demeanor, and consequently arm it with a graceful pride, an active and joyous bearing, and a contented and good-natured countenance. The surest sign of wisdom is constant cheerfulness.” The name of the family estate, Idlehour, seemed to capture the essence of the Count for the first 150 pages or so. The effete young man who “knew the lilacs in the Alexander Gardens better than any man in Moscow” because he could “spend whole afternoons” enjoying them set my teeth on edge. Thoreau in Moscow, or just abject dilettante? But the marvelous turn of phrase, the elegant thought dragged me into the Count’s corner. Who could dislike a brilliant thinker who has had the bad luck to be born an aristocrat. (…and we are back to Montaigne, aren’t we?) The marvelous writing got me over the precociousness of the children, first Nina and then Sofia. Precocious children are cliché … we adults might find unprecocious children unable to carry the weight of a major part in a story or play … but Towles carried them off wonderfully. The writing mastered the cliché. And about that writing. It seemed sometimes as if Towles was channeling the great nineteenth century Russian writers. Lush, detailed descriptions of places, sights, sounds and certainly food. Long ruminations about the meaning in life. Always eloquent, sometimes over the top. (“Surely, the span of time between the placing of an order and the arrival of appetizers is one of the most perilous in all human interaction.” Perhaps a major problem for people who can afford top-line restaurants, but all human interaction? The observation is entirely in character for the Count. But that sort of clever inanity bordered on pretentious and degraded the Count’s character, even while I was chuckling at the well-turned phrase.) The book was a wonderful story told in 462 10-pitch font pages. Hemingway would have gone ballistic reading it, I’m sure. (He might have been jealous, too? Nah. Not Hemingway.) The Count was a man of admirable intellect and fine education with a great deal of time on his hands to think. Without being hypercritical, that is a description of the middle two-thirds of the book. Plot elements often disappeared for fifty or a hundred pages, only to pop up and send the reader on a frantic search for pretext and context. And often, the pretext was vague. Thirty years under house arrest? Really? Or did the commissars just forget? Why and how the switch from aristocrat to waiter? Why would (spoiler) Anna appear in a tavern the Count wasn’t even sure existed anymore? That having been said, the end chapters artfully knit together threads of thought that gently, very much in the Count’s voice, spoke to eternal human themes: friendship, parental love, wisdom. Oh, yes, and passingly on the idiocy of bureaucracy. ## Frequently Bought Together - A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel - The Lincoln Highway: A Novel - Rules of Civility: A Novel --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/115432005-a-gentleman-in-moscow-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.be/products/115432005-a-gentleman-in-moscow-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-10-10*