What’s the best book you’ve ever read? When did you realize it? One page in or halfway through? And honestly, with so many out there, can you really have just one?
Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow found me in November, and I knew I’d be forever changed as a writer and reader after only a few pages. Actually, there was a more grand design that led me to this book. Or as my friend, Leila, called it, a God-wink.
My in-laws met a writer named Leila Meacham on a river cruise in Washington State a few years ago. Leila is more than a big deal in the literary world and a Jedi of the English language. When my wife went to have lunch on the boat as it passed near Red Mountain, she met Leila. They exchanged some words and then Leila retired to her room. But a few minutes later, she returned. She told my wife, “Something told me to come back and talk to you about your husband. I have a feeling he needs me.” As my biggest fan, my wife had of course told Leila that I was also a writer. (That’s the first God-wink in this story.)
Their next conversation led to exchanging numbers, and I was soon on the phone with Leila, absorbing advice and criticism worth its weight in gold. Leila was an English teacher all her life, and only started writing novels after she retired. Her book, Roses, hit the big time and soon she was running around with the A-listers.
Over the past few years, she’s been my guide. She has pushed me since day one to chase mastery in my craft. She’s taught me to analyze every word, every sentence. To study plot and structure. To edit and edit and edit again. We email often, and even her short form communication is a master class. She’s recommended a few books over the years that she thought did it right.
A Gentleman in Moscow was one of them. But I only picked it up after booking a trip in November to Russia. I’m that geek that likes to read a book set where I’m traveling. I read Wine and War in Burgundy, The Sicilian in Sicily, and Druids in Ireland. Am I the only one that does this?
I booked my hotel for Moscow before I had decided to read this book. Before I knew what it was about. The day after booking, I was scrolling through my Kindle, trying to decide what to read on the plane, and I saw A Gentlemen. I thought, perhaps, it’s time. I got on Amazon to read the summary, and that’s where I found my next God-wink. The story is about Count Rostov who, during the early part of last century, is sentenced to spend the rest of his life within the confines of the Hotel Metropole in Moscow. Guess what… I had booked the Hotel Metropole the day before!
You’re damn right I sat with my legs crossed in the lobby of the Hotel Metropole and drank my coffee and read this book every morning, thinking of Count Alexander Rostov sitting next to me. If only it had been one-hundred years earlier. If only he was real!
On to the book. Read it. Just read it. If you and I have anything in common, you’ll find it so refreshing and brilliant and intellectual. It actually took me longer than usual to finish, because I’d read particular sentences or paragraphs or thoughts and have to set my Kindle down for a moment. The way Amor Towles thinks is pure genius. Take the character and the story out of it, which are both addicting. His choices in how he describes the Count’s world are mind-boggling.
He writes, “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.” How well said. I read that line over and over and still talk about it.
Here’s my favorite. A captain visiting the hotel is sitting at the same bar as the Count. He notices the Count swirling his snifter and moves a stool closer. The captain says, “You seem like something is weighing on your mind. I mean, you set that brandy in motion about half an hour ago. If you’re not careful, the vortex you’ve created will drill a hole right through the floor and we’ll all end up in the basement.” I finished that line and had to go for a walk. The writer in me wanted to retire my pen, but the reader in me was so profoundly touched. This is why I read. This is why I write. You can see in absolute clarity the Count at that bar, swirling his glass, wrestling with a heavy thought.
And, oh, the character. Had I the option, Count Rostov is the fictional character I’d choose to dine with. Never has there been a more refined and proper gentleman. He says, “For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”
It’s hard to claim a favorite book. Each day we pick new favorites in all things. But for now… I can claim with certainty that A Gentleman in Moscow is the best book I’ve ever read.
Have you read it? What are your thoughts? Or… what’s your favorite book? Leave a reply below.
Here’s to more God-winks for all of us,
boo
48 Responses
I chose to read Les Miserable on my trip to France. But The Stand by Stephen King picked me one summer in the 1980s and I strangely found myself in many of the same places as I was reading. It was unnerving at times when in Vermont or in the exact location on the Canadian border in real time while witnessing the apocalypse of life in those very same areas on the pages.
I didn’t truly travel to Moscow but feel as though I did in Gentleman in Moscow. As a reader I got lost in the emotion and atmosphere Towles created. As a writer I stopped to marvel at his ability to make me feel I was there in this world with the Count under house arrest and not wanting to be anywhere else. The scene with the making of the Bouillabaisse is one of the most endearing scenes to me in any book ever written.
A book a will never forget.
My favorite? It’s so difficult to choose one over so many great books, especially when being of senior status. But if I HAD to choose one, it would be Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow that I read waaaaaay back in jr high….many many years ago along with Gone With the Wind. Forever great southern reads for sure.
As you said, can you have just one favorite book? Not me. I have some books that are favorites because they ripped my heart out like The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, The Nightengale: A Novel by Christin Hannah and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. These are the books that made me cry those big ugly cries–not a gentle tear slipping down a cheek–the really big, ugly ones. The books that made me want to run to the characters and put my arms around them to comfort them and make their pain go away.
Then there are the favorites that are just tender and innocent and touching: The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig, Ordinary Grace: A Novel by William Kent Krueger, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.
And, of course, there are books like A Gentleman in Moscow, a true favorite. Books like that have such rich character and situation development. They make you feel things and wish you could express those things more clearly. How could you not love a book that made you just long to be up on that roof with the Count and Abram and taste the sunlight in the apple blossom honey and see home. What a wonderful book it is!
What a lovely writer you are. I can tell you read a lot.
My favorite book is Outlander: Captivity by BJ Salterberg. Sadly she only wrote one book that I’m aware of. I was so touched by this book I actually used it for my “Big Paper” in college. It also helped me with my women’s study courses. I used examples from the book in class. Being the only man in the women’s study course was difficult, but I got one of the highest grades with the help of this book and the study of female dominant societies. This book was written in the 1990’s. I’ve had my kids read it and my siblings. I even got my mom to read it. It may not be a masterpiece but it actually had an effect on my life. To me, that makes a good book.
Love that!
Aside from being so happy to have had the pleasure of finding your terrific books and reading every one of them … plus waiting anxiously for the release of “A Spanish Sunrise” (that I have already purchased in advance)…I would have to say that my all-time most favorite – and memorable book – is
“The Art of Racing In The Rain” written back in 2008 by Garth Stein. Although a movie adaptation followed, I never watched it, simply because I worried that the movie would “discolor” the beauty of the book as it was originally written.
You are so kind. I also loved Garth’s book! It’s the kind that comes to an author once in a lifetime, I suppose. A gift from somewhere special.
Anything Anita Shreve, but more specifically Resistance. And The Time In Between, Maria Duenas.
A few weeks ago I did a drive trip from my home in NW Washington to Walla Walla. Prior to my departure binged the Red Mountain Trilogy. I recommended it to anyone who would listen. Loved!
Thank you, Dana!
I think it’s difficult to choose a book that is the single best book I have ever read. There was the best book I read when my first marriage was ending. The best book I read about being an artist/creative. The best book I ever read when I needed a laugh. The list goes on and on, including the best book from my childhood. But for the context I believe your question rests in, I would probably choose The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. It is powerful, painful, beautiful, universal, and includes dogs. (Dogs and cats will generally put any book on my “to read” list.) It is a book that took hold of my heart and dug a place in it. I cannot think of books I have loved without it coming to mind. And each time I remember it, i feel the same pull on my heart. I hope it stays with me all of my days.
I was delighted to see this post. A Gentleman in Moscow was my surprise top read of 2021 after picking the book up at my library, first on audio, to listen on a long road trip with my husband and son- because it looked like something my guys would try. I read along with a print copy while listening and was blown away by the story and the Count.
As a librarian, I will admit that I wouldn’t recommend this book to just everyone because it’s historical setting and pace requires patience. But I do recommend it often. It is brilliant on so many levels and the ending was so clever and satisfying.
My love of reading started when I read Call of the Wild as a school assignment. the two books that I really love are The Godfather and Sho Gun. I was enchanted by The Lord of the Rings.
Since I have recently subscribed, I believe this post may be obsolete by now, but am thrilled with your recommendation, which I plan to order. Gobbled up your Red Mountain series…. ordered all three thinking they would get me through the winter, but in two short weeks I had finished; couldn’t put them down and hope for more in the future, please. As a practitioner of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, I loved Joan’s influence on Otis and the honest storyline of how much transformation requires of us, in order to be fully realized.
Subsequently, I ordered An Unfinished Story (also capturing and left me in tears of joy), as well as The Singing Trees, which I will start soon.
My favorite book: a unique read by Lulu Miller, Why Fish Don’t Exist. It’s a remarkable weaving of story that unexpectedly grabs your soul’s attention and provokes stirring reflection of the nature of life.
Thank you, Boo, for your thoroughly enjoyable writing and offerings, style, humor, and passionate commitment. You are a gift on this planet.
Not obsolete at all! Thanks for chiming in. I will check out your recommendation. And thanks for the kind words!
How about a classic! “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. I happened across another fantastic book – “Last Days of Summer” by Steve Kluger. I laughed and cried. It touched my heart. I just finished “Walking on Trampolines” by Frances Whiting. Loved it!
I, too, loved A gentleman in Moscow but suggest that you read “ Beneath the Scarlet Sky” by Mark Sullivan. I tend to enjoy books about WWII and this is my favorite. Had to check out what was real and what wasn’t when I was finished and thrilled to find out more. Also loved Where the Crawdads Sing. Kind a wanted to eat the words!
Reading your recommendation “ shadow of the wind” right now…..jury still out.
Don,t leave Red Mountain…..more there to tell!
Yes, I loved Mark’s book too. I just finished Shadow and I thought it was extraordinary. I’ll keep reading the series, for sure. Yes, more Red Mountain one day.
I will definitely check out your suggestion. I really enjoyed your Red Mountain books. And just finished An Unfinished Story which was also excellent. My favorite all time is East if Eden by J Steinbeck. I have many other favorites but that holds my number one throughout the years.
Thank you!
Well, a Godwink moment just happened as I read this blog. On December 1, my husband was suddenly diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. We are fortunate that my work brought us to Boise ID a couple of years ago, a five-minute drive from one of the best oncology doctors and treatment centers in the country. Care and treatment began only eight days after the diagnosis.(Prognosis is good, so keep some positive energy coming our way!) I manage a program that has a 15-member advisory board; when they heard what was happening, they banded together and provided such care and support that we are overwhelmed with gratitude. The support came in many forms: meals, snacks, a fruit basket, and notes and letters of reassurance and encouragement. Then the books began arriving; something for us both to enjoy during rest periods following chemo treatments. As I read your blog, I thought the title of the book sounded so familiar. Sure enough, when I went to the stack of books gifted to us, there it is: A Gentleman in Moscow.
I just read the first Red Mountain novel a couple of weeks ago. I love the story, the characters, the region, and the tapestry of the tale. I’ve already ordered the next one, but I think A Gentleman in Moscow will be opened this evening! Many thanks for sharing your talent with all of us.
Wow! What a story. This made my day. Please let me know what you think of the novel. I suspect it’s landed in your lap for a reason, just like me. I’ll never forget Count Rostov!
A very huge fan of All the Light we cannot see! It transported me to France and war torn France. It was so beautifully written I felt as though I could smell the flowers, hear the birds taste the baguettes. It filled my mind as well as my senses! Anthony Doerr outdid his self. I recently read your Unfinished Story (alas, not on a beach in Florida) and was moved by the range of emotions in your writing also. Books…….I just can’t get enough of them!
Thank you so much!
Have you read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens! In this book, you feel like you are in the swamp similar to your books being on the mountain.
Great one!
I’ve tried and tried to read “A Gentleman in Moscow”… I just couldn’t get through it..I finally gave it away..it tormented me! Ha.
My favorite book, although I have many many ‘favorites’ – one that stays with me…Educated by Tara Westover…
Four seasons, by Mary Alice Monroe
Anything by Jodi Picoult
And I just happened to read Red Mountain, and loved it…onto the second in the series.
Thank you!
I do need to read Educated! Thanks for posting.
My favorite book so far is “The Elephant Whisperer” by Lawrence Anthony. Will read A Gentleman in Moscow soon, but right now I am reading your second Red Mountain book, and loving it. Fun to rejoin the lives of these interesting characters.
I loved “Gentleman in Moscow”. although I started it a couple of times before I was able to sink into it. And sink into, I did! Immediately upon finishing it, I went to Page 1 and started it again. For a period in my life that lasted 15 years or so, I was absorbed with Russian history, and was fortunate to visit Moscow and Leningrad in the early ’70’s. For anyone interested in the period up to the Revolution and a few years post-Revolution, I highly recommend “Nicholas and Alexandra” by Robert K. Massie. For many many years this was my favorite book. I have read it cover to cover seven times, and every time, I discovered some tidbit of historical information that I had missed before. A wonderful book. Then I moved on to other things, and discovered Pat Conroy. I enjoyed all his novels, and especially love his use of the English language. Beautiful sentences! Now, right alongside “Nicholas and Alexandra,” I count Conroy’s “My Losing Season” as a favorite. Try it!
I love your Red Mountain books.
One of my all time favorite books is Time and Again by Jack Finny. I love historical novels and the time travel element of this book fascinates me.
Other books that have stayed with me:
The Nightingale
Cry of the Kalahari
The Lost Secrets of Stones
William Kent Kruger’s Corcoran O’Conner series
The Hangman’s Daughter series
A Midwifes Tale
I’m racing to check these out. Thanks for sharing!
I am obsessed with this book and am reading it for the third time. The first time I read it was on the Nook app, then I listened to the audiobook, which was amazing. I am now reading the hardcover edition so I can underline my favorite quotes and parts. Now I am obsessed with all things Russian, especially the time in history in which the story takes place. I love this book! Thank you for your review.
I’m listening to the audio now! So good.
Hi Boo,
Thank you for the recommendation. I’m looking forward to reading it. I don’t often read books such as A Gentleman in Moscow, but you have me intrigued now. I probably miss a lot of good books, because of this and I really don’t know why. lol
Here’s what I’ve been reading of late:
The Island of Sea Women – Lisa See
The Victory Garden – Rhys Bowen
The Shortest Way Home – Juliette Fay
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek – Kim Michele Richardson
The Stone Circle – Elly Griffith
A Dangerous Act of Kindness – LP Fergusson
Thanks for sharing!
Stunning quest there. Whaat happened after? Thanks!
I made it home alive!
Hi Boo,
I read a lot, and a variety of genres. At the moment my absolute favorites are your Red Mountain series. Other authors I enjoy are:
Joseph Monninger
Ron Rash
Wendy Webb
Elly Griffiths
Daniel Woodrell
John Sanford
Jolina Peterscheim
Emylia Hall
Clare Mackintosh
B.A. Paris
Delia Owens
Boo,
Your story drew me right to the last sentence and compelled me to say hi. For all the junk crossing our phones these days, you’re writing was a pleasure to spend time with. Wish I’d spent more time with y’all on red mountain while you were here.
Thanks for what you do so well. Now I’ve a great new book to read!
I wish you and your family the best.
My favs: if on a winters night a traveler
Italo Calvino – my god-wink is Ken Wilbur’s A theory of everything.
Thanks, Caleb. Likewise. So this is crazy… I just saw that one of Amor Towles favorite books of all time is If On a Winter Night… and I haven’t read it. This is moving up the list! I will check out a theory of everything. see you soon!
Hi Boo, Well I read a lot of books set overseas I like a foreign writer. Right now though I’m digging a book closer to home ironically well your home Washington anyway. My favorite book right now is The Art Of Racing In The Rain. by Garth Stein It’s dark but funny, tragic but yet uplifting and told through the eyes of a dog! I mean come on who does that! I have hope for Enzo the dog whose convinced in his next life he’ll come back as a human and finally get those opposable thumbs he so greatly yearns for! Lol
I loved, loved that book. In fact, I stalked Garth for a while afterward and got to spend a minute with him.
It took me a while to get into The Gentleman from Moscow however once there it was so unusual from anything I’ve read before. How
wonderfull you were able to stay at the Hotel Metropole. In reading this book I certainly traveled there too in my imagination and what a wonderfully grand place it is. It is way too difficult to have one favorite book for me but one that stays close to my heart is Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. What a little treasure.
Read on….
Thank you!
The Ladt Bus to Wisdom and The Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig
I read this book about month ago and it stays with me. It took me to a time and place so different from my present life. It was so scary but we all have to live in our time and make the best of it. I loved the way our “gentleman” accepted what he must and created the best life possible, keeping his manners and honor, but daring to do some things that could possibly get him into trouble but necessary for his life and those he loved. He was brave and patient, and he always accepted the new situation that he found himself in, but looked for opportunities to improve the situation, if only in a small way. It counted. He counted. We do not often read anymore about the old attributes…..courage, honor, perseverance and joy for the small things in life.
What is next???
That’s quite true. And those old attributes are so important.