“It is a well-known fact that of all the species on earth Homo sapiens is among the most adaptable. Settle a tribe of them in a desert and they will wrap themselves in cotton, sleep in tents, and travel on the backs of camels; settle them in the Arctic and they will wrap themselves in sealskin, sleep in igloos, and travel by dog-drawn sled. And if you settle them in a Soviet climate? They will learn to make friendly conversation with strangers while waiting in line; they will learn to neatly stack their clothing in their half of the bureau drawer; and they will learn to draw imaginary buildings in their sketchbooks. That is, they will adapt.”

Count Alexander Rostov has fortunately evaded a death a sentence after the new Soviet administration deemed him as an irredeemable aristocrat. The catch is that he is sentenced to a life of house arrest at a luxurious hotel called the Metropol. Should he dare to come out, he would be shot instantly, thus he has to come to terms with a life of confinement, quite contrary to what he was used to. Therefore, we follow Alexander on his journey of confinement within the walls of this hotel, as he tries to make peace with the fact that he is never leaving that place again, and tries to avoid the tempting arms of suicide while trying to find a new sense of purpose.This is a humorous and reflective work, full of flowery prose that adds a shade of elegance to the mundane, though to be fair, one can't categorize Alexander's life as mundane, since he lives quite the privileged life compared to the millions of people who bore witness to the dark transition of Russia from a monarchy to a communist nation.

 “Alexander Rostov was neither scientist nor sage; but at the age of sixty-four he was wise enough to know that life does not proceed by leaps and bounds. It unfolds. At any given moment, it is the manifestation of a thousand transitions. Our faculties wax and wane, our experiences accumulate and our opinions evolve--if not glacially, then at least gradually. Such that the events of an average day are as likely to transform who we are as a pinch of pepper is to transform a stew.”

There is no shortage of philosophical musings throughout this work, and many tidbits of wisdom are sprinkled here and there, making this an enriching read if one is in the mood of some reflection. Amor Towles certainly does some brilliant writing here, and despite its relative length, this book, for the most part, felt smooth to read, because the musings of the characters and the witty banter and dialogue was entertaining. This book was an exploration of ideas above everything else, because when someone is sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest, it is only natural for them to start thinking too much, and be in a relentless pursuit of meaning.What are the aspects that truly matter in life? How can one deal with difficult times such as the loss of a loved one, and other tragedies that are inevitable with the ceaseless marching of time? One can open almost any page of this book at random and find a wise quote they would want to write down to remember.

 “If you are ever in doubt, just remember that unlike adults, children want to be happy. So they still have the ability to take the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.”

Spending your life inside a hotel surely does make life seem to pass by slowly, and that is the tone of this book. Despite it spanning decades, there is a slowness to it that is best appreciated when the reader immerses themself in the prose and the environment.The character interactions here were done nicely too, and they were heartwarming and cozy to read. This book is something one can reread more than once because what makes it good isn't really the plot or the curiosity about how it's going to end, but the collection of little moments Alexander has with several people in the hotel, which quickly feels like home due to the superb writing.

I wouldn't really call this a realistic story however, and if one wants to read it to experience what it was like living in Russia during that time, then this book won't really be satisfying, because what we have here is a character who is sheltered from the horrors of that time,and the harsh reality under Stalin's iron grip is softened and only slightly recognized. I would say that the time period here is largely used as some form of idealized aesthetic to tell an over-the-top lavish story. It isn't a true exploration of the essence of that time, signified by hardship.I don't have a lot of historical context regarding Soviet Russia as of the time I'm writing this review, but I can't help but suspect that not much historical research has been done here and this reads like an American view of a stereotypical bougie Russian social life. Therefore, I caution any reader against going into this expecting a serious account of what life was like in those days, lest they find this book to be offensive since it tends to paint a really light picture of these times.

Nevertheless, I liked this for what it tried to do, and it was a cozy book to read. I would give it somewhere between a 3 and a 4 stars, perhaps a cautious 3.5 for now, though I would probably want to reread this one day because despite all the unrealistic fluff, I would like to revisit the Metropol hotel.

Thank you to Maria and Sulla for buddy reading this with me!


 “To what end, he wondered, had the Divine created the stars in heaven to fill a man with feelings of inspiration one day and insignificance the next?”