Goldmine Reads - A Gentleman In Moscow--Summarized for Busy People: Based on the Book by Amor Towles

Summarized For Busy People

A Novel

Based on the Book by Amor Towles

Goldmine Reads

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INTRODUCTION

A mor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow opens at the rise of the 20th century Russian Empire. The novel centers on Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov and his life under a thirty-two-year house arrest in Hotel Metropol.

Most parts of Europe had been in turmoil during the 20th century. Political systems had been outdated, and nations called for changeequal rights between the wealthy and the poor. It was the old versus the new, and the Russian Empire was faced with internal conflict often resulting in violence and bloodshed. Aristocracy wasn't as popular as it was before the 20th century.

The number of supporters for communism slowly grew over time. The followers blamed the elite and the wealthy for the misfortune of others, so being an aristocrat at such time was extremely dangerousa fact Alexander Ilyich Rostov is very aware of.

A Gentleman in Moscow is an entertaining and informative novel, and it is a tale that goes beyond the life of one manit is a tale of human resilience in the face of the calamitous.

Chapter 1: The Story of an Aristocrat

T he novel is set in 20th century Moscow. The protagonist, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is an aristocrat living in Hotel Metropol. The new Communist party considers him a threat for being a nobleman and for escaping the tsar's order for execution in 1918.

At the time, the noble were treated like capitalists or priests. The Communist party prohibited being anything aside from being a communist. The party kept an eye on Count Rostov, and he was eventually put under house arrest.

Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is from Nizhny Novgorod. The new Communist party's suspicions on Count Rostov grew when he fled Russia following the execution of the tsar in 1918 and returned only four years later. Accused of being against the Russian Communist Revolution, Count Rostov was sentenced to death. Before the execution, a published poem dating back to 1913 is discovered. The poem promotes the revolutionary philosophies the Communists eventually put into practice. Count Rostov claimed he had written the discovered poem, so the Communists spared his life and was sentenced to house arrest in Hotel Metropol.

Under house arrest, Count Rostov had to move into a cramped cell. His life as a nobleman accustomed him to a life of opulence. His sentence now forced him to leave behind riches and comfort. The only item of great value he has brought with him in the hotel is a photograph of his deceased sister Helena.

Hotel Metropol looked like a typical lavish American hotel. One day, Rostov meets Nina Kulikovaa nine-year-old girl from Ukrainein the Piazza. Nina strikes a conversation with Rostov, and she asks him if he was truly a Count. Nina also wanted to know if Rostov had met a princess in his old life and if he had ever participated in a duel. Amused at the little girl's questions, Rostov eventually established a friendship with Nina.

Chapter 2: Friendship with a Nine-Year-Old Girl

N ina Kulikova's father is a widower. It is his first time being posted in Moscow. Since Nina is not attending school, in a way, she is also under house arrest just like Rostov. Rostov and Nina are "imprisoned", and they agreed to give themselves a tour of Hotel Metropol.

Rostov and Nina went into several restricted rooms including the silver-service room, the electrical room, and the furnace room. Rostov eventually found out that Nina had a master key for the hotel.

In his tiny cell, Rostov discovered an old doorframe behind one of his closets. He stripped the planks, and he came upon a room identical to his. Rostov decided he would use this secret room as his own study.

An old friend of Rostov, Mikhail Fyodorovich Mindich, came to Hotel Metropol a few days later. Mikhail, nicknamed "Mishka", have been friends with Rostov since their time at the university in St. Petersburg. He was attending the Russian Association of Proletariat Writers in Moscow, so he decided to drop by the hotel. Mishka considered himself a poet of the "art of action" and the "new age". Rostov and Mishka catch up and begin to talk about the old times as well as the philosophy of historya favored topic of theirs.

Chapter 3: The Reason Why I Left Moscow

I t's almost Christmas , and time at the hotel had seemed to pass so quickly. Rostov learned that Nina was going away with her father for quite some time. Nina had given Rostov a presentin it is another, and within that smaller present is a third. Rostov unwrapped the smallest present and found that Nina had given him the master key for the entire hotel.

It was finally time for Nina to leave with her father, and time for Rostov began to pass so slowly.

It has been almost a year, and Rostov has become familiar with solitude at the hotel. One day, Rostov met actress Anna Urbanova. She is a seductress, and it is obvious that she is quite fond of Rostov. In one occasion, she invited the Count to her room, and they finally became lovers.