What a WEIRD book to read after The Sympathizer. X hundred pages of righteous rage against the bourgeoisie and capitalism and the inherent virtue of communism…transitioning into a “The Terminal” x Golden Age NYC x Anastasia dreamland of a novel, in which a well meaning former member of the aristocracy is forced (FORCED) to live the rest of his life within the confines of a hotel (in the attic, mind you) and uses his vast knowledge of social grace, gossip, dance, etc to subtly touch and ameliorate the lives of those around him.
This was recommended by two different people–the first from my idle “do you know any books written by male author” question that ended up cracking both of us up for ages, the second who in general likes books with interesting plots and good writing. Neither gave this glowing reviews, and I can see why. I enjoyed this, and since I’m feeling generous I will give it four stars, but it’s not one that I’ll be recommending with aplomb or anything.
This probably has an entire subgenre–I’m thinking of Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, but surprisingly also Lessons in Chemistry in overall takeaway? The first because, like in that novel, we have a charismatic older main character who swans through life and adjusts everyone’s life for the better and has a Deep Secret or Moment of Great Weakness which is overcome such that everyone rises to even GREATER heights.
Throughout the entire novel I was also reminded of the Classical Kids audio adventure “Tchaikovsky Visits America,” and the cover art from the copy is what I imagined the Alexander looking like.
Is this a book that stayed with me? I can’t say that it did all that much. Alexander had a decent amount of plot armor, I felt, and so it was really a matter of figuring out exactly how he’d eventually triumph, not when. In some sense it was a story of David-the-Gary-Stu against Goliath-the-USSR, but there’s a reason that said story is so beloved. Nothing quite like seeing our favorites beaten down and getting back up again.
