This book was everywhere last year. Everyone I knew was reading it for book clubs and raving about it. One of my book clubs finally chose it for our April pick, and I’m just finishing up (its long!). The verdict in my book club: Most did not finish. One finished and hated it. One finished and put it in her top 5 books of all time. And what about me? I was just annoyed. This is a nice story for the most part. Amor Towles […]
15: A Gentleman in Moscow
The great thing about being in two different book clubs is that I get exposed to a variety of books I normally would not pick up otherwise. The bad thing about being in two different book clubs is that I have to read a book that I don’t like occasionally. And sometimes, it’s a mixed bag. I try to force myself to read the book, once I’ve committed, because I want people to read the book I choose. And I found myself somewhat hot and […]
This book is a delight.
I picked this up because it was on everyone’s to-read lists. I thought it was probably about Cold War spies, maybe something along the lines of John le Carré. This is not a book about Cold War spies. This is the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, who has been sentenced to house arrest in the Hotel Metropole, where he is in fact already a resident, for writing a poem. (It could have been worse–it could have been a bullet to the head.) Rostov is […]
Listen to the Heavens
Rules of Civility takes place in post-Depression, pre-WWI Manhattan, among New York’s elite, those who wish to be New York’s elite and the clubs, parties and restaurants they frequented. The majority of the novel takes place in 1938 and is told from the point of view of Katey (born Katya) Kontent, described by her friend, Eve, as “the hottest bookworm you’ll ever meet.” Katey is the well-read, orphaned daughter of Russian emigrants, Eve (born Evelyn) is the naturally blonde, (naturally?) ambitious transplant from Indiana, and Tinker […]