A Gentleman in Moscow -- Take 2

I really liked A Gentleman in Moscow. More on that later.

Where I want to start is its big similarity with All The Light We Cannot See, which truly didn't hit me until I looked at this blog to begin writing this post.  But as soon as I saw the cover image for All The Light, it immediately hit me that they have extremely similar protagonists. Our titular Gentleman here is Count Alexander Rostov, who has been sentenced to a life of house arrest in Moscow's glamorous Metropol Hotel.  He is intelligent, witty, and observant, but limited by his physical confines.  In All The Light, young Marie-Laure is equally intelligent and observant, but spends years confined to one home or another in war-torn France as a consequence of her blindness.

 

Each of them witness, in their own way, huge world events unfolding outside their doors while half their lives pass them by. For Count Rostov, it's the decades following the Russian Revolution, as it grows into a world power; for Marie-Laure it's World War II.

 

They each have two major and several minor relationships which anchor them through the story.  For Marie-Laure, they biggies are her father and her uncle.  For Count Rostov, they're his long-time lover and his daughter (for details, you'll have to read it).

About A Gentleman In Moscow itself, I really did enjoy it.  I listened to the audio, which helped me get through a pretty hefty book in basically record time for a slow reader.  I appreciated the Count's erudite observation and analysis of the incidents and people that swirl around him. I appreciated - and this is unusual for me - the sometimes overly flowery language and the unnecessary asides.  They just all seemed to work in this book, with this character, in this style for me.  Nevermind that outside the doors of the Metropol, Russia was in crisis; the unflappable Count Rostov carries on.

What I'm Reading Now -- A Gentleman in Moscow

Amor Towles has been on my list of books to read for a while.  Somehow he's just never made it to the top.  I so enjoyed the experience of the last two audio books that I listened to, I decided I'd give it another go and see what else I could find in the library's "available now" category.

And there was Amor Towles! A Gentleman in Moscow was available, so I snagged it.  It's the story of a -- you guessed it -- gentleman (a count, specifically) in -- you guessed again -- Moscow after the Russian revolution.  As punishment for his various misdeeds, he is sentenced upon penalty of death to house arrest at the Metropol hotel.  It's the story of his time there -- how he passes it, whom he meets, what led him to that fate.

So far, the description in simply brilliant.  The recounting of the people and the goings-on in the lobby, the restaurants, the card room, even on the roof, all make me feel like I'm right there, wishing I were as articulate as the Count. 

I look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of his exile! 

The Paris Apartment -- Take 2

The Paris Apartment is basically the same book as The Midnight Feast.  I think, on balance, I did like The Paris Apartment a bit more.  The characters were more interesting and Paris is more interesting than most places. 

Our protagonist is the sister of a fellow who mysteriously disappeared just an hour or two before she arrived in Paris from London for a visit.  It falls to her to investigate his disappearance, all while being unsure of who she can trust and who may have been involved.

I haven't read The Guest List, the last of Lucy Foley's books that I had put on my list, but I expect it's also basically the same as the two I've read already.  Of course, maybe if I just need something entertaining, it'll be perfect. 

Happy Mother's Day!

All The Light We Cannot See -- Take 2

I have wanted to read All the Light We Cannot See for a long time.  It's a bit lengthy, which I think is part of the reason I never got to it.  So when it was available as an audio book and I needed a a good road trip listen recently, it was the perfect pick.  And I sure am glad I finally got to it!

It's a World War II story.  The main character is a blind girl, not yet a teenager at the start of the story, and 16 at the end.  She and her father, a locksmith employed by a major museum, fled Paris for her great uncle's home at the seaside.  What young Marie-Laure didn't know when they left is that her father was carrying one of four of the Sea of Flames, a huge and supposedly cursed diamond owned by the museum, which commissioned three replicas as the Germans closed in on Paris.  But someone knows the Sea of Flames exists, and is intent on finding it.  Marie-Laure has to navigate not only her challenges as a blind person in a new place and the normal ravages of war, but also the knowledge that her family may be in possession of the hunted gem.

It was a very quick listen (perhaps because I listened to it at 1.3x speed?), and I wonder if it was as quick of a read as well.  It did not feel like it would have equated to a 500-plus page book, that's for sure.  There were some ancillary characters whom I think the story could have been told without, but they added a certain amount of heart and balance to the tale which, in my opinion, is what made it really sing. 

What I'm Reading Now -- The Paris Apartment

Somehow, I find myself reading another Lucy Foley book.  This time, it's The Paris Apartment. 

A couple of months ago I read the forgettable The Midnight Feast, which is (shockingly, to me) Foley's seventh novel; Paris Apartment is her sixth).

To be fair, I actually do know how this happened.  I came upon it the same way I came upon All the Light We Cannot See: I was leaving for a road trip and did a quick search on my library app for audio books in the "available now" category.  I finished All the Light (and the road trip), but since I've already downloaded this one, I might as well listen to it, right?

What I'm Reading Now -- All the Light We Cannot See

It's incredibly overdue, but I'm finally getting around to All the Light We Cannot See.  This was a huge award winner a few years ago, but I just never made the time to read it, despite it being right up my historical alley.

However, the audio is a perfect option for a solo road trip!

What I'm Reading Now -- How to Win a Grand Prix

Before I was able to put my hands on Last Child in the Woods (which I have on paper and it took me a little while to find), I had just barely started reading How to Win a Grand Prix: From Pit Lane to Podium - the Inside Track.  It's by a woman who does by far the most interesting and reasonable commentary on the F1 international feed, Bernie Collins.  It doesn't hurt her case that she's Irish and therefore by definition so fun to listen to.

It's also another of my 2026 Reading Challenge books, so I'm just rolling right along (so to speak).

What I'm Reading Now -- Last Child In the Woods

I first saw Last Child In the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder many moons ago when I was working at a bookstore. I was intrigued then by the idea of the book then, and remain so to this day.  Despite having never actually read it, I have recommended it to several people who were complaining about their kids' obsession with games, phones, and other technology.  I tell them I haven't read it yet, "but it's on my list," and I also tell them how much I appreciate the time I spent outdoors as a child, now that I'm an adult who works at a computer all day.

Now I will finally read it, and tick off another book in my 2026 Reading Challenge along the way.
 

The River is Waiting -- Take 2

I finished The River is Waiting in record time, for me.  I'm a slow reader, but I blew through this one despite it coming in at over 450 pages.  It helped that I had a couple of flights and generally had to kill other time just sitting and reading, but I also wanted to read it rather than, say, play on my phone.  And these days, that's not nothing. 

So finish it I did! And -- I don't want to get ahead of myself here but I am excited -- I am now halfway through my 2026 Reading Challenge despite being only one-third of the way through the year!

As for the story itself, it's the tale of Corby Ledbetter, a stay-at-home father, out-of-work artist, and secret addict who, in a terrible accident, causes a tragedy that lands him in prison. In my professional life, I've worked with a lot of felons who have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.  In that respect, this story felt extremely familiar.  Few of them have been through the family trauma that Corby caused, but the themes are there.  The plot moved it along nicely, that's how I got through it so quickly.  I thought the resolution of Corby's storyline was a little bit of a cop out, a bit too cutesy-with-a-bow-on-it, but the final wrap-it-all-up moment was moving, nevertheless.