Final Musings on A Gentleman in Moscow
Final Musings on A Gentleman in Moscow
spoilers included for the end of the book
Good morning,
I hope your Saturday (and maybe start of Christmas break) is off to a leisurely start. My weekend is starting with writing this newsletter on the very cozy “new to us” couch watching Bluey for everyone’s entertainment (including mine). If you read last week’s newsletter then you will appreciate that this week we opted for a frozen waffle breakfast in lieu of cereal and no annoyingly disastrous situation has yet occurred (but I’m not done writing yet, so there is plenty of time for that to change). But, I have lots of cozy reading plans for this afternoon and the rest of our Christmas break. I wish you all lots of fun novels during the festivities in the weeks to come!
I hope you are all enjoying your reading of Towles’ most popular work (or have finished and are pondering still). I delayed the reading of the last 30 pages as long as I could because I wasn’t ready to leave the Metropol Hotel with the Count just yet.
But alas, some of our book clubs for A Gentleman in Moscow met this past week and the other will meet this week so I wanted to get some final thoughts posted before Christmas and before moving on to our next book.
Favorite Quotes
“Then for the first time that night, he let himself weep, his chest heaving lightly with the release. But if tears fell freely down his face, they were not tears of grief. They were the tears of the luckiest man in all of Russia.” (313)
“Sophia seems to presume that if the earth spun awry upon occasion, it was generally a well-intentioned planet” (321)
“I suppose that a room is the summation of all that has happened inside it.” (331)
“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two, but three. Or maybe four. (But by no means five). Yes, a parents should share his hesitations and then take three or four steps back…” (358)
“For his part, the Count had opted for the life of the purposefully unrushed…When all was said and done, the endeavors that most modern men saw as urgent (such as appointments with bankers and the catching of trains), probably could have waited, while those they deemed frivolous (such as cups of tea and friendly chats) had deserved their immediate attention.” (391)
Thoughts to Ponder
The comment (pg 301) Richard makes about the vortex of the Count’s brandy leading them all to the basement of the hotel….and then his planning to escape starting in the basement (pg 393)…also possible descent to Hell symbolism (he ends up locking the Bishop in the boiler room (fire)…
The descriptions of Nina and Sophia (pg 321)….are they just character descriptions or is there a deeper meaning here?
Also on page 321-322 the Count is musing on time….a nod to the novel’s habit of skipping big chunks of time?
Isn’t it fun to get the references? There’s another Gogol reference on 325!
What is he referencing on 331?
The architect’s drawing of the Count and the evolution of a gentleman (pg 335)…
“zut alors”, the phrase that their game of Zut is based on means “damn, then”…which is hilarious!
Is it significant that he is in his old room when he is asked to spy (pg 346)? The clock’s significance…
The moment with the receipts (pg 354) is amusing...
Towles has a Dickensian way with character descriptions and jokes running through the book…
The Count taking credit for the poem that Mishka wrote….it reminds me of the verse about “losing your life to save it”…
The significance of the bread quotations in Mishka’s project?
“Yes I am the waiter”…double meaning (pg 399)….I love that…
The musings about life unfolding (pg 492)…the novel itself unfolds by offering seemingly random people and interactions that all end up being meaningful in the end…the time structure also folds and unfolds (in the doubling and halving of time)
Nina ends up saving the Count (or being his guide) by her daughter becoming his daughter (a “princess” almost)
The “duel” between him and the Bishop (431)….it is all about honor and protecting Sophia. This time he doesn’t kill his opponent. Should we see this as growth in him as a character?
The Count and the Bishop both have keys (pg 434)….some secret, some displayed….significance?
The Count’s spying is literally a seating chart…it all comes full circle (444)
Will Sophia, the Count, and Anna all be together? He goes further into Russia…was he just saving her and not going to be with her? The first time I read I assumed they would get together, but the book doesn’t say that….anyone have any thoughts?
Towles’ Other Books
Rules of Civility was Towles’ first novel that came out in 2011. It is just as enjoyable (and maybe even more of a page turner) as A Gentleman in Moscow, but with a very different structure as it is written from the first person perspective of it’s female protagonist and the whole story takes place in one year (instead of 32 years!) in Manhattan (not Russia). For anyone that wasn’t sure about the “non-Russianness” of Gentleman, this might be a better fit for you if you still enjoyed his writing since it is an American writing about Americans. Also you get a cameo of Richard (Dicky) Vanderwhile (The Count’s American friend).
I read this last year over Christmas break and it was the perfect Christmas break page turner (see below for my problems regarding planning for reading over school breaks). As soon as I finished A Gentleman in Moscow last week I immediately picked this one back up and am almost halfway through a delightful reread. I would love to hear your thoughts if you end up reading it. The style is so different and it is so enjoyable that I almost forget why it isn’t just a page turner.
The Lincoln Highway is Towles’ newest book from 2021. It also takes place in America, but along the “Lincoln Highway” from Nebraska heading toward New York. Taking place in the 1950s with the rotating perspectives between different characters I have been told it has a different feel from his other two books, but is still very enjoyable. I have also been told it doesn’t hold up as well as the other two. This is in my “hoping to read over Christmas Break stack" as I haven’t read this one yet!
If you need last minute Christmas gifts (or have Christmas money to spend on yourself) all of Towles’ books have coupons for $2-4 off right now on Amazon!
But Really, Don’t Forget to Listen to the Podcasts
They’re worth it!
Book One, first half (pages 1-53)
Book One, second half (pages 54-105)
Book Two (pages 109-167)
Book Three, first half (pages 171-247)
Book Three, second half (pages 248-317)
Book Four (pages 322-375)
Book Five and Afterward (pages 379-462)
Q & A Episode
What Else I’ve Been Reading
The Practice of the Presence of God- A few people recommended reading this for Advent so I decided to grab it from the library and I love it. Which shouldn’t be surprising since it is one of the most recommended spiritual works, but it is really lovely. It is also short, which is also really nice during this busy season.
Waiting for Christ- This is a book I bought a few years ago because we love St. John Henry Newman in our house. These are 3 1/2 page excerpts from sermons for each day of Advent. We usually read them together as a couple, but that hasn’t happened much this year. So I’ve added it to my morning reading (on the days I wake up on time) and each day I read it I am astounded at the power Newman has with words to be beautiful and convicting and encouraging all at the same time. You really could read this at any time in the year, but it is focused on waiting so Advent is the natural time.
My (Hilariously Idealistic) Reading Plans
I am a homeschool mom (with a lot of gregarious toddlers running around as well) so between getting school done, planning for school, and other educational philosophy type reading I don’t have nearly the amount of time for “fun” reading as I used to. Which is actually okay because I still get to read and then part of my “job” as their mother-teacher is to read really good books out loud to them, which is actually amazing. However, there is something very leisurely about reading that is purely for enjoyment. So I take advantage of our school breaks to read some fun novels that aren’t for any purpose other than “I really want to.” It feels very indulgent and I am very much looking forward to our 3 week break starting today.
All that said, I may have gotten a little overly optimistic. I’ve been off the cuff getting books from the library and grabbing books around the house and telling people “I’m going to read ‘that’ over my break.” So when I went around the house this morning pulling books off the shelf I realized how tall the stack is and there is no way I’m reading even a third of those books over break. But, I figured you all would enjoy seeing my stack topple over along with all my good intentions.
I’ll let you know if anything I end up reading is noteworthy!
Other Things I’m Enjoying
This Advent/Christmas Album: Celtic Christmas Spirit by Caroline Peyton….it is melancholically instrumental that even though it has Christmas in the name, it feels very meditative and quiet for Advent.
My local library….instead of putting books on wishlists (or straight up buying them) I have been putting them on hold at the library and doing curbside pick ups and it is so fun to get all these “new” books without spending a dime! I have more than I could ever actually read, but it gives me the freedom to “read at whim” (September 2022 reference) and see what takes my fancy after reading a few pages without breaking the bank (or the bookshelves).
This Commonplace Video about planning for your reading (though to be honest I almost NEVER follow my actual plan…I still think it’s a fun and important thought exercise. I would love to hear how you plan your reading in the comments (or on our slack pages).
I hope you all can embrace a bit of quiet and slowness during the rest of your Advent and then lots of jollity during the Christmas season. Over the next week or two I hope to share my favorite reads from 2023 (because end of the year reading lists are one of my favorite things of the Christmas season) and an introduction to our next book!
So until then…
Happy reading to you all on this lovely Saturday!
A Few Reminders
Next up in January is Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
What I’m reading for Advent: Shadow and Light by Tsh Oxenreider (and if you are reading or need some art and music in your life here is a link for all the art and music from Tsh)
If you found your way here and are not part of an in person book club, welcome! We would love you to read along with us. But, in person literary community is a beautiful thing. So please contact me if you’d like to join or start a group!
If you are part of a group, but you’re not on our Slack page, please contact me. That is where people share thoughts and logistics for each in person group.
We are now on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (with links to Substack) in order to hopefully spread the reading life to more people...if you want to like or share with any friends that want to start their own groups (or follow along virtually) please do!
And here are all the old lists (if you need to ask for any books for Christmas or need some good books to read over the holiday breaks coming up)
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