In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution Alexander Rostov, an aristocrat and poet, is sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest. This will be served in the luxury Metropole Hotel but he is promised that if he sets foot outside he will be shot. So a kind of a lockdown story although with plenty of stimulation and a level of comfort not known by many Russians at the time.
There are dark days but he is sustained by human contact, positive memories, music and wisdom gleaned from classical Russian writers and philosophers. There is also a sense of a destiny being worked out which will not be overwhelmed by the control government seeks to have over its people.
Elegant is the word that comes to mind in describing the writing. There are times when Amor Towles takes you to another place where there is goodness and hope.
