Medium – Audiobook
About the Book – Count Alexander Rostov is a Russian Aristocrat living in Moscow in the 1920s. He is a resident at the Hotel Metropol, and one day is arrested by the Bolsheviks due to his rank, usually a death sentence. However, he is spared the firing squad because of a poem that was written years ago, which condemned the fripperies and indulgence of the Russian aristocrats. He is sentenced to house arrest at the Hotel Metropol, and is told that if he ever leaves the confines of the hotel, he will be shot. He is sent to an attic room and lives there for thirty years, whilst the tumultuous years of Stalin, Khrushchev and the Soviet Union play out outside of the doors of the hotel. Loved by the hotel staff and generally a very likeable man, Alexander finds that his reduced circumstances lead to emotional discovery and freedom.
My Rating – 4/5
My Thoughts – This book is one that I was attracted to because of the front cover – and the mentions of post-revolution Russia (one of my favourite periods of history to study!). It isn’t a book I would otherwise have picked up to listen to, but was part of a £3 offer on Audible, so I thought I would give it a go. The book’s storyline is really intriguing. It seemed very apposite – the tale of a man under house arrest with all his possessions, trying to fill his days. The descriptions of him rejoicing at the twelve o’clock lunchbell seemed very close to home (we are in the middle of Lockdown 3.0 in the UK). The plot was a little slow in places, but it really picked up towards the end, with an exciting ending, though it did leave a lot of questions slightly unanswered.
What I really loved about this book were the characters. Firstly – Count Rostov. I cannot remember (since reading the Lord of the Rings (Aragorn!) or Harry Potter (Lupin!)) liking a male character quite as much. He is cool, calm and collected, completely reconciled to his circumstances, is funny, witty and intelligent. He is also kind, and whilst he is generally aware of his station in life, he is never nasty to anyone below him. He doesn’t feel sorry for himself or his situation, he just accepts it and moves on. The other characters also seemed to leap off the page – the actress Anna, the Count’s two proteges (Nina and her daughter Sofia) and the Metropol staff. Despite being set in one place, the book doesn’t feel claustrophobic, and that is something really special.
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