This novel is sometimes as frivolous as this setup sounds. A lot of the time is given over to the pursuits of the wealthy or wannabe weathy. But like Gatsby, it has other ambitions. Perhaps life is not as
glib and glamorous as it seems. Certainly our characters do not find bliss as they inch up on the war.
The writing is gorgeous. Towles can really put you in a club or a car or a country house. I think A GENTLEMAN was the better book but this was quite a first novel. Towles had already had a career in finance when he wrote it and his maturity works to his advantage. Good but not great for me.
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Sounds like a solid read, Patti. I like the setting and time period, too. Glad you found things to like here...
Both his books sound interesting...in the right frame of mind.
There are both interesting and so well written. He really captures New York in 1938.
Diane's Book Club read both of Amor Towles's books. Diane and I were in the Baltimore Airport last year when we sat down next to a woman reading GENTLEMEN IN MOSCOW. "This is the best book I've ever read," she told us.
I recently read MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR THE DAY by Winifred Watson, published in 1938 and set in London at that time, which sounds very like it in period details, if not in tone.
Ooh, I read that, Jeff. Did they make a movie out of it too?
Yes, a few people in my book group said they thought GENTLEMAN was the best book they ever read, too.
https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Pettigrew-Lives-Day-DVD/dp/B001L4I222
with Frances McDormand and Amy Adams
Yes, we saw the movie with Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, and thought they did a terrific - and mostly faithful to the book - job of adapting it. I loved both versions.
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