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The book you buy because you’re judging it by its cover: A Gentleman in Moscow

Book cover courtesy of Amazon

No shame in it, I 100% walked past this book in a Barnes & Noble, stopped, turned around, and picked it up because of the aesthetic cover. Though I’m not saying you should always judge a book by its cover, I am saying that in this case, the book has an eye-catching cover and a great story.

A Gentleman in Moscow sweeps the reader back into 1922 Russia to witness Count Alexander Rostov’s transition from a well-traveled aristocrat to a permanent guest of the Metropol Hotel, where he has been sentenced to house arrest for life. Initially, being locked away seems to dampen the spirits of this gentleman who has never known a world with boundaries. He goes from a suite to a servant’s quarters, to a view of Moscow to a view of, well, dust. And yet the Count finds an unforgettable new world within the walls he is confined to, one filled with adventure, humor, and hope. This captivating book is one that anyone can relate to following quarantine and the previous year’s events; it’s a beautiful portrait of life’s ups and downs, twists and turns, and the fragility of life as we know it.

Book of the Week is an Opinion culture column written and created by Keenan Yates ‘24 used to give weekly book recommendations in the form of short blurbs and reviews.

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