Novels based on wars or revolutions are not my favourites. Invariably it involves uprooting, death, and portraying survival instincts.
A Gentleman in Moscow, though it depicts the Russian revolution, it is a vastly different novel. Initially one might feel it is slow paced, but the story picks up later.
The writing style is brilliant. While reading the book one is transported to that era.
The protagonist is a Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, is the gentleman in the title. He comes across as a positive, warm, courteous, amiable, well-read person and who is also a wine connoisseur. He is under a house arrest in the hotel Metropole of Moscow (which is a real hotel in Moscow). The best quality about the count is his ability to converse with anybody. Due to some circumstance, he is forced to take care of a five-year-old Sophia, whom he starts to love a lot as his own daughter.
The whole story revolves around the hotel Metropole and describes it is functioning. It portrays friendship, political changes, parenthood, and romance. There are major discussions regarding the effects of the revolution. Parts of the books discuss the work of Russian authors like Chekov, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Many historical facts quoted here are real.
I liked the friendship between the count Mikhail Fyodorovich. They discuss communism, poetry, and books, which I found interesting.
Though it is a historical fiction, I would call it a contemporary classic. People who love historical fiction MUST read it.