I loved, loved, loved this book! What an interesting take on a fascinating time. Count Rostov is punished for writing an anti-Revolution poem in 1920s Moscow. His sentence is house arrest in the glamorous Metropol hotel. I loved reading about life in the hotel, which had an adult Eloise feel. But I also loved seeing Rostov's take on the changes in his country, which he could only see from the inside of his hotel. Street names changing, buildings being constructed, the starvation of the proletariat -- his insulated existence kept him from truly experiencing any of this.

I loved this book, but one things really bothered me: Towles is addicted to alliteration!!!!!!!!