A Gentleman in Moscow

Three or four years ago, I enjoyed reading the novel A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This work of historical fiction tells the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov. Not long after the Russian Revolution, the Count has his death sentence for being a social parasite commuted by a Bolshevik Tribunal to lifetime house arrest in Moscow's famous Metropol Hotel, where he was living at the time. The rest of the novel concerns the subsequent decades under Stalin's authoritarian regime and how the Count uses his flexible social skills and not inconsiderable charm to adapt by making friends, creating a family, finding meaningful work inside the Hotel, and ultimately thwarting his enemies.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of watching the 8-part miniseries made from this book (which is currently streaming on CBC Gem in Canada and, I believe, on Paramount+ and Hulu in the United States). The series does a marvelous job of bringing the novel faithfully and compellingly to the screen. Ewan McGregor stars as Count Rostov, with his real life wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring as Anna Urbanova, the Count's love interest. They are both outstanding in their roles, as is the supporting cast of actors. Highly recommended, if you get a chance to see it!