A Gentleman in Moscow is a wonderful book, full of wit, intelligence (sometimes a little too intelligent for me), drama, humour and superb dialogue. Alexander is wonderful company, confined as he is, inside the Hotel Metropol. The characters who inhabit the hotel are all beautifully described and the succession of set pieces are so often charming as our engaging hero meets staff and visitors through his years of house arrest.
Some of the conversations are excellent. I thought that the book would run out of ideas halfway through, instead it became even better with some extraordinary emotional passages and twists, one after the other. And the ending is certainly worth waiting for.
This was a Christmas present, so it is hard for me to be too critical as I would never have chosen to read this book. The Book of Dust Volume 1, being a fantasy adventure, is not my normal choice. However, the first half is fine and the setting of Godstow and Oxford particularly interesting. But the second half is all action, a boat trip by numbers with lots of fantasy thrown in. Not to my taste.
Who knew that Anne Tyler could be so funny. Vinegar Girl had me laughing in the first few pages when Kate's father is so keen on her meeting his assistant. Then there is the "Don't tell him your name, Pike" moment. There are some magical exchanges of text messages. Obviously, the author had lots of scope for wit and sarcasm, given the play that inspired the story. Setting it in Baltimore was a given! The only problem was that I finished it far too quickly.
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