Prelude to a review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I bought A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for my Kindle using a $5 credit Amazon plopped in my sightline. Not that I thought Amazon was generous. Some time back, Amazon removed $60 of credit from my account after someone named Anonymous tapped in, pretended to be me, did a little test purchase, and disappeared.

Apparently, someone else's fraud was enough reason for Amazon to plunge my account to zero. Hours on the phone with customer service, explaining, complaining, explaining, complaining, explaining, complaining, resulted in this result: Fraud has occured on your account. Yes, I agreed, but NOT by me. All to no avail. Credit was not restored. Frustration was not abated.

I will never forget, but obviously I have forgiven, as evidence, I present this purchase.

In one chapter, Towles deftly describes the main character, the character's current situation, a bit of his back story, and as the chapter ends, curiosity on how this is to unfold pulls the reader into the novel.

Approximately 17 percent in (Kindle does not provide page numbers), the purpose of the novel waned, though, riding a wave of seemingly episodic snippets including conversations with a nine-year-old girl that uses language more intune with a nineteen-year-old.

My mother, tsk tsk'ed this assessment and asked, "And how old was your daughter when she interviewed the mayor?"

Nine,

I replied, and reflected on my daughter's proficient use of the English language at that age.

At 22 percent, the author instructs the reader to commit a character to memory, because he plays a part in the novel's outcome. Daring.

At 23 percent, the author reveals the protagonist will seek — some four years hence — to throw himself from the parapet to the street below. Riveting. Yet, perhaps not unpredictable for a man sentenced by the Bolsheviks to live out his life in a hotel.

At 30% in, I  performed a bit of googling to understand why this is such a highly rated book, because at this point I wasn't convinced, and discovered an abundance (to use an "A" word, which every chapter title begins with) of information, assessment and a few reveals that piqued my interest and admiration.

Filmed Summer 2018,  Amor Towles speaks about A Gentleman in Moscow on dishes on Russia.

After listening to the video, I tweeted a quote that resonated. Naturally, it received a ❤ from @amortowles, or at least the person who runs his social media.

I think we've come to expect or even demand, more factual accuracy from our novelists than from our presidential candidates.

It's quite possible, now that I've received that ❤, that I will add Amor Towles to the list: Celebrities Who've Met Me. While less probable, is that we will sit down together over a bowl of stew and glass of Mukuzani, but should that event occur, I plan to be a delightful meal partner and extol tales of when, as a college student, I visited Russia, and . . .

lost my passport.

Carol Doane in Moscow, Russia.