A Gentleman in Moscow, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of A Gentleman in Moscow.

Did you enjoy the first chapters of the book? I really did. I didn't know what to expect when I started the book, but it didn't take me long to really start to enjoy the story. I was a little nervous starting because I noticed that there were some really long footnotes on some of the early pages, and I worried that would make the book really boring. But, I actually enjoyed those little extra details. I didn't think the first section was boring at all. 

I couldn't believe that the Count was sentenced to house arrest. Obviously, it was a better punishment than death, but I really can't imagine being forced to stay somewhere and never go outside. That would be horrible. It was sad when he had to pack up all of the things in his rooms. I was curious why he was so insistent in taking his huge, heavy desk, but obviously, it was an important piece to him since it housed all of his gold. That really was a surprise that he had that much gold in his possession! I guess that answers why he was able to continue living and paying for things, even though he didn't have any sources of income. 

What did you think of Nina? I thought it was really exciting once she joined the story. I liked how irreverent she was compared to the Count. She helped to loosen him up a bit. I liked that her first words to him were about his mustache. I can't imagine what that mustache must have looked in real life! It sounds like it was magnificent. 

Do you think Anna is a likeable character? She seemed really spoiled at first with her misbehaving dogs and the way she threw all of her clothes out the window. But, she does get the clothes and seems to mature a bit after that. Would you think of her as a good match for the Count? I don't think I would have thought to put them together. I think one thing I struggled with throughout the first section was getting a good idea of how old the Count was. At the beginning of the book, he's 30, but he's so formal that it was easy to imagine him as a much older man. I had a hard time imagining him as a man in his prime, so that made it hard for me to imagine him in a whirlwind romance with such a young actress. 

Throughout this section, the Count makes an enemy of the Bishop. I don't think that's going to end up being a good thing for the Count. I wish he wouldn't have upstaged the Bishop with the wine suggestion. I think the Bishop is not a man who will forget a grudge. 

At the end of this section, the Count is interrupted before he is able to throw himself off the roof of the building. Were you surprised that he was so desperate as to throw himself from the roof? I was. He seemed to be in good spirits throughout the first chapters. Do you think he was depressed by the fact that Nina was growing older? It did feel like things were changing inside the hotel. I am so glad he was interrupted. It was interesting that the interruption led him to taste the delicious honey and realize that the bees were near the whole time. 

Did anything else stand out to you throughout these first chapters? Are you excited to keep reading? Do you think you have any idea what will happen to him in the next section? 

Before you go, check out the video below in which star of the television adaptation, Ewan McGregor, talks about getting into character. Does his mustache in the clip match what you imagined the Count might have looked like? 

I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this first section! Make sure to read Book Three before checking back next week!