There are some subjects that instantly turn me off a book - the hard times suffered by the idle rich being one of the chief amongst them. A meandering storyline which goes almost nowhere is another turnoff.
Taking that into consideration, this book really should have been firmly in my personal hate it category. The protagonist is an idle rich gentleman who finds himself under house arrest in a luxury hotel in post revolution Russia. He spends the vast majority of the book (and 40 years of his life ) there. He bemoans the fact that he now only has a small room to live in (bigger than my living room and kitchen combined from the description) but finds a way to extend his living quarters into the next tiny room, which he uses as his study.
The plot is negligible. It follows his relationships with staff members and a few notable guests. The story could theoretically have been told in 300 less pages.
However, I wouldn't want it to be. The thing that makes this book work is the prose. Count Rostov is eminently likeable and charming and even I could sympathise with him. It is an extremele witty book. Although rarely laugh out loud funny, it is a pleasure to read. There are a number of bon mots and nice insights into life in general.
The changes happening in Russia over the course of the novel are examined in the microcosm of the hotel environment - and they are quite fascinating. The struggles faced by the kitchen staff through shortages, the changing nationalities of the guests as foreign visitors are dicouraged/banned and later welcomed, the changing uses of the ball rooms into boshevik debating spaces etc. There are occasional glimpses to life outside the hotel for the common man and the sheer hypocracy of the ruling classes is displayed clearly.
It's probably coincidence that one of the most important hotel rooms in the story is room 317 and no similarity to the Shining is to be drawn from that, despite that room being haunted by Count Rostov's memories.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read. I really didn't expect to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did. I kept wondering if any of it was based on fact but my google searches point to it being entirely fictional.
Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment