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Publication date: 2016
WCRG meeting: 16 May 2018
Rating: 7.4
The vast majority of our book club members loved this book. They especially liked the main character (‘a real gent’) and found it charming and whimsical. Members described the book as very elegant, humorous and a clever book, well written. A lot of what was mentioned during the book, and especially in the first chapter, was later picked up again and became meaningful, “the first chapter contained basically the whole book”. Readers also liked the many different characters and the description of them. We also liked the referencing of classic books and movies.
Some criticisms were that the book was a bit long and a slow read, however it still managed to keep the readers curious as to what would happen next. Although everyone liked the count and found him an endearing character, some felt that he did not really develop as a character during the book; especially considering for how long the book followed him.
All chapter titles began with an ‘A’, but because we couldn’t really find a reason for this, it felt more gimmicky than clever.
Some questions about the book remained. Did it give readers an insight into Russia and Russians, or was it a bit too detached from the real world outside the hotel? The awareness of the difficult times in the background was very subtly depicted - perhaps too subtly. Also, some episodes did feel quite unrealistic and left readers wondering.
Overall, the book was a very nice read, albeit some readers were left somewhat bored and wanting some darkness or tension to enter the narrative. However, these members were in the minority and most loved reading it.
The final score was 7.4 out of 10.
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