This captivating story begins in Moscow in 1922 when Count Alexander Rostov is tried by a Bolshevik tribunal and found to be an unrepentant nobleman. Only 30 years old, the Count, accustomed to luxury, is sentenced to house arrest at the Hotel Metropol. While the hotel still boasts all the amenities (2 restaurants, barbershop, etc) and the Count has a fortune concealed in his furniture, he is still confined to very small quarters while the world around him changes dramatically. Fortunately, the hotel is peopled by colorful guests, including 9-year-old Nina Kulikova, daughter of a Ukrainian bureaucrat living at the hotel. Nina takes an interest in the Count, sharing tea times and asking him countless questions like, what it takes to be a princess. The count's responses to Nina's queries provide solid guidelines on how to live in a civilized society, e.g. why to respect one's elders:
"A new generation owes a measure of thanks to every member of the previous generation. Our elders planted fields and fought in wars, they advanced the arts and sciences, and generally made sacrifices on our behalf".
On another topic, "a princess would be raised to say 'please' when she asked for cake and 'thank you' when she was offered one" - even if she did not request the cake in the first place.
Additionally, the author's description of various dishes (e.g., the Latvian stew on Christmas eve, with "the onions thoroughly caramelized, the pork slowly braised, and the apricots briefly stewed") made my mouth water.
Nearly halfway through (and 8 years into the Count's house arrest at the hotel) the book seems to be a series of vignettes about manners and civility in a world that is quickly losing them. More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment