A Gentleman in Moscow By, Amor Towles

Although this book is not categorized as Historical Fiction, I felt as though I was transported to the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. It is a grand hotel, which features a formal and informal restaurant, a cocktail bar, a barbershop, flower shop, a full time seamstress, meeting and banquet rooms.  In 1922, an irascible aristocrat, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest for a poem he wrote, which ignited a political firestorm. The Count was charged with Sedition, which is the conduct or speech, inciting people to rebel against authority. The Metropol was a historical landmark where notables, movie stars, dissidents, journalists, poets and royalty convene to discuss the current state of Russian affairs. The Count begrudgingly moves to a smaller, "cramped room in the attic, beneath the confining eaves of the roof, containing a single window, the size of a postage stamp."
The Count meets a precocious 9 year old girl, Nina, who is intent on living life as a princess. The Count is everyone's grandfather, as the two gallivant through rooms, hidden alleyways, cracks and crevices of the hotel.
Despite his confinement, the Count entertains, has an affair with an actress, conspires with the hotel chef and maitre d', and develops a life long friendship with Nina and in time, with her daughter Sofia.
Its a 30 year journey, unfolding in 400 pages, that captures a lifelong quest to live a rich and rewarding life, within the confines of the hotel. There is a wealth of wisdom throughout the book such as, "the Count had restricted himself to two succinct pieces of advice, the first is, if one did not master one's circumstances, one was bound to be mastered by them and the surest sign of wisdom is constant cheerfulness."
It's a charming book, that deftly engages readers on the merits of freedom, political hypocrisy, love, friendship, fate and the ability to adapt and persevere, in extreme circumstances.
The Counts message,"When life makes it impossible for a man to pursue his dreams, he will connive to pursue them anyway."