I absolutely adored Rules of Civility so was incredibly happy to get a chance to read an ARC of Towles' new book. It took a little effort for me to get into this new time period and location, but once I was able to settle into it, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and had a bit of an education to boot. 
 Count Rostov is of the Russian aristocracy at a time when that is no longer acceptable. He is sentenced to exile inside the Metropol Hotel in Moscow (before exiling in Siberia was in fashion), which had been his home for a couple of years. In the subsequent 30 or so years, we see Count Rostov's conditions change, but not his gentlemanly nature. We are introduced to a wonderful cast of characters, watch Russia change through those characters, and still, always, have empathy and admiration for the Count. 
 My minor gripes with the story are that it leaps forward in time often without warning which can feel jolting and left me a bit confused, and that the politics and the larger picture of those politics are somewhat downplayed until the end. Perhaps that's what the book is going for - a sort of subtlety and softness in keeping with the Count's nature...In the end I did find this book subtly brilliant.