Along the way they discuss the craft of writing, the wellsprings of persistence, and Towles's reading habits. I was enchanted and very taken by the book. However, I had a concern that I could not shake. The book starts at the time that the Red Terror started. The evils of the Red Terror were followed by a descent into civil horrors that our minds can barely contain as millions were destroyed by imprisonment, torture, exile, and death.
The book navigates away from looking at the crimes beyond crimes of the Stalinist system. Towles is very amusing, but a small part of my mind remembers Solzhenitsyn and Vasily Grossman. I am surprised by your comment. I think the book very much remembers the darkness of Stalinism.
And handles it magnificently. Please listen to the podcast. We discuss this very issue. A delightful interview! My book club still rates A Gentleman in Moscow as our favorite work of fiction. Well done! I am so glad I found the comments section on EconTalk recently too, I have listened to EconTalk for probably a decade now but never looked at the comments.
Everyone seems to be very civil and thoughtful so however you have managed to make that work well done as it is a rarity on the internet these days, I now only ever get involved in comments sections in websites where I use my real name which has upsides and downsides but has mostly been a positive experience for me so far. The discussion about the power of restraints was particularly interesting to me. Very much enjoyed the interview. An outstanding read. As someone who rarely reads fiction, the interview and book is helping me re-consider my reading choices.
Thanks so much. I listened to this on Audible. In , at 46, he published his first book, Rules of Civility. It was a big hit.
