What you're trying to do is use the backdrop of history to tell a story which is a representation of events in Russia but that is really ultimately a universal tale at the same time.' 'I think the job of the novelist is different. 'I confess right off the bat, I am not a historian, and the book is not a work of history,' Towles said. Within view is the Bolshoi, where the ballet has performed since before the revolution. He mixes fiction with fact, like the hotel's location next to the Kremlin and the lovely Alexandrov Gardens, where the Count once strolled. Towles, a former investment executive who now writes full time, is delighted that the world he crafted for the Count is so convincing.

Towles remarked, 'Occasionally now, I'm told by the staff that people come with the book in hand and they want to go see, 'Where is the Count's room on the 6th floor?' And they're, 'Well, we're sorry but there is no attic on the 6th floor!'' In Towles' novel the once-fabulously-wealthy Count is forced to live in a tiny attic servant's room. And the book is very much an exploration of that process in the context of a challenging era.' 'There's that desire as a human being to make fundamental connections, to find causes for laughter, to be enriched by our relationships.

'I think of it as a will to joy in the human spirit,' Towles said. Palmer said, 'The Count is an admirable person who demonstrates courage and grace and resilience and love.' Author Amor Towles with correspondent Liz Palmer, in the lobby of the Metropol.

A gentleman in moscow a novel