A gentleman in Moscow

NO TURNING BACK: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria, by Rania Abouzeid. (Norton, $17.95.) Abouzeid has spent years on the ground in Syria covering the civil war, and she combines extraordinary reporting with a historical and political overview of the origins of the conflict. In her book she focuses on a small group of characters, and their stories offer an intimate look at the impact of violence and tragedy. A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, by Amor Towles. (Penguin, $17.) In Towles's hugely popular novel, an aristocrat under arrest watches from a posh hotel as the Russian Revolution unfolds. Our reviewer, Craig Taylor, wrote, "What saves the book is the gorgeous sleight of hand that draws it to a satisfying end, and the way he chooses themes that run deeper than mere sociopolitical commentary." LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE: Essays, by Sloane Crosley. (Picador/MCD, $17.) Fans of Crosley, the author of "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" and "How Did You Get This Number," will be pleased to see her signature wit on full display in this new collection. The pieces draw on everything from her volcano-scaling escapades to the death of her solitary downstairs neighbor. Her observations, even the most sobering, are shot through with hope. THE BALCONY, by Jane Delury. (Back Bay/Little, Brown, $15.99.) This debut novel leaps back and forth to tell the stories of a property's inhabitants, starting in the 19 th century through the recent past. The state of the house, from dilapidation to haphazard renovation, mirrors the shifting relationships among its residents, including a Jewish family in hiding, a former courtesan and more. Our reviewer, Jan Stuart, praised the novel, writing, "The vivid intimacy of Delury's canvas is enhanced by descriptive prose at once concise and lush." TAILSPIN: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall - and Those Fighting to Reverse It, by Steven Brill. (Vintage, $16.95.) In this lament, Brill places a special focus on the laws and public decisions that have ushered in the current political and legal stalemates. It's not all depressing reading, however, as Brill is careful to highlight people and groups he believes are working to address our present problems. SMALL COUNTRY, by Gael j ··4 paye Trans|atecj by Sarah 4 Ardizzone. (Hogarth, $15.) A best seller in France, this novel borrows some ele"???? ments from the author's life to tell the story of a young boy, Gabriel, who is uprooted from his happy childhood in Burundi after civil war between the Hutus and Tutsis breaks out in the 1990s. The book charts Gabriel's loss of innocence in the face of violence.

Towles follows his best-selling novel of 1930s New York (Rules of Civility) with a sophisticated saga of life in Moscow under Bolshevik and Soviet rule. In 1922, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is pronounced an "unrepentant aristocrat" and sentenced to house arrest in his home-away-from-home, the Metropol Hotel, only spared being "put against the wall" because of a prerevolutionary poem he wrote in 1913. After he is marched across Red Square, Rostov is warned that if he ever steps outside the Metropol, he'll be shot. Despite being moved from his sumptuous suite to a 100 square foot attic room, Rostov vows to live his reduced life to the fullest, remembering the words of his godfather, the Grand Duke: "if a man does not master his circumstances, he is bound to be mastered by them." After being befriended by Nina, a bureaucrat's delightfully precocious nine-year-old daughter, who wears a master key to the hotel around her neck, the two explore the intricacies of the grand building, encountering many charming and colorful characters along the way. As the years go by, Moscow undergoes tremendous political and social upheaval, but these changes lurk in the shadows as Rostov and his Metropol family somehow carry on, beautifully demonstrating the strength of the human spirit. Nicholas Guy Smith masterfully narrates this exquisite story, bringing to life an unforgettable protagonist who could well become a favorite to listeners. VERDICT For all lovers of good fiction. ["This enthralling work is highly recommended even for those unfamiliar with Soviet history": LJ 8/16 starred review of the Viking hc.]-Beth -Farrell, -Cleveland State Univ. Law Lib. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.