Let me start by saying that Amor Towles quickly became one of my favorite authors. I bragged about how wonderful he is to every person who would listen. Forced my husband to read his books (which he also loved) so we could have thoughtful discussions about them. So when I saw he released a new book, I grabbed it quickly. Then, I stored it away to read while aloud together while we went on a roadtrip. 

Sadly, the book didn’t make it through the roadtrip. The beginning of the book is rough. It is not the Towles I have come to know and love. It was slow and long winded. We gave up reading aloud and switched to another. 

This book is HUGE, so I had a hard time making it a DNF just because we couldn’t handle reading it aloud. So I kicked up my feet, ready to dive in again. And again, it was rough. 
      I will say I finished it. I am proud of it. It is a BIG book (576 pages) and it wasn’t ‘fun’. As I neared the ending I could see a bit of my normal Towles magic shine through. The range of characters were beautiful, the story lovingly set and the journey worth it. 
     There is just SO MUCH noise surrounding all the beautiful parts, which is why I had to rate it what I did and it hurts. I love this author and look forward to his next book.