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A Gentleman in Moscow.
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Quotes Nika Liked
“if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them.”
― A Gentleman in Moscow
― A Gentleman in Moscow
“Was the minding of one’s own business no longer a subject taught in schools? “Like”
― A Gentleman in Moscow
― A Gentleman in Moscow
Reading Progress
November 11, 2023
–
Started Reading
November 11, 2023
– Shelved
November 11, 2023
–
3.03%
"From the earliest age, we must learn to say goodbye to friends and family. We see our parents and siblings off at the station; we visit cousins, attend schools, join the regiment; we mary, or travel abroad. It is part of human experience that we are constantly gripping a good fellow by the shoulders and wishing him well, taking comfort from the notion that we will hear word of him soon enough."
page
14
November 11, 2023
–
3.03%
"But experience is less likely to teach us how to bid our dearest possessions adieu."
page
14
November 11, 2023
–
3.9%
"Adversity presents itself in many forms; and that if a man does not master his circumstances then he is bound to be mastered by them."
page
18
November 11, 2023
–
4.33%
"But imagining what might happen if one's circumstances were different was the only sure route to madness."
page
20
November 11, 2023
–
6.71%
"Here, Montaigne quoted an array of unimpeachable authorities from the Golden Age who confirmed conclusively that sadness is an emotion best shared. Or kept to oneself."
page
31
November 12, 2023
–
8.66%
"Was the minding of one's own business no longer a subject taught in schools?"
page
40
November 12, 2023
–
9.31%
""Were they in love with the same woman?" "I don't think a woman was involved." The girl looked at the Count with an expression of incredulity. "A woman is always involved," she said."
page
43
November 19, 2023
–
13.85%
"For if a room that exists under the governance, authority, and intent of others seems smaller than it is, then a room that exists in secret can, regardless of its dimensions, seem as vast as one cares to imagine."
page
64
November 24, 2023
–
14.29%
"The Count found political discourse of any persuasion to be tedious."
page
66
November 25, 2023
–
15.58%
""All little girls outgrow their interest in princesses," she said. "In fact, they outgrow their interest in princesses faster than little boys outgrow their interest in clambering about.""
page
72
November 25, 2023
–
16.23%
"It is the business of the times to change, Mr. Halecki. And it is the business of gentlemen to change with them."
page
75
November 25, 2023
–
16.45%
"For the times do, in fact change. They change relentlessly. Inevitably. Inventively. And as they change, they set into bright relief not only outmoded honorifics and hunting horns, but silver summoners and mother-of-pear opera glasses and all manner of carefully crafted things that have outlived their usefulness."
page
76
December 20, 2023
–
17.32%
"As such, the two young men hardly seemed fated for friendship. But
Fate would not have the reputation it has if it simply did what it seemed it
would do."
page
80
Fate would not have the reputation it has if it simply did what it seemed it
would do."
December 20, 2023
–
18.4%
"As an archeologist, when Thomsen divided the ages of man into Stone,
Bronze, and Iron, naturally enough, he did so in accordance with the
physical tools that defined each epoch. But what of man’s spiritual
development? What of his moral development? I tell you, they progressed
along the very same lines."
page
85
Bronze, and Iron, naturally enough, he did so in accordance with the
physical tools that defined each epoch. But what of man’s spiritual
development? What of his moral development? I tell you, they progressed
along the very same lines."
December 20, 2023
–
18.4%
"In the Stone Age, the ideas in the caveman’s head were as blunt as the club in his hand; they were as rough as the flint from which he struck a spark. In the Age of Bronze, when a canny few discovered the science of metallurgy, how long did it take for them to fashion coins, crowns, and swords? That unholy trinity to which the common man was enslaved for the next one thousand years."
page
85
December 25, 2023
–
19.91%
"“Well, sometimes everybody tells you something because it is true.� “Sometimes,� Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody?"
page
92
December 25, 2023
–
19.91%
"The only difference between everybody and nobody is all the shoes."
page
92
December 25, 2023
–
20.13%
"We are talking about horizons, aren’t we? That horizontal line at the limit of sight? Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn’t one be better served by working her way toward an actual horizon, so that she could see what lay beyond it?"
page
93
December 25, 2023
–
20.13%
"It is the mark of a fine chess player to tip over his own king when he sees that defeat is inevitable, no matter how many moves remain in the game."
page
93
December 27, 2023
–
22.73%
"But just as important, a careful accounting of days allows the isolated to note that another year of hardship has been endured; survived; bested. Whether they have found the strength to persevere through a tireless determination or some foolhardy optimism, those 365 hatch marks stand as proof of their indomitability."
page
105
December 27, 2023
–
22.73%
"For after all, if attentiveness should be measured in minutes and discipline measured in hours, then indomitability must be measured in years. Or, if philosophical investigations are not to your taste, then let us simply agree that the wise man celebrates what he can."
page
105
December 27, 2023
–
24.89%
"By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour."
page
115
December 27, 2023
–
25.11%
"According to local lore, hidden deep within the forest was a tree with apples as black as coal—and if you could find this tree and eat of its fruit, you could start your life anew."
page
116
December 27, 2023
–
25.32%
"To be a step ahead in matters of romance requires constant vigilance. If one hopes to make a successful advance, one must be mindful of every utterance, attend to every gesture, and take note of every look. In other words, to be a step ahead in romance is exhausting. But to be a step behind? To be seduced? Why, that was a matter of leaning back in one’s chair, sipping one’s wine..."
page
117
December 27, 2023
–
25.54%
"For if a man has had the good fortune to be plucked from the crowd by an impetuous beauty, shouldn’t he expect to be sent on his way without ceremony?"
page
118
December 27, 2023
–
25.97%
"To what end, he wondered, had the Divine created the stars in heaven to fill a man with feelings of inspiration one day and insignificance the next?"
page
120
December 30, 2023
–
27.71%
"Professor Lisitsky says that one must wrestle with mathematics the way that one wrestles with a bear."
page
128
February 10, 2024
–
30.52%
"If patience wasn’t so easily tested, then it would hardly be a virtue..."
page
141
February 10, 2024
–
30.52%
"Popular upheaval, political turmoil, industrial progress—any combination of these can cause the evolution of a society to leapfrog generations, sweeping aside aspects of the past that might otherwise have lingered for decades. And this must be especially so, when those with newfound power are men who distrust any form of hesitation or nuance, and who prize self-assurance above all."
page
141
February 10, 2024
–
31.39%
"It is a fact of human life that one must eventually choose a philosophy. Or such was the opinion of the Count."
page
145
February 10, 2024
–
32.9%
"For a moment,the Count wondered if the height of the balcony was sufficient to measure the influence of mass on the descent of varying objects.After all,hadn’t Galileo climbed theTower of Pisa when he executed his experiment?And surely,the balcony wasn’t high enough to calculate the acceleration of gravity.But it's hardly the role of the casual observer to call into question the methodology of the seasoned scientist"
page
152
February 10, 2024
–
33.98%
"For who, I ask you, has exhibited better mastery of the shorter form than Chekhov in his lawless little stories? Precise and uncluttered, they invite us into some corner of a household at some discrete hour in which the entire human condition is suddenly within reach, if heartbreakingly so."
page
157
February 10, 2024
–
33.98%
"Can you conceive of a work greater in scope than War and Peace? One that moves so deftly from the parlor to the battlefield and back again? That so fully investigates how the individual is shaped by history, and history by the individual? In the generations to come, I tell you there will be no new authors to supplant these two as the alpha and omega of narrative."
page
157
February 10, 2024
–
34.2%
"It is commonly said that the English know how to celebrate Advent best. But with all due respect, to witness the essence of winter cheer one must venture farther north than London. One must venture above the fiftieth parallel to where the course of the sun is its most elliptical and the force of the wind its most unforgiving."
page
158
February 10, 2024
–
34.2%
"Anyone who has spent an hour drinking vodka by the glass knows that size has surprisingly little to do with a man’s capacity."
page
158
February 10, 2024
–
35.28%
"“But there is one more event to relate: Ten years ago tomorrow, while I
was biding my time in Paris, my sister died.�
“Of a broken heart . . . ?�
“Young women only die of broken hearts in novels, Charles. She died of
scarlet fever.�"
page
163
was biding my time in Paris, my sister died.�
“Of a broken heart . . . ?�
“Young women only die of broken hearts in novels, Charles. She died of
scarlet fever.�"
February 12, 2024
–
35.5%
"Yes, exile was as old as mankind. But the Russians were the first people to master the notion of sending a man into exile at home."
page
164
February 12, 2024
–
35.5%
"As early as the eighteenth century, the Tsars stopped kicking their enemies out of the country, opting instead to send them to Siberia. Why? Because they had determined that to exile a man from Russia as God had exiled Adam from Eden was insufficient as a punishment; for in another country, a man might immerse himself in his labors, build a house, raise a family. That is, he might begin his life anew."
page
164
February 16, 2024
–
39.18%
"Always to shine, to shine everywhere, to the very depths of the last days..."
page
181
February 17, 2024
–
39.83%
"Nina Kulikova always was and would be a serious soul in search of serious ideas to be serious about."
page
184
February 17, 2024
–
40.48%
"Then you must trust in her. And even if she is single-minded to a fault, you must trust that life will find her in time. For eventually, it finds us all."
page
187
February 17, 2024
–
40.91%
"What possibly could have happened to reunite these contrary souls?"
page
189
February 17, 2024
–
42.64%
"“How many freckles do I have?�
“How many stars are in the sky...?�"
page
197
“How many stars are in the sky...?�"
February 18, 2024
–
45.24%
"As both a student of history and a man devoted to living in the present, I admit that I do not spend a lot of time imagining how things might otherwise have been. But I do like to think there is a difference between being resigned to a situation and reconciled to it."
page
209
February 25, 2024
–
50.22%
"When such a friend has sought one out to ask for aid� particularly one for whom asking favors in a time of need does not come naturally—then there is only one acceptable response."
page
232
February 25, 2024
–
51.08%
"“Oh,� said Sofia, bringing the topic to a close with the efficiency of the guillotine."
page
236
February 25, 2024
–
51.3%
"She is no more than thirty pounds; no more than three feet tall; her entire bag of belongings could fit in a single drawer; she rarely speaks unless spoken to; and her heart beats no louder than a bird’s. So how is it possible that she takes up so much space?!"
page
237
February 25, 2024
–
52.16%
"The Count’s father had believed that while a man should attend closely to life, he should not attend too closely to the clock. A student of both the Stoics and Montaigne, the Count’s father believed that our Creator had set aside the morning hours for industry."
page
241
February 25, 2024
–
52.38%
"In the afternoon, the Count’s father believed that a man should take care not to live by the watch in his waistcoat—marking the minutes as if the events of one’s life were stations on a railway line. Rather, having been suitably industrious before lunch, he should spend his afternoon in wise liberty."
page
242
February 25, 2024
–
52.38%
"The Count’s father was of the mind that one should never hear it. If one had lived one’s day well—in the service of industry, liberty, and the Lord� one should be soundly asleep long before twelve. So the second chime of the twice-tolling clock was most definitely a remonstrance. What are you
doing up? it was meant to say.Were you so profligate with your daylight that you must hunt about for things to do in the dark?"
page
242
doing up? it was meant to say.Were you so profligate with your daylight that you must hunt about for things to do in the dark?"
March 1, 2024
–
54.55%
"If you always do the hiding and I always do the hunting, then it wouldn’t be a game at all."
page
252
March 3, 2024
–
56.49%
""People who have never been abroad don’t know how good bread can be.""
page
261
March 3, 2024
–
56.93%
"And Shalamov? With his long nose and little eyes, the Count had always found him to be something of a ferret, and one mustn’t let a ferret spoil one’s sense of accomplishment, or one’s cause for celebration."
page
263
March 9, 2024
–
58.23%
"Popular wisdom tells us that when the reel of our concerns interferes with our ability to fall asleep, the best remedy is the counting of sheep in a meadow."
page
269
March 9, 2024
–
58.87%
"If we have learned nothing else, the lone figure reflected with a crooked smile, at least we have learned to stand in line."
page
272
March 11, 2024
–
60.39%
"So, was the Count “aware� of what took place in the fourth-floor corridor at a quarter to eight? One might just as well ask if Noah was aware of the Flood, or Adam the Apple. Of course he was aware. No man on earth was more aware. But what aspect of his awareness could possibly warrant the interruption of a demitasse?"
page
279
March 16, 2024
–
61.26%
"One of the advantages of working together for many years is that the daily rigmarole can be dispensed with quickly, leaving ample time for discussions of weightier concerns—such as rheumatism, the inadequacy of public transit, and the petty behavior of the inexplicably promoted."
page
283
March 16, 2024
–
62.34%
"What is it about a nation that would foster a willingness in its people to destroy their own artworks, ravage their own cities, and kill their own progeny without compunction?"
page
288
March 16, 2024
–
62.55%
"Mark my words, my friend: We have not burned Moscow to the ground for the last time."
page
289
April 1, 2024
–
69.7%
"Viktor Stepanovich calls that the mood. He says that before one plays a note, one must discover an example of the composition’s mood hidden away in one’s heart. So for this piece, I think about my mother. I think of how my few memories of her seem to be fading, and then I begin to play."
page
322
April 1, 2024
–
69.7%
"As a younger man, I used to feel the same way about my sister. Every year that passed, it seemed a little more of her had slipped away; and I began to fear that one day I would come to forget her altogether. But the truth is: No matter how much time passes, those we have loved never slip away from us entirely."
page
322
April 27, 2024
–
69.7%
"It was true, his father said, that in a relatively static environment the pace of evolution should decelerate, as individual species have little new to adapt to. But environments are never static for long. The forces of nature inevitably unleash themselves in such a manner that the necessity for adaptation will be stirred."
page
322
April 27, 2024
–
69.7%
"The pace of evolution was not something to be frightened by. For while nature doesn’t have a stake in whether the wings of a peppered moth are black or white, it genuinely hopes that the peppered moth will persist. And that is why nature designed the forces of evolution to play out over generations rather than eons—to ensure that moths and men have a chance to adapt."
page
322
April 27, 2024
–
71.0%
"Although, on the other hand, since the beginning of time men in pursuit of wisdom had routinely retreated to mountaintops, caves, and cabins in the woods. So, perhaps that is where one must eventually head, if one has any hopes of achieving enlightenment without the interference of meddlers."
April 28, 2024
–
73.0%
"Why, many Western observers wondered, would over a million citizens stand in line to see the corpse of a tyrant?"
April 28, 2024
–
74.0%
"“I’ll tell you what is convenient,� he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party, so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether."
April 28, 2024
–
74.0%
"These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka—and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.�"
May 19, 2024
–
75.0%
"For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two, but three. Or maybe four. (But by no means five.) Yes, a parent should share his hesitations and then take three or four steps back, so that the child can make a decision by herself—even when that decision may lead to disappointment."
May 25, 2024
–
78.0%
""Do you see these stones in this bare, scorching desert? Turn them into BREAD and mankind will run after you like sheep, grateful and obedient... But you did not want to deprive man of freedom and rejected the offer, for what sort of freedom is it, you reasoned, if obedience is bought with loaves of BREAD?" -Fyodor Dostoevsky"
July 5, 2024
–
81.0%
"For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim."
July 6, 2024
–
84.0%
"Alexander Rostov was neither scientist nor sage; but at the age of sixty four he was wise enough to know that life does not proceed by leaps and bounds. It unfolds. At any given moment, it is the manifestation of a thousand transitions."
July 13, 2024
–
86.0%
"But the Communist Party was not a “State of Nature.� Quite to the contrary, it was one of the most intricate and purposeful constructions ever manufactured by man. In essence: the hierarchy of all hierarchies."
August 24, 2024
–
87.0%
"But oftentimes, Sofia, our best course of action appears objectionable at the first step. In fact, it almost always does."
September 6, 2024
–
88.0%
"But does there need to be a reason? Do you still dine with all of the friends with whom you dined twenty years ago? Suffice it to say that the two shared a fondness for each other and despite their best intentions, life intervened."
September 6, 2024
–
90.0%
"As much as we hate to admit the fact, Fate does not take sides. It is fair-minded and generally prefers to maintain some balance between the likelihood of success and failure in all our endeavors."
September 7, 2024
–
92.0%
"He had said that our lives are steered by uncertainties, many of which are disruptive or even daunting; but that if we persevere and remain generous of heart, we may be granted a moment of supreme lucidity—a moment in which all that has happened to us suddenly comes into focus as a necessary course of events, even as we find ourselves on the threshold of a bold new life that we had been meant to lead all along."
