Inside the Metropol, a Life is Lived. Inside your Library, a World Awaits.
This series of blog posts explores the rooms of the Hotel Metropol, setting of this year’s One Read title, and recommends books and films related to each scene. For a true admirer of the written word, one book is never the end of the story.
At the Piazza with Nina
In which the Count enjoys lunch and an engaging conversation with a certain young lady who has a penchant for the color yellow. They discuss mustaches, princesses and duels “with pistols at thirty-two paces.” (Just as an aside, his excellent marksmanship, knowledge of duels and more specifically, the location of dueling pistols hidden somewhere within the walls of the Hotel Metropol, will later serve the Count well.)
“The Book of Duels” by Michael Christopher Garriga
“Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories From History — Without the Fairy-tale Endings” by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
“Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair” by Christopher Oldstone-Moore
In Suite 208 with Anna Urbanova
After an amorous interlude in her suite, the famous actress asks the Count to draw the curtains as he leaves, which he does, while also picking up her ivory blouse from the floor and placing it on it’s hanger. This gesture unaccountably infuriates Anna Urbanova for many days afterward, culminating in all her fashionable wardrobe thrown onto the street, definitely no delicate whoosh.
“1920s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook” edited by by Charlotte Fiell
“Paris Vogue: Covers 1920-2009” by Sonia Rachline
“The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good” by Elizabeth L. Cline
“Magnifeco: Your Head-to-toe Guide to Ethical Fashion and Non-toxic Beauty” by Kate Black
“Style Me Vintage Clothes: Easy Techniques for Creating Classic Looks” by Naomi Thompson
In the Cellar with Andrey
“Yes, a bottle of wine was the ultimate distillation of time and place; a poetic expression of individuality itself.”
When the Commissar of Food commands all wine labels at the Metropol Hotel to be removed, thus destroying their identities and individuality, Count Rostov surveys the damage with Andrey at his side. He then contemplates suicide and selects a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape after recognizing the crossed keys insignia embossed on the bottle. There’s some additional significance in this moment, since the Rostov family had always gathered upon the tenth anniversary of a family member’s death to raise a glass of this very wine in their honor.
“Tasting the Past: The Science of Flavor & the Search for the Original Wine Grapes” by Kevin Begos
“Wine: A Tasting Course” by Marnie Old
“Wine for the Confused” with John Cleese DVD
“Wine Reads: A Literary Anthology of Wine Writing” edited by Jay McInerney
“Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure” by Don Kladstrup
