Gentleman from Moscow by Amor Towles

In 1922, Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is placed under house arrest for being a member of the former aristocracy and authoring a "dangerous" poem.  His "house" is the Metropol Hotel - a grand world unto its own directly across the street from the Kremlin.  Banned from his elegant suite, he continues life in the servants quarters in the hotels upper floor.  But Rostov is the least isolated person imaginable.  Observant, thoughtful, wise in so many ways, and friends to the hotel staff as well to the Metropol's visitors of importance - he is the person you would most want to share a table with in the fine dining rooms of the Metropol or share a chat in the second chair of his "suite" both of which can be completely imagined thanks to the rich detail provided by Towles.  With humor and frequent philosophical insights - reading this book is chance to ponder both history and life with one of the most engaging of gentlemen.  On my list of favorites.