Brown Club of DC

The Brown Book Club will meet on Sunday, February 10 to discuss A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (fiction, 462 pp,  2016). We’ll begin at 6PM with dinner, then go on to discussion.  Please RSVP by Friday, February 8 by contacting the event organizer, who will provide location information. Mention any food allergies, and bring $6 – $8 for the meal.

“A Gentleman in Moscow is the utterly entertaining second novel from the author of Rules of Civility. Amor Towles skillfully transports us to The Metropol, the famed Moscow hotel where movie stars and Russian royalty hobnob, where Bolsheviks plot revolutions and intellectuals discuss the merits of contemporary Russian writers, where spies spy, thieves thieve and the danger of twentieth century Russia lurks outside its marbled walls. It’s also where wealthy Count Alexander Rostov lives under house arrest for a poem deemed incendiary by the Bolsheviks, and meets Nina. Nina is a precocious and wide-eyed young girl who holds the keys to the entire hotel, wonders what it means to be a princess, and will irrevocably change his life. Despite being confined to the hallway of the hotel, the Count lives an absorbing, adventure-filled existence, filled with capers, conspiracies and culture. Alexander Rostov is a character for the ages–like Kay Thompson’s Eloise and Wes Anderson’s M. Gustav, he is unflinchingly (and hilariously for readers) devoted to his station, even when forced to wait tables, play hide and seek with a young girl, or confront communism. Towles magnificently conjures the grandeur of the Russian hotel and the vibrancy of the characters that call it home.” –Al Woodworth, The Amazon Book Review

Open to all alumni.  Please contact Corey Lipow (clipow@gmail.com) with questions.

The Brown Book Club will meet on Sunday, March 10 to discuss Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Brunt (fiction, 367 pp,  2012). We’ll begin at 6PM with dinner, then go on to discussion.  Please RSVP by Friday, March 8 by contacting the event organizer, who will provide location information. Mention any food allergies, and bring $6 – $8 for the meal.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE 2013 BY: The Wall Street Journal • O: The Oprah Magazine • BookPage • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • School Library Journal

“1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.” –Amazon Book Reviews