Mon Dieu! 
Merde! 
Mien Gott!

This is how I reacted when I finished reading the book. And yes, it took me a long time to realize the author might have a fondness towards the letter "a," especially the capitalized version of it. It is in his name title of the book, and each chapter, haha Alliteration is so damn consistent; I love it

Even when the world you are so accustomed which is a world that gave you comfort and a sense of Purpose, starts falling apart, you have the power to create a new world that will give you the comfort and Purpose that you seek, no matter how powerless you seem to be to other people, no matter how powerless you think you are. You will always have power because you will always have the choice; no revolution or anything else, or anyone can take that from you. 

This above is the insight I derived from the quote, "A man master his circumstance, or his circumstance will master him."

You "must" because you always "can" master your circumstance because you always have a choice. 

I was unexpectedly not bored with the book and loved it. Poignantly beautiful, and everything is eloquently and perfectly described, whether it is the setting being described or the current mod/thoughts/insights of the MC (Count Rostov). Another author with a master with words (Of course, you have to google some words, especially the towns and French words, but that is expected because of the setting of the store, but nonetheless everything is described as beautiful that even at my age (Born 1997) and in raised in a techy meme infested internet world can still comprehend the images the authors want to convey 

"A man master his circumstance or his circumstance will master him."

My (and others, I assume, have the same claim) most favorite sentence/theme in the book. Especially when the MC is experiencing house arrest since all of us are in a pandemic or post-pandemic times. The feeling of house arrest is not yet even alien to us and is quite still palpable and familiar. 

I honestly would have never guessed years ago, me a scifi/philsophy/self-help book readers would want and much less enjoy this kind of novel. I am from Asia and never really familiar with the concept of Nobleman/count and not really that attracted to literature about Russia and historical Russia (it is only later on that I realized that they are, in the past, where the monarchy is still the way to govern a country/state, is that a nobleman/count is higher of social status compared to a commoner but below a King/Queen/Princess/Prince Monarch) 

But I did want to suddenly read it, and I did enjoy it

Never thought being stuck in a hotel for years on end would be suffocating; then again if you are forced to stay there AND not able to go anywhere else, you would feel suffocated and feel like it is a prison.

Amor Towels. You son of a merde. Damn your writing is good. Too good, felt like I was truly trapped in a hotel and have no option to go away.

Mon Dieu! All I can say is Mon Dieu, is such a lovely novel, beautiful.

Maybe because one of my favorite self-help author Mark Manson reads it, I discovered it as well after reading "All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr"(Mark Manson also suggested this to me), all though it is not right or not fair too compared both books to each other because they are two entirely different stories, different plot, and setting, Goddman I have to say both of them have a same wavelength... Wavelength of Poignancy

Zut! I loved the characters already on the earlier pages, but 78% progress sealed the deal for me. Sofia loves his adopted father so much. and the family members of the hotel are colorful and lovely

I like Katerina's words, "Does it matter?" That hint of nihilism reminds you that death is a part of life rather than the opposite of it. And it is not only present at the end of one's life but daily since not only a number of people die every day, but everything in our daily life changes, and change is the brother, if not the complete equal of death.

I love that the Stoic themes are melded between the cracks of the novel, but the characters themselves are not bland. Or colorless or so stoic that you are hindered in emphasizing with them if not loving them.

Maybe it is because the setting is both in times of suffering and war and injustice or losing something, his Purpose as a nobleman who serves the royal family and that produces. Sadness and sadness is the reason why the sense of poignancy is always present

This tackles as well apparently a man's search for meaning/Purpose because he has lost his sense of duty or Purpose as a nobleman man serving royalty. Maybe this is why Mark Manson reads this: He is a self-help author who answers quite well our desire for Purpose. Mark Manson says (a paraphrase of his words): 

"Purpose is not found. It is created. Finding our purpose is essentially finding an important use of our time. The purpose is not static; it is ever-changing because you are changing constantly. If your sense of purpose changes throughout your life it might be good sign that you are growing as person since that means your changing."

Another good news from Mark is when you lose your sense of purpose (which happens to all of us at some point, just like the MC of this book), you can always create a new one. It is much easier to get/ create your Purpose when you don't ask the universe what your purpose is but instead ask yourself, what are meaningful activities for you? What do you truly care about? Especially those things that you are not forced by others to care about.

No one needs, and no one can give you the sense of Purpose you seek. Only you can give it to yourself.