It's the story of a person in a constrained set of circumstances, but you've imbedded him in world events in a way that is quite, quite extraordinary. It it about a debate between dinner guests over whether capital punishment is more cruel than a life in prison,. And so says, no sceese me. One of the guests says, life in prison is obviously better than death. A young lawyer says he can stay in a small cottage on the host's property for 15 years without leaving, excepting only food and books through an open window. In return, if he's manages to stay there, the host will pay him 3 million roubles or something. That's first
Author Amor Towles talks about his book, A Gentleman in Moscow, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Along the way they discuss the craft of writing, the wellsprings of persistence, and Towles's reading habits.