Rules of Civility

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was gorgeously written. I felt myself being pulled into the nostalgia of 1930s New York with every passing detail. Like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Towles has the ability to capture a location and an era with such skill that you don't notice how far you've traveled into a world of their creation. Towles manages also to subtly clue modern day readers into a time or social stratosphere that we, ourselves, may not be familiar with without making it feel like a history lesson. The title, which comes from George Washington's 110 rules of civility, is woven in beautifully.

The book opens with our main character, Miss Katey Kontent, on the arm of her husband years after the story takes place, which lets you know that she and the charming Tinker Grey do not end up together....and still I held my breath just hoping it would work out. Also like Fitzgerald, Towles is not afraid of complex characters, flawed and susceptible to human frailties and whims. I'm afraid one of the major twists that involves a character's less-than-perfect life choices felt as disappointing to me as Daisy abandoning Gatsby all those years ago.

Long review short, I love Amor Towles' writing. I'm sorry to say that "Rules of Civility" and "A Gentleman in Moscow" are his only two novels. He has said that it takes him about four years to write a book, so I am already counting to 2021.

Happy reading--

ps. The audiobook reader, Rebecca Lowman, is excellent also - just in case you were wondering.

(Book 55 - 2019)