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    Rules of Civility: A Novel
    Rules of Civility: A Novel
    Rules of Civility: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Rules of Civility: A Novel

    Written by Amor Towles

    Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide

    On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

    With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Audio
    Release dateJul 26, 2011
    ISBN9781101526361
    Author

    Amor Towles

    Amor Towles (Boston, 1964) se graduó en la Universidad de Yale y completó estudios de posgrado en Literatura Inglesa en la de Stanford. Es autor de las novelas Normas de cortesía, Un caballero en Moscú, estrenada como serie de televisión con gran éxito, y La autopista Lincoln, y del libro de relatos Mesa para dos, cuatro obras publicadas en español por Salamandra de las que se han vendido más de seis millones de ejemplares y que se han traducido a más de treinta y cinco idiomas. Tras haber trabajado como profesional de las finanzas durante más de veinte años, Towles se dedica a tiempo completo a escribir en Manhattan, donde vive con su esposa y sus dos hijos.

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    Reviews for Rules of Civility

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    1,809 ratings171 reviews

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    • 5/5

      Jan 5, 2025

      The one thing that Mr Towles accomplishes with all his stories is setting the tone. I felt like I was sitting in a declining post-revolutionary Moscow in Gentlemen in Moscow, felt like I was growing up in the 50s during Lincoln Highway (didn't really care for the story all that much, but the tone and setting we spot on) and I had difficulty putting this book down. I was part of high society New York in the end of the 30s. I loved the story, the characters.
      The only debate with me is whether I like this more than A Gentlemen in Moscow. The jury is still out.
    • 4/5

      May 30, 2024

      Another Amor Towles book that I really liked. This is his first novel and his writing talent is evident. In “ Rules of Civility “, Towles gives homage to New York City in the late 1930s. He describes brilliantly a time of an emerging city filled with life, opportunities, glittering society, parties, and a whole lot of drinking going on. Our heroine Katey Kontent pursues the American dream full speed ahead and the reader gets to enjoy the ride. This novel has strong characters, lots of glitz, and is quick paced. I thoroughly enjoyed thiscoming of age story and love story to NYC.
    • 5/5

      Jan 9, 2025

      The trouble with having a story start, and then taking up 30 years before that, is that certain details learned from the present/future can just hang there, in wait, while you read the entire rest of the story. I suppose learning early on who she ends up marrying is a precaution against becoming too attached to any of the others, but the knowledge almost weighed on me. My hopeful little heart would start thinking, 'this is going well', or 'that's sweet', 'maybe they'll end up together!' only to be entirely dashed every time I recalled that *they don't*. I didn't know how, or why, but they don't! I suppose it's more of a 'coming of age' story than a love story, but there is still quite a bit of romance. And all with men she doesn't end up with. It might not bother another reader at all, but wondering what would end up keeping each relationship from working out felt sort of ominous and stressful to me. Other than that though, I quite enjoyed it! It's well written and compelling. I may read it again someday, and I believe I would enjoy it more the second time, already knowing the reasons and no longer waiting, in suspense, for the axe to fall that will doom their relationship. Also, I hadn't read much based in the States during the late 1930s, and I enjoyed the peek into that time. This story did not necessarily go the way I would have liked best, but, somehow, it had an integrity that forced me to respect it anyway. After all, life doesn't always go the way I want it to either, but I couldn't subtract a star over it.
    • 5/5

      May 16, 2024

      A great author. Everything flows and not a word is wasted.
    • 5/5

      Aug 21, 2024

      Elegantly written, a good story, as good as 'A Gentleman in Moscow'
    • 4/5

      Mar 4, 2024

      In the last hours of 1937, Katey Kontent and her roommate Evie Ross are at a down-at-heel jazz club when they meet Tinker Grey, a handsome and eligible bachelor who may not be all that he seems. The three strike up a friendship over a New Year's toast, and for the next few weeks, they go around together as often as possible. It seems like Tinker is developing an attachment to Katey when disaster strikes -- a disaster that will shape all of their lives over the coming year.

      I listened to the audiobook of this, expertly narrated by Rebecca Lowman. I fell completely into Katey's New York and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. My only complaint is that I felt the ending fizzled out just a little. I wanted more closure. (I felt the same way about A Gentleman in Moscow, so maybe it's an element of Towles' style to which I am reacting.) All in all, recommended.
    • 4/5

      May 22, 2024

      A fun book that captures an upper-lower class relationship with the twist that the woman is from the lower class. It's fun to watch the interactions between to people who are so extremely out of touch with reality.
    • 4/5

      Jun 27, 2023

      This book surprised me - I thought that I knew where it was going and then it turned out quite different!
    • 5/5

      Jun 8, 2023

      I love New York stories, and this was perfect. In the late 1930s between the wars, young people mix and mingle their way up the social ladder, developing deep relationships and honing ambitions over the course of a year. The banter is tight and smart, the setting comes to life, and the people are not easily forgotten.
    • 4/5

      Mar 17, 2023

      Katie Kontent is a native New Yorker who runs elbows with the rich of NYC in the late 1930’s. visiting an art exhibit in the 1960’s and seeing a photograph of a man she knew sets up her story which is deep dive of her life in 1938.
    • 4/5

      Jan 3, 2023

      Not my kind of novel, I almost quit reading it after a few chapters, but I kind of liked it. In the beginning it really seemed like clever repartee from an old movie - done well, but not my kinda thing. But either the writing got a bit less stylized as it went on, or I just got used to it.
    • 5/5

      Nov 13, 2022

      Amor Towles has fast become one of my top five favourite authors. I fell in love with A Gentleman in Moscow, and again with The Lincoln Highway. Rules of Civility is Towles' first novel and it shouldn't have surprised me that it is as good as his later novels. In Rules of Civility, the time frame is late 1930's in New York City. It's easy to tell that Towles loves New York City in this book because only someone who loves a place this much can write so well about it, no matter what timeframe. New York City is a character in this book along with Katherine Kontent, Tinker Gray, Eve Ross, Wallace Wolcott, and all of the other characters that come across the pages in this book. Characterization is definitely Mr. Towles' forte, but so is his prose, his language and his life lessons that are so prevalent in all his books. This book, at first glance, appears to be about three friends who meet in 1937 New York City. But from that initial meeting, a lifetime of changes are wrought by the pen of Amor Towles. He does such a marvellous job of depicting the Jazz Age in the greatest city in the world. It made me feel like i was there in the jazz clubs, dance halls and theatres--all of the fabulous places that the book describes. Katey and Eve are two working girls in their mid-20's in 1937. Each of them have their own dreams and aspirations, but they decide to pursue their own agendas together because everything is so much easier with friends. They both think they are very smart and worldly wise, but both realize that they have a lot to learn, and in some cases these life lessons are learned the hard way. I came to love all the characters in this book, and also felt that I got to know them intimately. Marvellous book written by a truly gifted author. I enjoyed it immensely. It was a wonderful escape from the present-day and I was sad when it was over.
    • 4/5

      Oct 23, 2022

      The protagonist, Katey Kontent, is a character who learned how to make the most out of cleverness, long legs and serendipity. We know next to nothing about her childhood and background, except that her father came from Russia and her mother abandoned them when she was young. I admired the protagonist's ambition and drive, but wondered where she got so much of that from:
      "if my father had made a million dollars, he wouldn't have eaten at la Belle Époque. To him, restaurants were the ultimate expression of ungodly waste. For all of the luxuries that your money could buy, a restaurant left you the least to show for it. Fur Could at least be worn in winter to fend off the cold, and a silver spoon could be melted down and sold to a jeweler. But a porterhouse steak? You chopped it, chewed it, swallowed it, wiped your lips and dropped your napkin on your plate. That was that. And asparagus? My father would sooner have carried at $20 bill to his grave than spend it on some glamorous weed coated in cheese."
      I have to agree with your father on that one, protagonist.

      Katey seems to make things work out of thin air:
      "On the morning of Friday, July 1st, I had a low paying job at a waning publisher and a dwindling circle of semi acquaintances. On Friday, July 8th, I had one foot in the door of Condé nast and the other in the door of the Knickerbocker club -- the professional and social circles that would define the next 30 years of my life.
      That's how quickly New York City comes about -- like a weather vane -- or the head of a cobra. Time tells which."
      Being white helps quite a bit, I'm sure.

      I loathe hunting and what it does to the animals who have to suffer for the tiny egos of those who need to shoot a gun to take their lives. Thus, I'm glad the author did not include any animals being killed in this "hunting lesson":
      "In the shooting range, the sound of the Remington had seemed somehow constrained, clipped, confined, and it got a little under your skin like the sound of someone biting on the blade of a knife. But here on the trout pond, the shotgun was resonant. It boomed like a ship's cannon and the sound lingered for a whole beat. It seemed to give shape to the open air, or rather to reveal the hidden architecture that was there all along -- the invisible cathedral that vaulted over the surface of the pond -- known to sparrows and dragonflies but invisible to the human eye.
      Relative to the rifle, the shotgun also felt more like an extension of yourself. When the bullet from the Remington flitted through the bullseye at the far end of the shooting range, the sound seemed independent of your finger pulling the trigger. But when the clay pigeon shattered there was no question that you had commanded it so. Standing at the pulpit, peering down the barrel into the open air, you suddenly had the power of a Gorgon -- the ability to influence matter at a distance merely by meeting it with your gaze. And the feeling didn't dissipate with the sound of the shot. It lingered. It permeated your limbs and sharpened your senses -- adding a certain self-possession to your swagger, or a swagger to your self possession. Either way, for a minute or so, it made you feel like a bitsy houghton.
      If only someone had told me about the confidence-boosting nature of guns, I'd have been shooting them all my life."
    • 4/5

      Oct 29, 2022

      At age 25, Katey is just beginning to really live life in late 1930's New York City. Starting in a boarding house where she meets her friend Eve, her life suddenly flits between the everyday and the edge of glamour. Along the way, she meets Tinker Grey, who influences her life in more ways than one.

      This is a hard one for me to review. I'd been looking forward to delving into Amor Towles' writing because of the great reviews I'd seen of his novels from the last few years. Although I think A Gentleman in Moscow is probably his most well known up to this point, I wanted to start with this, his first novel. I liked the "feel" of this one -- New York City just coming out of the Depression with a cautionary hopefulness, yet on the cusp of WWII. A glimpse into some higher society, balanced with the ins and outs of the day to day. Yet I couldn't quite get into this story as I'd hoped to. There were a nice variety of characters, but I never felt that I really got to know any of them as well as I wanted to. I never felt like I knew where the story was going, and at times the narration seemed to drift off into the unnecessary. Ultimately, it just didn't grab me as I'd hoped, given the hype of this author. But, there was enough here to keep me reading and I really do want to read Towles' subsequent novels. So we'll see how those go.
    • 5/5

      Aug 16, 2022

      Rules of Civility. Amor Towles. 2011. I love this book! Towles is such a fabulous writer, I just enjoy “wallowing” in his prose and his asides, Katey Kontnet, daughter of a Russian immigrant and struggling secretary meets Tinker Grey, bon vivant, in a sleazy jazz bar and thus begins Katey’s entrance into the upper class of New York City. Towles’ descriptions of this society are rich in detail. He lets us really see these people warts and all. It is sad, funny, and beautifully written with some heartbreaking surprises.
    • 5/5

      Aug 6, 2022

      I loved this character-driven novel by Amor Towles. This was his first novel, but I've read his other two first and loved them both.

      Not sure how to do this book justice in a review. On the surface, it's a story of multiple, overlapping love triangles. Everyone in the story has secrets, history they don't reveal, self re-invention.

      One common theme was the backdrop of New York City. It seemed like the only place where each character was able to live out their chosen facade. In fact New York City was like one more character i the book.

      Beautifully written! The audio was wonderful.
    • 5/5

      Dec 2, 2022

      Amor Towles is an author worthy of following. I plan on reading all of his books!
    • 4/5

      Jun 28, 2022

      I picked this up at a library sale a few years back after loving [A Gentleman in Moscow], but then it sat on my shelves as I read conflicting reviews. I'm glad I finally read it, because I really enjoyed it. The bulk of the story takes place in a pivotal year fo the narrator, Katey. It's 1939 and she is a young woman in NYC, working a secretarial job, having fun with her best friend Evey, and meeting several young men.

      As I read this, I kept thinking of that ubiquitous book descriptor - "transporting". Cliche for sure, but I was immersed in late 1930s New York so I think it actually applies this time!
    • 4/5

      May 20, 2022

      In 1966, Katey Kontent and her husband, Val, visit The MOMA for a photography exhibit and she sees 2 photos of someone she once knew and loved.
      Thus begins Rules of Civility and Katey reflects upon 1938 and the people who entered her life as a result of a chance encounter on NYE 1937. She and her friend, Eve Ross, meet Tinker and their life changes dramatically. They become involved in Tinker's circle of friends.
      As the different seasons of 1938 go by, Katey tells of all the events and the hopes and disappointments of the year, and how profoundly they affected her. Love and loss.
      Well written.
    • 3/5

      Jan 28, 2022

      Between book club and books people give me as gifts, I've read three novels by Amor Towles now, and I don't even like him. It reminds me of how I've seen Elvis Costello at least as many times without particularly liking him either.

      At least there were no bratty precocious kids in this one! I even surprised myself by enjoying the first half. I liked the jaunty tone, and I liked following the adventures of the crazy 20-something girls from the boarding house who managed to get so many men to buy them drinks.

      But after the first half or so, the story got wacky, and I stopped understanding anyone's motivation. Also, I feel Amor Towles really does not do Period well; the alleged time period of the story always feels slightly off, though I can usually not put my finger on why. This time I DID catch him in an anachronism - page 227, "he and his brother had hiked the Appalachian Trail for days at a time" in Maine when the character was a boy. The current year is 1938. The Appalachian Trail wasn't completed until 1937. He couldn't have hiked it as a boy; not even a proto-trail, as the trail was begun in New York, not Maine. I knew it didn't feel right.

      And Towles' books are too long, with too many digressions. It's particularly painful as you're approaching the end, and realize that yet another long segue is being put in because he felt it was a charming little thing he had to include somewhere, and it doesn't advance the plot one whit. I'm thinking here of the paper airplane interlude.

      It's such a shame, because Towles really can write well, and has some great ideas; he just doesn't really know how to write a succinct story without annoyances. It was towards the end that I came across a great quote. I was trying to convey this very thought just recently, but not at all well; here it is:

      "In our twenties, when there is still so much time ahead of us, time that seems ample for a hundred indecisions, for a hundred visions and revisions - we draw a card, and we must decide right then and there whether to keep that card and discard the next, or discard the first card and keep the second. And before we know it, the deck has been played out and the decisions we have just made will shape our lives for decades to come."

      A fabulous description of being in one's twenties.
    • 5/5

      Nov 25, 2021

      I read Towles' second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, first, and I was blown away. It is perfect--not almost perfect--actually, perfect. It may be the most satisfying piece of fiction I have ever read. Rules of Civility is also wonderful, but it lacks the intricate plotting that results in A Gentleman is Moscow's wonderful ending. However, it displays the same insight into a large cast of characters, each of whom we come to know and admire for their depth. The protagonist, Katey Kontent (what an odd name...) is a young woman in New York City who moves from the typing pool to the staff of a new magazine, and both workplaces are convincingly portrayed. But it is her interactions with a series of men and with her female friends and acquaintances that drives the story forward. Everything is set in a shining New York of 1938-1940 and the author's love of the city really shows. I guess this book could be compared with The Great Gatsby in some ways, but it isn't as poetic--although Towles is a great stylist--and it is a lot longer, although there is never a single page without interest. Towles tells his story in short bursts, and no scene runs too long. Unlike A Gentleman in Moscow's premise--an aristocrat is sentenced to perpetual house arrest in Moscow's best hotel for decades--nothing in Rules of Civility's description would have drawn me to read it. But having been so impressed with the later novel, I dived into this one, finished it in two days, and am looking forward to his third novel, The Lincoln Highway, which will be delivered in two days. Highly, highly recommended.
    • 3/5

      Sep 5, 2021

      This book comes with lots of pedigree behind it. The author is a Harvard graduate, and he has a command for language, but all the beautiful writing did not make me love this book, it was just ok and I am happy it is finished.

      The main character Kate (born Katya to Russian immigrants, and thus a working-class background), is a smart and well-read woman trying to find her place in the upward mobile society of New York City. The story is about her, her friends and lovers and the choices she makes in her life.
      If you love New York and are fascinated by its mixtures of lifestyles that teeter precariously between abject poverty, bohemian freedom, and lavish extravagance, then read this book.

      In my brief time in New York, I found it fake and pretentious and this was my impression of the book and its characters too. The titular rules of civility are a reference to a slim volume George Washington wrote in his youth and it is so preoccupied with class and stature that it is simply laughable.

      The only interesting parts for me were Kate's "reviews" of the books she reads. This will lead me to read Walden, for example, and to re-read Agatha Christie, whose stories as the main character tells us are always tied up nicely in the end, and everyone gets what they deserve. I am not sure whether I had the same sense in this book, or perhaps it was populated with characters that I could not relate to. The only character I found likeable was a rich guy, who was slightly uncomfortable with his privilege but he was a gun aficionado, and that ruined the whole image, but perhaps justified the outcome of his life. Another character said that those whose wants are much larger than their needs are the ones who become successful, and this definitely the ethos of New York, at least the way I felt it. If you are greedy enough, and ruthless enough then you will make it. The main character did, in the end, but to me she came across like a social climber, guilty of many of the vices she found shocking in others. At times I felt the women in the book were undistinguishable from the men the way they behaved, but perhaps that was the main thrust of this era of emerging women's liberation.

      Another positive are the small philosophical insights reproduced in the important quotes, about the choices we make in our lives and how they shape our future.

      It is a quiet book, with rambling narrative and not too much action. But it offers a slice of society in an emerging New York prior to the US involvement in the second world war.
    • 4/5

      May 14, 2021

      The Short of It:

      Friendship, love, and duty collide amid the backdrop of a glittering New York City in 1938.

      The Rest of It:

      This is one of those stories that is so full of rich imagery and well-drawn characters that I doubt I can do it justice in summarizing it here. Nevertheless, I shall try.

      After Eve accidently dumps a bowl of food into Katie’s lap, the two become fast friends. Eve, or Evey, is beautiful, vivacious and impossible to ignore. Her flirtatious nature and her knack for always knowing where the party is, attracts Katie who is slightly more down-to-earth and sensible. Katie is a working class girl, trying to make a name for herself in the publishing world. But when the work day is over, it’s Evey who takes Katie by the hand and the two find themselves living it up with drinks paid for by others. It’s a fast crowd but not without some memorable finds.

      One of those finds is Tinker Grey. Charming, dashing, full of wit and humor, he befriends Katie and Evey and the three of them pal around the city enjoying a lot of gin, and the memorable meals to go with it. But after an accident which leaves Eve in a precarious situation, Tinker, perhaps feeling guilty over his involvement, takes Evey in so that she can rehabilitate in luxury. Although Katie and Tinker are far from a thing, they do share something that he and Evey don’t and so this new living arrangement gives them all pause. How do you cage a wild thing? How can Tinker go on with his life while tending to his sense of duty?

      This story gave me a lot to think about. If you enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow, you will enjoy this book as well but it will leave you feeling a little sad which is why I think it took me awhile to finish. Sad, the way nostalgia can make you feel, wistful and longing for how it used to be. These relationships are complicated and fluid and every time I turned a page, I was presented with some new big idea to ponder. This is why I read this book slowly, savoring each interaction.

      One big bonus for me is that Katie and Tinker are readers. There is much literature talk and mention of classic books such as Great Expectations. I also cannot help but mention that parts of it reminded me of one of my favorite movies of all time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Overall, I very much enjoyed this story and these characters will stay with me for a very long time.

      For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
    • 5/5

      Mar 31, 2021

      Manners are masquerade, something we all learned while our mothers were trying to teach us to say "please" and "thank you." You don't have to mean it to say it.

      Amor Towles plays with this idea in his impressive debut novel “Rules of Civility” (2011). Spanning the year 1938 in New York City, the story brings together three attractive young people looking ahead to a promising post-Depression future. Our narrator, Katey Kontent, grew up in a lower middle-class family in the city, while Eve has a more well-to-do family back in the Midwest. They work in a secretarial pool.

      One night they meet Tinker Grey, handsome, well-tailored and well-mannered. Eve claims him as her own, even though Tinker appears to prefer Katey. Yet when they go out at night, it is always the three of them together. Then Eve is disfigured in a traffic accident while Tinker is driving. Out of guilt, he takes responsibility for her care and moves her into his apartment, while Katey becomes more distant.

      What begins with the suggestion of a love triangle evolves into something else, and this something else relates to, of all things, 110 "Rules of Civility," which George Washington studied as a young man striving to make a success of himself in the world. Tinker, too, has studied these rules, and Katey comes to realize the rules hide a different Tinker Grey. (The book includes the 110 rules in an appendix.)

      Towles writes with wit, subtlety and grace while revealing that Tinker is not alone in hiding a true self behind good manners.
    • 5/5

      Mar 15, 2021

      There were so many layers to this novel, as well as lessons for life and themes. I finished reading the book, saving the Appendix, Washington's rules for civility for another time. Then, I read some of the discussion questions online, and I came across a question asking how Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," is central to the story. So, I examined the poem and realized the word "time" is used 14 times, not counting time-related words such as minute and moment. Then I went to Washington's rules and counted the word "time" 12 times. In the entire Towles novel, variations of the word time appear 241 times; the word moment used 82 times. When I searched for words such as minute, hour, and day, there were about 300 more matches. I am not trying to reduce this novel to its literal terms, but rather emphasize the importance of Katey Kontent's 1969 reminiscing in the book's preface to the main story that takes place mostly in 1938. Through this ingenious novel with well-developed minor and major characters, we can't help but remember that it takes a lifetime to figure out how different people have influenced us. And of course, it only takes an unforeseen moment to encounter individuals who will eventually impact our lives. We don't know, especially when we are young, how our decisions and reactions will affect us forever. This novel provides us with so much material for considering such trite expressions as "time will tell," "it only takes a moment," and "make every minute count."

      Katey is a struggling secretary when we meet her, and the characters important to her in 1938. Eve, Tinker, Dicky, and Wallace play essential roles in her development during that year. She spends considerable quality time with each of them. Katey Kontent thinks she knows each of them, but she didn't understand much about them or herself. She made assumptions that did not always pan out. She thought she knew what would make her "content," and she did not. She thought she could identify her allies, and she was off base, especially when it came to some minor characters such as Anne Grandyn and Hank Grey.

      Social strata and the caste system is alive and well in New York City in 1938 as the Depression is coming to an end, and men are preparing to go to war. Katey comes from a poor working-class family, and her friend Eve comes from wealth that she chooses to reject. Tinker is seemingly from old money, but the clues indicate that his family's wealth was not what he conveyed. Katey recognizes the differences in the world view. Her ambitions vacillate between her roots, including family and friends from the rooming house and the people in her life who demonstrate the power of wealth. Katey's reading, notably Dickens and Agatha Christie, leads to inner conflict and growth—both personally and professionally. A significant event in her career development occurs when she interviews doormen and elevator boys for a cover story at Conde Nast. She recognizes the intelligence of those in lower strata of society. She makes profound impressions on her boss and friends living in the flophouses with her desire to live in both worlds. She is continually in conflict with the importance of upbringing to success, and this turmoil is central to Towles' characters in Rules of Civility.

      There are so many symbols and motifs that I think I would have to reread the novel to truly address them. The concept of civility is at the core of every literary device Towles employs. I’m left with much to ponder. What makes one civil? Which aspects of friendship are essential? When is betrayal acceptable? Who is capable of forgiveness? Can we escape our upbringing? Who can be reinvented?
    • 4/5

      Jan 21, 2021

      My book club read this author's novel A Gentleman in Moscow last year. We all liked it so much that we chose to read Towles first novel this year. It is certainly far different from A Gentleman in Moscow and I didn't find it as engaging as that book. Having said that there is a lot to like in the book and I look forward to our upcoming Book Club discussion.

      Katey Kontent is a young woman living in a boarding house in New York City. On New Year's Eve 1937 she and her roommate Eve Ross go to a little jazz club with just enough money between them to buy one drink an hour up to midnight. They drink a little faster than allotted; by ten o'clock they were out of money. Salvation arrives in the form of Tinker Grey who has come to the club to meet his brother (who never shows up). Dressed in fine clothes topped by an expensive cashmere overcoat it is obvious to both Katey and Eve that he could afford to buy drinks for the whole bar. They settle for having him buy them drinks and chat to him. Just before midnight they go out to count down to 1938 and Katey pockets Tinker's lighter when he lights up her cigarette. Offering to return the lighter if he meets them for another night on the town Tinker, Eve and Katey are soon going out on the town together. Then, one stormy night, they are rear-ended and Eve goes through the windshield of Tinker's car. She is badly hurt, scarred facially and with a broken leg. Her parents want her to come home to Indiana but Eve refuses. Tinker, who feels incredibly guilty about the accident, offers to have her stay in his apartment which has an elevator and meal service and all manner of other delights. Katey who was not injured in the crash moves out of the boarding house into a small apartment of her own. She helps with Eve's care while continuing to work at her secretarial job in a law office. And she reads and teaches herself to play bridge. Eve is so depressed by her condition that Tinker is afraid she will commit suicide so he takes her off to Florida to recuperate. Katey encounters a new group of friends that she spends evenings on the town with but no-one as interesting as Tinker and Eve. When they finally return to New York City they have her over for dinner together with three people they spent time with in Florida. One is a well-to-do young man named Wallace Wolcott who is quite a bit more serious than the rest of the group. Later in the year Katey and Wallace renew their acquaintance and he makes good on the promise he had made at that dinner to take her shooting. From then until Wallace goes to Spain to fight for the Spanish Civil War he and Katey spend many hours together but they are never lovers. As 1938 progresses Katey changes her job to become assistant to a magazine editor at Conde Nast which suits her talents. And she re-encounters Tinker and Eve each of which make dramatic changes in their lifestyle. Katey reflects on all this in 1969 after attending a photography showing of pictures taken in 1938 on the subway. There are two pictures of Tinker in the exhibition, one showing him dressed in his expensive sable overcoat and the other showing him thinner, ragged but joyful.

      All four of the main characters made a choice that year that changed the outcome of the rest of their lives. Towles sums up the book in this paragraph close to the end of the book:
      Life doesn't have to provide you any options at all. It can easily define your course from the outset and keep you in check through all mannerof rough and subtle mechanics. To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstnaces, your character, your course--that's by the grace of God alone. And it shouldn't come without a price.
    • 4/5

      Nov 30, 2020

      This is set in New York City in 1938. The narrator describes her friendships, romances, and jobs as she moves through various social circles. It focuses in particular on her friendship with one wealthy man, who she might have had a relationship with had circumstances been different. The book examines what relationships and friendships work and why, how people move in and out of our lives in unexpected ways, and what is truly worth valuing in relationships.

      Like so many books set in New York City, the city is as much of a character in the novel as any of the people - the buildings, the jazz, the artists, the mingling of rich and poor that doesn't really happen anywhere else.

      The story isn't terribly exciting or eventful, but Towles is a delightful writer - the characters feel very real, and the book is very engaging.
    • 3/5

      Nov 24, 2020

      Exquisite writing and something about its sharp cleverness engrossed me to finish 3/4 of it before the audiobook expired, There's a lot to appreciate about this book. But can I recommend it? The characters and the story haven't stayed with me. Yet there was something superb and ethereal about the experience.
    • 4/5

      Oct 25, 2020

      Awesome book, written in the style of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. Really catches the nuances of the times. Great reflection on relationships and how class or status in life affects such relationships. Makes a great point that money and success do not necessarily equal happiness.
    • 4/5

      Oct 15, 2020

      Late 1930s and a young woman's year in NYC. While the story was not outstanding, the writing and the description was! So much research must have gone into the descriptions of the life and structure of NYC during that post-depression/pre-war era. I really enjoyed it.