Rules of Civility
Ratings136
Average rating4.1
This was simultaneously a love letter to New York City, and how every little thing in life can trigger a cascade of events that changes how the cookie crumbles. I first discovered (and loved) Towles with A Gentleman In Moscow, so I was therefore naturally curious about this earlier work, published in 2011 and a full 8 years before Gentleman. The quiet and aloof detachment of the narrator and the narrative took a bit to get used to, but I couldn't help getting sucked in nevertheless into Katey's mildly cynical yet wildly intense assessment and dissection of life and its meaning. The only reason why I'd rate AGIM a little higher than this one is really only because I have a soft spot for AGIM's subject matter of found family.
“For what was civilization but the intellect's ascendancy out of the doldrums of necessity into the ether of the finely superfluous?”
Katey Kontent and her colleague, roommate, and partner in crime Evelyn Ross go out for a night on the town on New Year's Eve, 1937, where they bump into a smartly dressed young man, Tinker Grey. This unexpected and fateful meeting starts a chain of events that irrevocably changes all three lives for good.
“Whatever setbacks he had faced in his life, he said, however daunting or dispiriting the unfolding of events, he always knew that he would make it through, as long as when he woke up in the morning he was looking forward to his first cup of coffee.”
We mostly follow Katey in the story. As previously mentioned, her detached manner of narration gives a sense of distance from the events of the story. Similarly, Towles makes a pretty big choice of formatting all the dialogue in this book without quotation marks, and simply demarcating them as speech by an em dash at the start of what ought to be dialogue. The mixing of narrative and dialogue deepens that sense of distance between us readers and the action, and it helps permeate that haziness of memory throughout the story, which essentially it would be since this would be a future and older Katey looking back at the events of 1938.
I had mixed feelings for Katey. On one hand, she was pretty relatable and occasionally sympathetic, with her obsession with books and her being caught in between a child-like state of wanting to believe the best of the people around her and wanting to do right by them, and being jaded about life and society after having had to make her own way and living in New York City since she was orphaned at 19. For the first half of the book, she was so detached that I could barely really feel much for her except as the vehicle through which we are experiencing the events of the story, but I did feel more sympathy for her as the second half unfolded. We found out more about her, and she also began getting more personally involved in the events rather than acting the observer.
Tinker Grey gave me some Jay Gatsby vibes, although with marked differences. The entire denouement of the story revolves around him, and I guess he comes close to being the male equivalent of a manic pixie dream girl to Katey. We see and hear a lot about him but ultimately I found it difficult to be very much attached to him, although this might be more because of me than of the narrative.
Perhaps my favourite character in this whole story was Wallace. He was a cinnamon roll that's too precious for this world.
“In that sense, life is less like a journey than it is a game of honeymoon bridge. 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 revision–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.”
Overall, this book is wistful, mildly sad, but also a gentle affectionate reminder to us about how much our life paths are just as much made by chance as by intention.
I enjoyed the writing, the cultural and literary references, and the evocation of the times. I enjoyed the tension between the characters and the lack of their falling easily into cliched expectations. I appreciated the surprises. A very enjoyable, bitter-sweet, jazz-lilting read.
After enjoying A Gentleman in Moscow, I grabbed this one which was his first book. His style of writing is completely engaging. The way he sketches characters is very effective. I wish he'd write more....
I loved this exploration of NYC during a period brimming with elegance, ambition, and an unmistakable vibrancy. Towles' depiction of the city transports readers to a time when New York was characterized not by the ubiquity of Duane Reade stores but by the glamour of jazz clubs, refined social gatherings, and the undercurrents of ambition that defined its residents.
The novel centers on Katey Kontent, a sharp and ambitious young woman navigating the complexities of Manhattan's social scene. Through Katey's eyes, Towles paints a vivid picture of a city alive with possibilities, where chance encounters in smoky jazz clubs or at elegant parties could lead to life-altering friendships and romances.
This New York is one of hidden speakeasies, clandestine love affairs, and a relentless pursuit of the American Dream—a stark contrast to the homogenized cityscape dominated by convenience stores and corporate chains seen today.
One of the most compelling aspects of “Rules of Civility” is its ability to evoke a deep sense of nostalgia. Towles' New York is a place of dreams, where the city's underbelly thrums with an exciting and sometimes dangerous energy. The narrative is infused with a longing for a bygone era, offering readers a glimpse into the gritty yet glamorous life of the city's past. The characters are richly drawn, their interactions and evolutions reflecting the complexities of the time.
The novel's prose is elegant and evocative, capturing the essence of the city in a way that makes it feel both grand and intimate. Towles' attention to detail and his ability to create vivid, atmospheric scenes allow readers to immerse themselves fully in Katey's world. The story's progression, marked by moments of joy, heartbreak, and discovery, mirrors the unpredictable yet exhilarating nature of the city itself.
Take [b:The Great Gatsby 4671 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490528560l/4671.SY75.jpg 245494], jump ahead ten years, and omit most of the tragedy and you'll get Rules of Civility. I'm probably in the minority, but I liked this novel more than the much beloved [b:A Gentleman in Moscow 34066798 A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1711726088l/34066798.SY75.jpg 45743836] because Towles takes off his rose-colored glasses long enough to acknowledge the existence of working class and even poor people. He portrays a vivid New York City during the course of 1938, when the Depression was starting to lift, war was looming in Europe, and WASPs were ascendant. Towles' writing is so sharp that I can (just barely) overlook the fact that the MC, Katey Kontent (accent on the second syllable please), never sounds or behaves like a real human female. A few of my highlighted passages: “I turned to find a woman in her midforties in a skirt suit and glasses standing at a respectful distance. She had lovely red hair tied back in a ponytail. It gave her the appearance of a starlet playing the role of a spinster.““Whenever [the winter wind] blew, it always made my father a little nostalgic for Russia. He'd break out the samovar and boil black tea and recall some December when there was a lull in conscription and the well wasn't frozen and the harvest hadn't failed. It wouldn't be such a bad place to be born, he'd say, if you never had to live there.“I tend to avoid novels by straight white men because f*ck the patriarchy, but I'll make an exception for Amor Towles.
7/10 rounded up.
Would re-read and maybe reccomend.
I really liked Wallace.
Oh yeah, I read it on my phone, something I'm not used to doing, so I might have missed some things. Because of that, take the rest of the review with a grain of salt!
Katey, I found, was inconsistent. Her personality failed to be strong enough to make the narration interesting, but she had some very nice moments of reflection sprinkled in that meant I couldn't despise her. An ineffective narrator, but if her personality had been sharpened a bit I think I could have liked her.
Eve was a constant reminder of the setting, and I think she is a nice reflection of 1930s ambition, but she was lacking a lot of depth.
Tinker. Idk.
I'm not sure what drew me to the character of Wallace, but he is easily the most memorable part of the book to me.
The setting was nicely developed and the plot never felt detached from it like some historical novels end up being. With the whole female authors thing, I felt like Mr. Towles was trying to make a point, but it just ended up being so weak and underdeveloped :/. It contributed to the feeling of the 1930s for sure, but something about it just felt... eh. It's a small nitpick anyways.
Now the writing style was amazing. Beautiful. Amor Towles is such a talent, I can't compliment his writing enough. Sometimes it felt like there was a bit of a style > substance thing going on in the book, and I felt like lots of plotlines weren't wrapped up properly or seemingly went nowhere.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this a lot, and while it was nowhere near as good as A Gentleman in Moscow (which I read two weeks ago and is quickly becoming one of my favorite novels), there was a lot to love. Go read this if you haven't :)
Great NYC period piece about the Golden Age of Manhattan. It's amazing how much has changed and how much has stayed the same in 80 years. Same author as A Gentleman in Moscow and ever bit as good. This reminds me of much earlier tales by F Scott Fitzgerald and Salinger.
“...life is less like a journey than it is a game of honeymoon bridge. 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.”
Rules of Civility is the story of Katey Kontent, twenty-five in 1938, child of Russian immigrants, working in a typing pool on Wall Street. She meets many people in that single year, and it is the people she meets and the opportunities they present that create her entire life.
Author Amor Towles has a beautiful way of setting up a scene and then closing the door, leaving the reader to imagine what is going on. He has created bright and entirely human characters, characters who have mysterious pasts and unexpected futures, much like the real people we see and meet every day. Towles captures the world of 1938, uncertain times following uncertain times, in New York City where people can become fast friends in the matter of a few days, and where everyone is in the process of making and remaking their lives with whatever chance brings to bear.
Rules of Civility offers the best things a novel can provide: complete immersion in another world, as well as thoughtful takeaways from the experience.
This was gorgeous. The writing is beautiful and the story is really well done - it's very quiet overall. I don't generally care for historical fiction because it so rarely feels right, but this felt right. I loved it.
If this book wasn't historical fiction, I would've given it one star. if I hadn't been reading it for book club, I don't think I would've finished it. It wasn't bad from the start, but it didn't seem to have any sort of storyline or plot. It didn't transition well over time, either.
I really enjoyed this one, maybe because I could relate so well to the protagonist. It chronicles a year in the life of Katey Kontent, a 20-something who lives and works as a secretary in New York City in the late 1930s. Katey and her best friend/roommate, Eve, decide to go out for New Year's Eve, where they meet the wealthy and charming Tinker Grey. The three of them quickly become friends, though a tragic car accident puts them on a trajectory that will launch them in and out of each other's lives for the remainder of their friendship.
What I love about this book is that it really brings the time and the city to life; it's so well-written and of-the-times that it takes you to 1938 and makes you want to stay there. Martinis flow and jazz musicians draw crowds to the bars and speakeasies; one could be happy forever buried in a Dickens novel, and yet life is something to go out and experience with new friends, old friends, and not-yet friends. It was both inspiring and comforting; Katey didn't have her whole life together, but when you're in your 20s, who does?
A poor but plucky heroine with wit, ambition and a carefully hidden heart of gold makes her way through New York society in 1937-38. This is a fairy tale, where Kate Kontent impresses influential people with her hard work, grasp of grammar and love of literature and makes socially advantageous friends because of her integrity and kindness. She endures romantic disappointment and dramatic revelations with fortitude and imagination, and, in general, her friends and lovers do too. I enjoyed reading this–in fact, I stayed up too late one night to finish it–but I did think that everyone had a little too much civility for some of the events of the story. In her anger, Kate allows herself to be rude to the man who deceives her, but then she repents and actually goes to apologize. But what do I expect of a fairy tale heroine? She has to be virtuous enough to deserve the happy ending that inevitably comes.
Beautiful novel. Not so much the prose, which was nice, but the depiction of a breathtakingly beautiful Manhattan. It reminds me of Whit Stillman movies. Loved the female characters. While this was written by a man, it struck me that the women in this book were so much more assertive participants in their destinies than the women in books by contemporary first time female writers like Curtis Sittenfeld & Marisha Pessl. (It may have something to do with the fact that Towles is older than these women were when they published their first novels.) I recommend this to everyone and would love to loan you my copy!