rules of civility by amor towles summary

Tinker had been important to her in 1938. Katey Kontent narrates her own journey through the year 1938, from the future perspective of 1966, after she runs upon photographs of a man named Tinker Grey. You feel your feet on the sidewalk when you listen to this book.'Rules of Civility,' the first novel by Amor Towles, chronicles a transitional year in the life of a young woman in Manhattan. But it captures the timeless nature of New York – all the yearning and striving, glittering and glowing. As a New Yorker who recently moved to the suburbs this novel made me homesick, even though I never lived in the 1930s (the era of this novel). But above all else this is a love letter to New York City. “Old times… if you’re not careful they’ll gut you like a fish” has been quoted on numerous occasions. There are so many lines from this novel that have stuck with me. You look up to them without losing faith in them. The characters feel both real and relatable, yet totally unattainable. The atmosphere that the author creates is lush and beautiful, even though it evokes a grimy and cutthroat city. I fell in love with it for so many reasons. It was hands down my pick for best novel of 2011. I was very sorry to say goodbye.Īmor Towles’ debut novel turned me inside out. This young woman comes into her own for the reader just as she does in her life, and proves to be both adept and charming in a completely unpretentious manner. But for me, the real virtue of this book is the way the character of the narrator develops. The story deepens quite suddenly and absorbingly - one really wants to know what happens next - and doesn't let up until the last page. For a reader, the experience is like watching a black-and-white movie starring Carole Lombard AND Myrna Loy - furs and jewels and snappy dialogue. For the first eighth of this book, Towles spins along on description and the introduction of characters. (I am trying to avoid spoiling the plot, which is ingeniously constructed).

One finds her fortune and one finds her career, through the fulcrum of a wealthy young man who launches them into high society.

It's New York, 1938, and we start with two plucky and penurious heroines, one of whom is the narrator, making their way in the world. My initial, but not my final, impression of this book was of a meticulously researched and carefully mannered romp.

Rules of civility by amor towles summary