05/ 26/ 2013
Yearning for something lighter to read, I picked up a copy of Amor Towles’s debut novel The Rules of Civility. I’m happy to report that I tore through it, finding the book easy to read, but not lacking in substance.
Towles’s heroine — Katey Kontent — is an older twenty-something living in New York City during the late 1930s. She and her infamous roommate Eve meet an enticing stranger named Tinker in a jazz club on New Years Eve. He has it all—brains, proper etiquette, impeccable taste and lots of money. After meeting Tinker, Katey’s world changes, and in the end, she’s given a choice: her head or her heart.
I found Towles’s writing style compelling. He follows a simple structure, but his dialogue leads to more complex ideas. This pattern continues until the very end leaving you pondering his words until you find that deeper meaning. They then become relatable (the ending of his story left me thinking about a certain ex-someone and their purpose in my life).
It’s wonderful to be a shadow in Katey’s life. She’s practical, funny, smart and embodies that rare sense of being unique to native New Yorkers. Even if you don’t like her choices, you can stand behind them. Towles really lets you into her mind and you fully understand her logic.
Of course the era in which The Rules of Civility takes place (at least for the most part) makes it extra special. You see a recovering America, a place that’s broken and rebuilding post-Depression. That American spirit is alive and Towles captures it perfectly by bringing it — in some way — into the nature of each character.
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