Rules of Civility: A Novel Kindle Edition

I have now read A Gentlemen in Moscow, The Lincoln Highway, and Rules of Civility. All are great reading experiences. Towles is quickly becoming my favorite modern author. His prose and wit and atmosphere deserve the best marks. I particularly like his use of dialog and how natural and fun he crafts it. All three books are set in totally different times and places and focus totally different kinds of people and societal structures. Yet each is incredible in its unique way. Rules of Civility brought the post-depression atmosphere, excitement and excesses of NYC to life through vivid characters and New York hot (and some not so hot) spots. . There seemed to be a lot of holes in the plot that never got filled in, but I still found the book a fascinating read. A Gentlemen in Moscow, however, is still the gold standard for a Towles novel!

I really enjoyed reading this book. No I don't think Amor Towles is the next F. Scott, but I really enjoyed the language and metaphors that some people are blasting in the reviews. Unfortunately, the pacing fell off somewhere around the middle of the book and it just wandered around for a while and then decided to stop. The very ending made sense, but Tinker's desires and goals could have been woven better into the rest of the novel so that the ending would seem to the reader the only way it could or should have ended. Instead it just sort of quietly stopped after meandering around for a while.I felt the introduction of Tinker's brother and the role that character played was completely extraneous, and should have been edited out or fixed to be more effective. The author seemed to try to use the brother to justify Tinker's choices and I didn't buy it. I actually felt that way about a lot of the secondary characters. Their roles were elevated beyond their usefulness. A tighter focus on Tinker, Eve, Katie and Anne (oh, and what about Val? His cameos weren't even long enough to generate interest, and they should have been!) while getting rid of all the girlfriends and the Texan with the maitre d', and and and would have greatly improved this book. Some of the literary allusions fell flat, and the author didn't quite seem to be able to keep a little Mike Hammer or something from his voice, although it detracted only slightly.This review sounds uber-critical for someone who says she loved reading this book, but that is because I was really paying attention, which is the biggest complement I can pay to an author.Now for a few of the things I really liked: I loved the voice of the main character. Her imperfect self was imminently knowable and believable to me, although the intro and the ending had me kind of wondering if I still cared. I loved the description of the Russian club--this author really gets the truth of these Russians and described their emotional way of relating to things beautifully. I felt like I had been there. And my favorite part was the descriptive prose and imagery. On one of the first pages, this caught my eye:"In the 1950's, America had picked up the globe by the heels and shaken the change from its pockets. Europe had become a poor cousin--all crests and no table settings. And the indistinguishable countries of Africa, Asia, and South America had just begun skittering across our schoolroom walls like salamanders in the sun. True, the Communists were out there, somewhere, but with Joe McCarthy in the grave and no one on the Moon, for the time being the Russians just skulked across the pages of spy novels."What a beautifully succinct way to set the time and arrogantly optimistic American mindset for the book! So in spite of its shortcomings, this book is worth the time it takes to read it and I do recommend it although with the caveat that you will probably enjoy the first half and then cruise through the second without the full satisfaction that might have been...

I fell in love with a Gentleman in Moscow, so I was tentative with this one, thinking it wouldn't live up to standards, but I was wrong. This was an excellent book as well. Towles' turn of phrase is to die for. Sometimes I reread his phrasing just to try and imagine how he came up with that combination of words to make such a beautiful point. He is amazing, and I will be reading anything he writes.

I love his work. To escape into a fascinating world is so magical.

The Rules of Civility has interested me since publication. Everyone from the New York Times to Cosmopolitan magazine has had glowing things to say about it, making me think it was one of those rare modern day novels destined to become literature. The Great Gatsby comparisons in all the reviews finally lured me to purchase it.The Rules of Civility is a story of a threesome of friends in New York in the 1930s. Katey Kontent is the daughter of Russian immigrants, a working girl with brains and beauty. Eve is a Midwestern beauty with rich parents although she for some unknown reason wants little to do with them or their money. Tinker is the handsome, seemingly well to do stranger they meet on New Year's Eve. They vie for his affections until a big event one night throws their lives into an upheaval which places them on their final paths in life.The book was not the great read that I thought it would be. I think it was convoluted for what actually happened. It was a perfectly good first novel that in no way drew me in. I put it down for a period of three weeks in the middle of the story and didn't miss it one bit. I have no intention of reading anything else by the author.He failed to make me care for any of the characters even a little. Even with their unbelievable character outlines (Katey, a daughter of immigrants, very well educated in fine arts, a real career girl; Eve, the poor little rich girl, who must have Tinker and all he stands for although they are the traits she seems to despise in her family), the characters all seemed flat and one dimensional. You spend a lot of time wondering why they like one another and spend so much time together. I spent the entire book with the sensation that Katey was actually a man because Towles does not evoke a believable female voice in the slightest.What Towles does excel at is romanticizing and glamorizing New York. You feel as though you are walking the streets with Katey and get transported to an era of Carole Lombard and Clark Gable. You almost feel the warmth of the city lights as you read the novel. He also writes some unexpectedly beautiful prose in many of his desciptions and has a great gift at penning some very amusing exchanges between the characters.I wouldn't say this is a negative review, but I fail to understand all the glowing reviews out there. Pick this novel up if you want something light to read or have already read The Great Gatsby and feel curious about all the comparisons out there. Just don't read it under the impression that it is one of those rare, perspective changing tales that will haunt you for years.

Overall I liked this book. The main character/narrator felt very human and realistic. It was not a page turner for me, but there were a few pages that I really loved and spoke truths about the human experience. This book made me feel nostalgic and I really have no clue why that is. This is a more of a me problem, but I struggled remembering minor characters and so when they were brought back up later in the book I felt confused or like I was missing some connection.

Enjoyed this book

A wonderful story about New York at the end of the recession, with all its facettes, social groups and the interaction between them. Stories told through the eyes of a young person. Local, universal and valid at all times.

Amor Towles has become one of my favourite contemporary writers. His books are varied, which says so much about his talent, but each of them is written with the lightest of touches, with grace and delicacy. His characterisation is masterful and carries his books along with gentle pace. They are written with such depth and his characters live with me well beyond the end of the books. Rules of Civility is no exception. It deserves to be read and Amor Towles deserves to be recognised as a wonderful writer.

Staffed by remarkable characters, this book is first and foremost an ode to Manhattan and the lifestyle it stands for, including a revealing perspective on the ins and outs of belonging to its happy few.

Un modo di scrivere molto vivace e sorprendente,che mi ha dato ore di lettura piacevoli, catturandomi.