ICYMI: The post-Depression-era city of New York is such a powerful presence in this story, it feels like a main character. I was taken by this Amor Towles story and blatantly neglected my responsibilities in order to read it.
Which is just to say, be careful when choosing what you’re proud of—because the world has every intention of using it against you.
I recently began reading Table for Two by Amor Towles, and I was reminded that I haven't posted Bossy reviews of my first two Towles reads, A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility.
In Rules of Civility, 25-year-old Katey is in a Greenwich Village jazz bar in post-Depression New York when she meets a successful banker. The chance encounter leads to a surprising turn of fortune in which Katey finds herself immersed in the highest social circles of New York.
I couldn't stop reading this--and admit to neglecting various duties in order to get back to it. I loved the old-New York setting, which was so vivid, the city felt like a main character.
The various "let me teach you about" types of asides regarding art and social constructs of the time, etc., were interesting but also extremely jarring; they didn't make sense to me when coming from the main protagonist. And sometimes the "main protagonist is inexplicably well read and savvy" types of moments made me pause.
I was completely hooked and kept thinking about this story after I'd finished it.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
Amor Towles is also the author of A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway.