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Rules of Civility

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 31,841 ratings · 4,967 reviews

In a jazz bar on the last night of 1937,
watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble,
there were certain things Katey Kontent knew:

the location of every old church in Manhattan
how to sneak into the cinema
how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year
and that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel t...more

Kindle Edition, 337 pages

Published (first published July 26th 2011)

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Aug 20, 2011 Cynthia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

Immigrants or Trust Funds?

“Rules of Civility” is a love story for a city. Specifically New York City during the last few years of the 1930’s. That’s not to say that Towles's characters aren’t fully realized. They are. In fact the dialog is outstanding. When a character opens their mouth you know immediately if they haunt the docks or Park Avenue. At one point the three principle protagonists are out larking and sneak into a Marx Brothers movie. Think of how exaggerated the accents and mannerisms...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, new-york

This is the rare example of a book that makes you appreciate the art of writing. It is indeed remarkable that this first time author has created a debut novel that succeeds in every way. Mr. Towles has crafted a true masterpiece. This stylish, elegant and deliberately anachronistic debut novel transports readers back to Manhattan in 1938, where authentic, human characters inhabit a playground that comes alive with the manners of a society on the verge of radical upheaval.

This book is art deco, j...more This is the rare example of a book that makes you appreciate the art of writing. It is indeed remarkable that this first time author has created a debut novel that succeeds in every way. Mr. Towles has crafted a true masterpiece. This stylish, elegant and deliberately anachronistic debut novel transports readers back to Manhattan in 1938, where authentic, human characters inhabit a playground that comes alive with the manners of a society on the verge of radical upheaval.

This book is art deco, jazz clubs, martinis and Long Island mansions.

The story is told in long flashback, from the hindsight of 30 years beyond the events of 1938, the narrator reminisces on events and people who contributed to a turning point in her life. Told from the vantage point of an older woman, looking back at the year when forces converged in her life, this is the story of a young lady determined to make her fortune in Manhattan.

While reading this, I realized that I have never and would never have as much talent to write as well as Mr. Towles does here.

One pet peeve I have is the author chose not to use quotation marks in dialogue. It is very annoying and did take some getting used to. Why writers (and editors for that matter) approve of this method is confounding. Also, as rich and colorful as Mr. Towles writing is, occasionally he overdoes the verbosity. Case in point, page 263: "I looked up and down Second Avenue like a wolf that's escaped from it's cage. I checked my watch. The hands were splayed between the nine and three, like two duelers back to back who have counted off paces and are about to turn and fire."

The true test of any story is if the author made you care about his characters? Mr. Towles has succeeded in both painting a rich, colorful and vibrant picture of 1930's New York, as well as creating real and authentic characters that come to life for us to revel in their company.

If I have failed to convey just how much I admire Amor Towles writing, let me share this. Initially, I checked this book out from the library (3 times), then checked out the Audio CD (masterfully read by Rebecca Lowman), and then finally purchased my own hardcover copy (paying full retail price I might add!) This book will remain in my personal library and will be reread again with great pleasure.(less)

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May 06, 2012 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Teresa by: Cynthia

As my friend Sue said in her review, so much has already been said about this novel (at least among my group of GR friends) that I'm not sure I have anything new to add. I can't think of an aspect of this book that isn't well-done.

My friend Cynthia mentions in her review three of the characters viewing a Marx Brothers movie to point out that this story is not one of stereotypes. It is also at this point that I hoped the novel wouldn't be just a series of madcap adventures by three smart, kooky t...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-fiction, america, cultural-and-social-commentary, five-star-fiction

This is just delightful fun. It's a love letter, a limerick, a lollipop, a literary longing. Grab your shaker of martinis and your cocktail onions and take a ride with Katey Kontent through the streets of 1938 Manhattan. She's just a working girl trying to make it on her own, but with the right (or wrong?) friends, she manages to borrow a little glamour...and a helping or two of trouble besides.

The book is not without its flaws. I was only going to rate it four stars. After I read the epilogue...more

68 likes · like · see review

Aug 26, 2011 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, favorites, nyc

The prologue to this novel takes place at an exhibition of photographs by Walker Evans 1966. The author tells us that Evans had waited 25 years to show these photos to the public due to a concern for the subjects' privacy. The photos are taken with a hidden camera in the NYC subway car and "captured a certain naked humanity," Kate sees an old friend, Tinker Grey in two of these pictures. In one he's clean shaven, wearing a custom shirt and a cashmere coat. In a photo dated one year later he look...more The prologue to this novel takes place at an exhibition of photographs by Walker Evans 1966. The author tells us that Evans had waited 25 years to show these photos to the public due to a concern for the subjects' privacy. The photos are taken with a hidden camera in the NYC subway car and "captured a certain naked humanity," Kate sees an old friend, Tinker Grey in two of these pictures. In one he's clean shaven, wearing a custom shirt and a cashmere coat. In a photo dated one year later he looks underweight and dirty in a threadbare coat.

The novel starts 25 years earlier, in flashback, telling the story of Tinker Grey, Kate and others with picture perfect descriptions of the city, it's highlights and it's inhabitants. Towles writes as though through the lens of a camera. But unlike Evan's subway photos, Towles has a light, empathic touch when it comes to people - the angles never harsh, just true. And how appropriate that the underlying theme of this book is about how much people expose or hide their true lives, how much is deception or reality. As Kate says, " we give people the liberty of fashioning themselves in the moment - a span of time that is so much more manageable, stageable, controllable than is a lifetime."

Justice is another theme in the novel. Do those people in the subway get a life that they deserve? What about the rich Wall Street types? Kate becomes a fan of Agatha Christie at a point in the novel when she is hurt, angry and concerned about whether justice exists in the world. She likes Agatha Christie's universe "where everyone gets what they deserve. Inheritance or penury, love or loss, a blow to the head or the hangman's noose, in the pages of Agatha Christie's books men and women, whatever their ages, whatever their caste, are ultimately brought face-to-face with a destiny that suits them." Literature lovers will enjoy several other allusions to and quotes from other writers, not to mention Kate's tendency to start a book somewhere in the middle.

But the most enjoyable parts of the book for me were the laugh out loud funny repartee or the witty narrative voice that often highlights Kate's wise and strong personality. In an emotional moment, she tells the reader: "As a quick aside, let me observe that in moments of high emotion....if the next thing you're going to say makes you feel better, then it's probably the wrong thing to say. This is one of the finer maxims that I've discovered in life. And you can have it, since it's been of no use to me."

One of the markers of a good novel for me is whether I miss the characters after I've finished the book. I'm feeling quite bereft and hoping for a sequel.(less)

62 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If a novel could win an award for best cinematography, this would take home the gold. Amor Towles's sophisticated retro-era novel of manners captures Manhattan 1938 with immaculate lucidity and a silvery focus on the gin and the jazz, the nightclubs and the streets, the pursuit of sensuality, and the arc of the self-made woman.

The novel's preface opens in 1966, with a happily married couple attending a Walker Evans photography exhibition. An unlikely chance encounter stuns the woman, Katey--a pi...more If a novel could win an award for best cinematography, this would take home the gold. Amor Towles's sophisticated retro-era novel of manners captures Manhattan 1938 with immaculate lucidity and a silvery focus on the gin and the jazz, the nightclubs and the streets, the pursuit of sensuality, and the arc of the self-made woman.

The novel's preface opens in 1966, with a happily married couple attending a Walker Evans photography exhibition. An unlikely chance encounter stuns the woman, Katey--a picture of a man staring across a canyon of three decades, a photograph of an old friend. Thus begins the flashback story of Katey's roaring twenties in the glittering 30's.

Katey Kontent (Katya) is the moral center of the story, an unapologetic working girl--more a bluestocking than a blue blood-- born in Brighton Beach of Russian immigrant parents. She's an ambitious and determined statuesque beauty à la Tierney or Bacall who seeks success in the publishing industry. She works as hard by day as she plays at night. Her best friend, Eve (Evelyn) Ross, is a Midwest-born Ginger Rogers /Garbo character mix, with jazz cat spirit and a fearless, cryptic glamor. She refuses daddy's money and embraces her free spirit:

"I'm willing to be under anything...as long as it isn't somebody's thumb."

Katey and Eve flirt with shameless savoir-faire, and are quick with the clever repartees. They will kiss a man once that they'll never kiss twice, and glide with effortless élan among all the social classes of New York. Moreover, they can make a few dollars stretch through many a martini, charming gratis drinks from fashionable men. With their nerve and gaiety, the two would be equally savvy at Vanity Fair or the Algonquin Round Table, or in a seedy bar on the Lower East Side.

Eve and Katey meet the sphinx-like Tinker Grey on New Year's Eve, 1937, at the Hotspot, a jazz bar in Greenwich Village. Tinker's métier is Gatsby-esque--an inscrutable, ruggedly handsome man in cashmere, a mysterious lone figure with an enigmatic mystique. The three become fast friends, but as with many triangulating relationships, a hairline rivalry sets in. Then a cataclysmic tragedy shatters the cool grace of their bond, and their solidarity is ruptured.

Towles is spectacular at description and atmosphere, keeping a keen camera's eye on the city with a polished pedigree of writing that is rare in a debut novel. A smoky haze envelopes the streets and clubs and buildings, which the reader can't help surveying in all the rich colors of vintage black and white. The writing is dense, yet fluid and ambient, rich as a contralto, and cool as a saxophone. Tendrils of Edith Wharton flow through, as well as Fitzgerald, and echoes of Capote's Holly Golightly.

At times, the lush descriptions threaten to eclipse the story, and the characters recede. This is a book of manners, so the action resides in the conflict between individual ambitions and desires and the acceptable social codes of behavior between classes. However, the middle section stagnates, as one character hugs most of the narrative in repetitive days and nights, the psychological complexities dimming. It loses some steam as the taut thrill of the first half wanes, but an understated closure recharges it again.

Overall, the beauty of the novel endures, and the sensuality of the prose lingers. The reader is also edified on the origin of the title, and the author folds it in neatly to the story. The characters are crisp and contoured, delightful and satisfying, even if one left the stage a bit too soon. This is one male writer who finesses his female characters with impressive agility and assurance. (less)

64 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2011 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of period pieces, books with settings that are like characters

Recommended to Carol by: Anne Reach & other friends on GoodReads

Shelves: debut, fiction

It's really hard to put my finger on what made me like Rules of Civility so much. I'm partial to debut novels and their authors so when 4 to 5 star reviews started pouring in on GoodReads for this book, I quickly added it to my list.

The setting of New York, the city would not normally make me clamor to read this book, but the 1938 New York that Rules of Civility depicts captured me right away. I can only believe this is due to Amor Towles ability as a writer. The story seems fairly simple. Two...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Jeannette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jeannette by: Diane D.

Shelves: adult-fiction, 2011-read, being-your-true-self, between-the-wars

Rating 4-1/2 stars.

There are so many things to recommend about this book. It is well-written, and peppered with passages that make you laugh, or cry, but always make you think. The characters are well-drawn, and fully human. And, it had so many twists, that it was never predictable; it always kept me reading.

Tinker Grey, handsome and well-bred, lives his life by the principles set forth by a young George Washington, The Rules of Civility of the title. The author includes all 110 Rules at the bac...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Chrissie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, usa, favorites, fiction

In summary, I loved listening to this audiobook. Why? First of all, this book is a must for anyone who loves NYC. Secondly, almost every line refers to places and books and artists. There is a wonderful message. The author is a master of metaphor. Most every sentence implies more than the bare words. One example: Katey pronounces her surname Kon-TENT. Don't you see the difference between that and KON-tent? Think about it. The plot throws you a looper. The characters become real people .In the be...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Richard by: Tamra

Shelves: fiction, my-best-reviews

It is easy to say that this is an incredible book; what is difficult is figuring out how to say it in a way that is one tenth as elegant as the book is. The New York Times review, Romantic Mischief in 1930s Manhattan , is a pleasant homage but really never communicates how enticing the book is —how easy it is to drift along with Towles’ story like the good buzz of a well-set dinner party with plenty of good wine and clever friends. I know Oprah has the book pretty high on her list, but was she m...more

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 Emma rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: united-states, 1-star, historical-fiction

Blargh, I'd been having such good luck with Goodreads Choice finalists.

I really should have put it down after page two, when the female, working-class narrator describes her roommate as follows:

"Eve was one of those surprising beauties from the American Midwest.
In New York it becomes so easy to assume that the city's most alluring women have flown in from Paris or Milan. But they're just a minority. A much larger covey hails from the stalwart states that begin with the letter I--like Iowa or Ind...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: usa-historical, historical-fiction, read-2012, disappointments-of-2012

This jarring, sad book confused me. Amor Towles brings it all: satire, poignancy, whimsy, wit, irony, tragedy, charm. He creates iconic characters that pulse with whatever Jazz Age fire the Depression didn't extinguish. He dusts off overwrought cliches of New York and reworks them in the best tradition of Woody Allen. The result is a city as full realized as any human character. Towles polishes the story until it glows in a patina of history, and wraps it in a package of beautiful writing. It is...more

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May 22, 2011 Maya Panika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In 1937, Katie Kontent re-invents herself and moves from the secretarial pool to the highest levels of New York society, making friends, losing friends, making enemies... Little seems to happen and yet everything happens, every detail in this richly-woven novel is relevant to what happens next. Katie's tale is like a tapestry, the minutiae of life is in every stitch and each adds to the whole, building a world of fantastic detail in which most of what happens isn't Big or Important, but every bi...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Alena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I cannot possibly write a review that reflects the intelligence and sophistication of this book. Integrating art, photography and literature into his portrait of 1938 New York, Amor Towles also tells a great story about the choices made by one young woman -- Kate/Katey/Katherine Kontent, and her friends.

Kate is smart, funny, unpredictable and determined, all qualities that make a fine heroine. But she's also imperfect, which makes her infinitely more interesting. Likewise the characters that int...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A smart, fiesty 25-year-old named Katie Kontent ("Miss Con*tent*) trying to make it big in Manhattan at the end of the Depression falls in with an upper-crust crowd in this new novel. An ode to the New York of drinks at the 21 Club, apartments in the Plaza, and dress shopping at Bendel's, I drank down the smooth dialogue and perfect pacing of this novel like it was a Serendippity frozen hot chocolate. This is not a book that takes you out of your comfort zone. But then again, no one ever went to...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

I don’t know what it was about this book, but I just adored it. The story line harkened back to the time of “The Great Gatsby,” and although I looked for a slip up in terms of authenticity, I found none. The writing was superb and at times, I found myself giggling. “I poured myself a gin that was sized to make my apartment seem less depressing and sat in my father’s chair.”

For a first-time novelist who makes his living working in a Manhattan investment firm(!), Towles crafted a story that was f...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Kate Z rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the reviews on the book jacket reads, "The best novels are the ones that completely transport you to another time and place. This beautifully written novel does just that."

I couldn't have said it better.

The book references one of my favorite poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems (complete text here: http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html) and Rules of Civility felt like a novel version of that poem.

My favorite line from the Eliot poem "In a minute there is time
For decisio...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Verena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book reminded me of "The Great Gatsby". It takes place a decade later, and it does not have the emotional power nor the dramatic imagery of TGG. But its characters are from the upper-crust of New York City society, or are aspiring to join it. The narrator, Katey Kontent, is a secretary from a middle class background. She joins a social group of twenty-somethings who frequent the Greenwich Village jazz clubs to drink and to party. Thirty years later Katherine recalls her interactions with th...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Judi/Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The spirit and the soul of New York City during the jazz age is captured by this novel in a coming of age story of Katey Kontent and her best friend Eve Ross. When they meet up with Tinker Grey, a handsome young Gatsby like banker, at The Hotspot Bar on New Years Eve in 1937, the three become good friends and their life becomes complicated. As Katey rapidly goes from a secretarial position, barely making ends meet, to a prestigious editorial position in a popular magazine, through circumstances,...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Jennifer Swapp rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I put all my books on the side when this one came in from the library. I love experiencing the world of privilege that belonged to the NY elite in the early 20th century. While this takes place the year after Edith Wharton's death, it is the same society, which has become more elite with the onslaught of the Great Depression.
One of the main themes that the book explored was the loss of some dreams as we fulfill other aspirations. In the end, the protagonist writes, "I love Val. I love my job an...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Sherri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reading-again

My review after reading "Rules" again . . .

As Bitsy Houghton says - "That's a Grand Canyon of a tale . . . A mile deep and two miles wide."

I'm bumping my rating up to 5 stars. This book is flawless. The story is even richer on a second read, and the characters are so real and likeable.

There's a place in the story where Katey talks about walking back over a route a second time and seeing things more clearly. This is how I felt when reading "Rules" a second time; knowing more than I did the first...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, debut-novel, knocked-my-socks-off, kobo-e-book

I could not put this book down. The characters were facscinating and well-developed. I felt that I knew them...or wanted to know them. The story took place in New York City in the late 30's. The city was full of the monied and famed and those who wanted to climb the ladder for the money and fame. The city offered all sorts of delights and entertainment for the young during this period...jazz clubs, old Irish bars, and posh hotels and restaurants.

The story was narrated by Katherine (or Kate or K...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Ebirdy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At first, I thought the writing style was kind of off or unpolished. But I thought it got better as the book continued, and I ended up quite enjoying it. Some of the dialogue actually made me laugh out loud, which is always a bonus.

Towles did a good job of giving you a sense of what was going on in NYC during the late 30s, and you can tell he loves the city where he resides. Some of the things that happened to Katey were a bit on the unbelievable side, but, life is full of strange twists of fate...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Emily Crowe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is one that has been garnering much attention over the last month when Viking published it. It follows a young woman named Katey Kontent, whose life of modest means in late 1930s Manhattan is upended (not always for the better) when she meets and falls for socialite Tinker Grey and inhabits his sphere for a while. I expected to love it, but alas, I did not. However, I did find much to admire in it, including Towles' prose style and his ability to capture something essential about his c...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is somewhat of a historical novel of the year 1938 except it's really the story of Kate Kontent and the different people she met, the choices she made, and the way her choices molded her for the next couple of decades. It seems a bit random yet I am very drawn to this story because of certain truths I gleaned from it. Here's what I liked:

Kate: Human, quick witted, well read, learns best by living although reading is an excellent past time. She bounces back and mo...more

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May 18, 2011 Paola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

[Review also appeared on Amazon.co.uk]

I decided to read "The Rules of Civility" because the blurb on the Amazon page mentioned a jazz quartet in 1937 and stated that the protagonist, Katey Kontent, knew " how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year and that if you can still lose yourself in the first chapter of a Dickens novel then everything is probably going to be fine". With those two lines, I had already identified with Ms Kontent, despite the fact that...more [Review also appeared on Amazon.co.uk]

I decided to read "The Rules of Civility" because the blurb on the Amazon page mentioned a jazz quartet in 1937 and stated that the protagonist, Katey Kontent, knew " how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year and that if you can still lose yourself in the first chapter of a Dickens novel then everything is probably going to be fine". With those two lines, I had already identified with Ms Kontent, despite the fact that I have never been to New York City. If you are a male reader, please do not click away now as this is most definitely NOT chick-lit. In fact, there is plenty of drinking (Martinis and Champagne, primarily), there are cars and even a few guns here and there. Oh, and jazz.

In brief, the plot revolves around Katey and her friend Eve; they meet Theodore `Tinker' Grey, a wealthy young man while celebrating New Year's Eve in a dingy jazz club and, without giving away the story, the encounter will change their lives for ever. A love triangle is among the central elements of this story, but the triangle changes shape at one point and anyway, this is a novel with a story, rather than a plot. It's about love, of course, but also about ambition, social mobility, and that aspirational quality that is quintessential to the mythology of New York City and that will inevitably bring up comparisons with F.S. Fitzgerald's 'Great Gatsby'. Indeed, it would be hard not to see the similarities between Tinker and Jay Gatsby - young men who pretty much incapsulate the American Dream of the early 20th century at the start of the novel and who, by the end, confirm that the dream is just that: an illusion.

A lot of `new' writers are too often hailed as The Next Big Thing to then only disappoint; but on the contrary, I haven't managed to find a shred of information about Amor Towles; who is he? I am amazed at how he managed to create such believable and above all, likeable, female characters. And the male `cast' are equally memorable, none of them too perfect, none of them falling into the trappings of prince charming characterisation that could have taken this book down the pastel cover route.

I would be really surprised if 'The Rules of Civility' didn't become a literary fiction best-seller, as it ticks all the relevant boxes; great characters, gripping storyline, jazz, Martinis and a social commentary; it's peppered with literary references and quotes and I'm sure I won't be the only one reaching for a copy of Thoreau's "Walden" as a result of reading this book. And when a book makes you want to read more books, to paraphrase Katey Kontent, `everything is probably going to be fine'.(less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A dollop of Great Gatsby, a whiff of Wharton, toss in a pinch of Fitzgerald and mix it all up with the theme of the interconnectedness of it all. New York lends itself so well to that theme as so many worlds intersect in the small space that is Manhattan. I empathized with the heroine's book lust. Although she, too, becomes fascinated by the lifestyle of the rich and privileged; the right cut of T-bone, appreciating a fine car, noting a silver money clip that bespeaks of a fine accessories purve...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Stacey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Love this book. Favorite passage so far:

As a quick aside, let me observe that in moments of high emotion-whether they're triggered by anger or envy, humiliation or resentment-if the next thing you're going to say makes you feel better, then it is probably the wrong thing to say. This is one of the finer maxims that I have discovered in life. And you can have it, since it's been of no use to me.

How can you not like Katey Kontent?

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 02, 2012 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

I must read this one with Kathy! She is becoming obsessed with reading it and I want to join her! I'd like to give this book 4.5 stars. It misses my 5 star rating because the ending was a little disappointing, and I felt that more could have been done with some of the characters. Otherwise, this book transported me to what I imagine the 1930's to have been like. Each person felt very real to me, without being over the top. It's hard to describe, but there were so many scenes throughout the nove...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Karla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, new-york

Every woman has a story of how they loved, lost and grew into the woman they are. This reads like a personal journey into an extraordinarily unbending and intelligent woman named Katy. I enjoyed reading how her life became what it is by so many influences of people, books and places she encountered in a short period of her life as she found herself. This is the perfect reflecting novel that shows how everything imprints and shapes our heart and minds with a heroine that blazes her way in 1930's...more

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About Amor Towles

Amor Towles was born and raised just outside Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University and received an MA in English from Stanford University, where he was a Scowcroft Fellow. He is a Principal at an investment firm in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife and two children."

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“...be careful when choosing what you're proud of--because the world has every intention of using it against you.” — 129 people liked it

“It is a lovely oddity of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book.” — 116 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11979229-rules-of-civility?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328349422l/11979229.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11979229-rules-of-civility?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Rules of Civility by Amor Towles[/url]

Rules of Civility

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