Manhattan in the late 30s–a stylish novel setting

The novel, Rules of Civility, starts off with an intriguing prolog narrated by the central character, Katey Kontent. Since the author’s name is Amor it’s possible to imagine a woman writing the book. But no. The author is not the female narrator in her 20s in the crucial year (1938) of the story; but Amor Towles does a good job of slipping into another gender and another time. The place is Manhattan; the setting is the city from New Year’s Eve 1937 through 1938.

The story involves the young and beautiful in the glamorous pre-war days; the rich and the aspiring rich. In that particular setting the author presents the wise-cracking, stylish and clever characters that most of us only know from black and white movies of the era.

Frankly, the setting in the distant past, works to the author’s advantage. Not many are still around who can challenge the verisimilitude of the world Towles constructs. Without that constraint, readers can sit back and enjoy the writing on its considerable merits, and it’s a good story.

The book is stylish and entertaining but two weeks after finishing it I realized I hadn’t given it a second thought. For me, that is unusual, and not in a good way. However, the book sparked an interesting discussion among book group members–so my reactions may not be typical!