(Jan 2012) - Rules of Civility - Amor Towles

[LynnB]

Rules of Civility

Post your comments here.

[Becky]

read this a few weeks ago....not a book I would have picked up on my own but it was highly suggested by a few people & I liked it very much...loved the era

[LynnB]

I'm next in line at the library on this one, so hope to have it soon.

[Juniper]

I am not quite at the halfway point and I am really enjoying this story. Right now, most of my enjoyment is coming from landing on all of the literary references and that Towles made his protagonist bookish!! Hee hee hee. The story moves along at a good clip. I am invested in Katharine (Katey). I was recently on vacation in New York City, so all of the city landmarks and references are also making this a great reading experience. I started last evening and the timing was serendipitous - it opens on New Year's Eve! This book, so far, is a very interesting look at the slices of society in NYC during the years book-ending The Depression.

Edit: I forgot to note that I am really enjoying the old photos the lead off some chapters. They complement the story really well and, for me, are deepen my interest.

[Juniper]

I finished this novel last week and really loved it! What a great read to start off the new year!

Is anyone else reading this now?

[LynnB]

Jennifer wrote: "I finished this novel last week and really loved it! What a great read to start off the new year!

Is anyone else reading this now?"

I was hoping to have it read, but I'm still on the waiting list at the library - it's due in a few days and I'm #1 on the list, though, so I should be starting soon.

[Juniper]

Oh, that's great, Lynn!! I would love to hear your thoughts once you have read the novel!

[Becky]

Jennifer wrote: "I finished this novel last week and really loved it! What a great read to start off the new year!

Is anyone else reading this now?"

I read it several weeks ago...

[Juniper]

Becky wrote: "I read it several weeks ago..."

Aaaand??? What did you think, Becky?? :) LOL!!

I would like to chat a bit about the story with others who have read the book.

[Becky]

I liked the book quite a bit. Not a book I would have picked up on my own but I am so glad I did....I loved Katey, she was a great character & I loved the era....a really beautiful book I thought

[Juniper]

I thought so too, Becky. I was interested in the book as I love "first novels" so try to find literary debuts that have descriptions that grab my attention. I would call this a fun read and I liked the timing of my read - right after coming back from NYC and I started it on New Year's Eve. I had no idea it started out that way, so that was a happy coincidence. I really liked that the city was almost a character in the story too! And, yes! Katey was a great character. Not clichéd and Towles developed her really well. I would have liked a bit more about her and Val, though. That felt a bit pat at the end, even though it wasn't a surprise given his appearance at the beginning of the story. (If that makes sense?)

[Rita]

I read this book last year and really enjoyed it. It felt very Great Gatsby-ish at times (something which I loved).

I'm a sucker for period pieces and I felt the character development was very thorough.

[Juniper]

He did really capture this slice of time/segment of society really well, didn't he?? I mean, not that I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination on this era, but it just read so seamlessly. As though these were real people and real moments in their lives.

Edit: I also get really impressed when authors pull off writing in the voice of the opposite sex. So, Towles being a dude, wrote Kate very, very well!!

[Becky]

Jennifer wrote: "He did really capture this slice of time/segment of society really well, didn't he?? I mean, not that I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination on this era, but it just read so seamlessly. ..."

I agree-I read a book years ago & I was shocked that a man wrote it because he really captured the female part so well

[Juniper]

Yes! I have a few titles I can think of like that, but the one that really pops into my mind is The Book Of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. (In the U.S. it was released under the title, Someone Knows My Name.) Amazing!

[Becky]

Jewel by Bret Lott is the one I was thinking of

[Juniper]

Oh, yes! Lott did a great job with Jewel.

[Becky]

Jennifer wrote: "Oh, yes! Lott did a great job with Jewel."

Funny thing, I realized the book I am currently reading is written by a man & told through the eyes of a woman...
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

[Linda]

Becky wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Oh, yes! Lott did a great job with Jewel."

Funny thing, I realized the book I am currently reading is written by a man & told through the eyes of a woman...
[book:One Thousand Whi..."

I enjoyed that one, Becky.

[Juniper]

That sounds interesting, Becky! I was thinking about this idea last night and two books came to mind for pushing the idea even further: Middlesex and Annabel. Both main characters are hermaphrodites and each author ends up writing in voices opposite to their own gender. Both books are amazing accomplishments, though I really did LOVE Annabel and only liked Middlesex.

[Becky]

I did not read Annabel & I felt the same as you with Middlesex, it was OK for me...

[Juniper]

Mmmm! I recommend Annabel very highly! It's also a good winter read, being set in Newfoundland. The weather plays a role. Sort of.

[Becky]

Jennifer wrote: "Mmmm! I recommend Annabel very highly! It's also a good winter read, being set in Newfoundland. The weather plays a role. Sort of."

My book group(on GR!) read it & it just didn't sound interesting enough to me & I passed on it...

[Juniper]

OH! ACK! That's sad-making! Winter is an amazing writer. It' even more praise-worthy (in my weird brain) because it's her debut novel.

;)

[Becky]

I couldn't get past the cover.....

[Juniper]

Oh dear. What was the edition you saw/they were using? This one --> ?

I thought it was beautiful.

[Becky]

& yes I know there were 2 covers but I just didn't have any pull to read it

[Juniper]

Yes, that cover is striking but a bit unnerving too.

[Sera]

I finished this yesterday. I really enjoyed it. I would love to have a friend like Katie. She is so smart and cool with a tremendous sense of self.

The author did a great job depicting the times. It made me feel sentimental even though I wasn't there. I'm happy just thinking about it now.

I gave it 4.5 stars.

[Sera]

Becky wrote: " & yes I know there were 2 covers but I just didn't have any pull to read it"

Yes, this cover creeps me out, too.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I finished this yesterday and I'm very happy I read it. I plan to reread it someday. The story held my interest as much as the beautiful and perceptive writing. At times I felt I was reading a poet's excerpt rather than a story.