I recently finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles – and I adored it! It’s not one of those can’t put it down, let the littles raise themselves for a day while I devour it cover to cover in no time flat kind of book. Rather, it’s a poignant, sophisticated and beautifully penned coming-of-age story that had me savoring the words on each page rather than just charging forward to find out what happens next.
Goodreads says: On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar with her boardinghouse roommate stretching three dollars as far as it will go when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a tempered smile, happens to sit at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a yearlong journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool toward the upper echelons of New York society and the executive suites of Condé Nast–rarefied environs where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. Wooed in turn by a shy, principled multi-millionaire and an irrepressible Upper East Side ne’er-do-well, befriended by a single-minded widow who is a ahead of her time,and challenged by an imperious mentor, Katey experiences firsthand the poise secured by wealth and station and the failed aspirations that reside just below the surface. Even as she waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she begins to realize how our most promising choices inevitably lay the groundwork for our regrets.
I very rarely read a book twice and almost never buy a book (I mean, I didn’t even buy the Twilight saga for cryin out loud) but I’ll do both with this one.
This one is a winner winner (chicken dinner…I couldn’t resist)!!!
xoxo
This does sound good! May have to be my next Kindle purchase. Thanks for sharing.
I mentioned in my post today, I am in great need of a good book. Thank you so much for your suggestion!!!
Thanks for the recommendation! I will add that to my list. I am impressed that you rarely buy books. I just get too impatient waiting for things at the library and then I will be up late on Amazon and it's all over!
-Shelley
Oh this sounds like a fabulous read. Thanks for sharing!
Just added this to my wish list on Good Reads and Paperback Swap. I seldom buy new books as well but I do Re Read books and I keep the ones I think I might like to read again. I go to the Library for most of my reading…Paperback Swap.com is another great way to get books and our library has a used book room that is so well stocked with all kinds of books that my knees go weak in there!:) Thanks for the recommendation. If you liked the Help, you might enjoy The Dry Grass of August. It is a similar novel. It was written by Anna Jean Mayhew, a 70 year old woman…her first novel!!! I am impressed.
I read this book and loved it too! Highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in a really good story that surprises you along the way.
We are reading this for our April Book Club, now you've got me excited to read it. Thanks!
Thanks so much! This sounds like something I would enjoy.
xo
Pat
I also loved this book. Our book club read it and I think that everyone in our group loved it.
Ok this is weird, I rarely comment on blogs, but i did comment about the fabulous blue coral fabric we have in common. I have also read this book and loved it. Your introduction is quite accurate, and after reading your post, I agree, I could read it a second time. I love historical fiction that transports you to another era and place, and have always been intrigued by this era. I'll have to check out your other reads to see if there's something I haven't read! (I also love the Pink House…)
Maria
I just finished reading "American Heiress" and I plan to move on to "Rules of Civility" next. Thanks for the suggestion!