Customer Reviews

Rules of Civility

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't read a lot of ebooks - I'm very much a paperback reader. With ebooks I lose some sense of where I am in a book by not being able to look at it physically. I find it easier to flip back to find some plot point that I want to check or the context in which a character first appeared. So, when I was offered a chance to review Rules of Civility by Amor Towles in an ebook format, I hesitated. But drawn in by the book's description on the author's website I took a chance. I am so glad I did. Despite the format, I adored this book!

The setting is Manhattan in the late 1930's. The threat of the Second World War is in the distant future and life, for the most part, is good. The reader sees what New York City was like during that era through the eyes of a young woman surviving quite well on her own in that large metropolis. The author did a fantastic job describing the culture of the young and carefree in an exciting city - so much so that the city takes on a character all of its own. Cocktails, bars, apartments, neighbourhoods and iconic buildings all figure prominently in this book. If you love the romance and cultural aura of New York City, you'll find plenty of it here.

I really liked the protagonist, Kate Kontent. She-s a well-written character - smart, sassy, independent and with a good dose of subtle humour thrown in. She's isn't perfect; I picked up hints of envy in some situations and loneliness in others. It's not that much was said, but rather shown (which I think is one of the trickiest talents a writer can develop and Amor Towles has it in spades). But Kate isn't a wallflower; she acts on her instincts so that when she isn't happy about something she takes steps to change it. And this is one of the reasons why the story moved along quickly and flowed so well. Dialogue between Kate and her contemporaries was also well done.

I also really liked the portrayal of women in this era. It seems that women in the 1930's are much further along in society than their later counterparts. The freedom of the earlier era was gone by the 1950's as the standard of a woman's worth was depicted with the iconic house dress-wearing female staying home and having babies. But perhaps that was the sign of prosperity. In any case, this freedom surprised me too - I've always assumed that any era before the 1950's had to be a worse one for women in general, but I didn't pick that up from this novel at all.

I loved this book because I like NYC and I found the 1930's era so interesting to read about. But to enjoy Rules of Civility you don't have to like those things too because it offers so much more. This book is a well-written, well-rounded great story from an author that I'll be putting on my must-read list for future books.

"Gaze not on the blemishes or marks of others and ask not how they came by them. What you speak in secret to your friend deliver not before others."

Rules of Civility or should we say rules of Decent Behaviour was absorbing and held my attention well, throughout.
Depicting New York's social strata, this book entertains, shocks, makes you laugh and perhaps some may cry.

Of the young and Upper Crust of the Jazz era, we are introduced to Kate Kontent of a Wall Street secretarial pool and her boarding partner, the beautiful Evelyn Ross who meets up on New Year's Eve quite by accident with Tinker Grey a handsome rich banker.

The threesome stick together for a time turning New York and everything else in the way upside down as they paint the town and country various shades of red.
This book is a page-turner and should not be missed for the fun and amusement it brings to the deep heart.
Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar September 22nd, 2011

Absolutely joyful read. The description of NY in the late 1930's takes you there and you do not want to come home. I found myself marking passages just because the language was so delightful to form in my mouth. On page 1: "In the 1950's, America had picked up the globe by its heels and shaken the change from its pockets." Can hardly wait for Mr. Towles' next work.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The setting and the characters are so well created! I recommend this book .

The writing style of this author is wonderful. A simple, well written story that is of the calibre of The Great Gatsby. Loved it.
This book was a pick from another member of a book club I am in. I would have not picked it up myself.. the cover and description just didn't seem interesting to me. Am I ever thankful that my friend picked this book. I loved it from cover to cover.

Although interesting, it was not my type of book. I don't think I would recommend it to any of my friends.

Witty, clever, fast talking characters take us through the social strata of the haves and wannabes in New York at the end of the depression. Writen in the first person ina woman's voice we are right there looking up and down the social ladder that was so important to so many. Loved it send am re-reading it right away! I have not done that since I was 12!

Although I did not pick this book for our community book club, I quite enjoyed it. It's Great Gatsby quality had my attention - the characters, the relationships, the rise and fall from society. Overall, good pick!

Other reviewers here have done a thorough job of describing the plot, characters and ephemeral '30s era New York, all of which Amor Towles captures so eloquently. Reading the Rules of Civility was like discovering a long lost work of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Towles may become Fitzgerald's modern equivalent. I will keep and re-read this beautiful debut novel while eagerly awaiting his next work.

I love this book! I can't explain it! So realistic! It's a story about love and friendship! It's a story about what happens when life happens!