Rules of Civility: A Novel
4 journalers for this copy...
From a blurb in O Magazine-
"In the crisp, nourish prose of the era, Towles portrays complex relationships in a city that is at once a melting pot and elitist enclave- and a thoroughly modern heroine who fearlessly claims her place in it."
A great description of a really good historical (set in 1930s) novel.
BTW, get your drinks shaker out because this book will have you craving a good Manhattan (if cocktails are your thing ;)
"In the crisp, nourish prose of the era, Towles portrays complex relationships in a city that is at once a melting pot and elitist enclave- and a thoroughly modern heroine who fearlessly claims her place in it."
A great description of a really good historical (set in 1930s) novel.
BTW, get your drinks shaker out because this book will have you craving a good Manhattan (if cocktails are your thing ;)
Sent to Florida as part of the General Lit VBB. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for sharing this book with me. I was attracted by the title. I am adding this to my TBR piles and looking forward to reading it.
The novel could be considered cinematography. Amor Towles's novel captures Manhattan 1938 with the jazz, the nightclubs and the streets, the pursuit of sensuality, and women setting out on their own. 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 30's.
Katey Kontent (Katya) is the moral center of the story, an unapologetic working girl. She's an ambitious and determined to become a success. Katey and her friend Eve flirt with the men that they meet. They will kiss a man once that they'll never kiss twice. Eve and Katey meet Tinker Grey on New Year's Eve, 1937, at the Hotspot, a jazz bar in Greenwich Village. Tinker reminds me of Gabsy. The three become fast friends.
At times, the 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. It loses some steam as I tried to figure out how the Rules of Civilary relates to the writing.
The novel takes its name from the 110 rules that George Washington crafted during his teenage years. Katey Kontent eventually sees Washington's rules not as "a series of moral aspirations" but as "a primer on social advancement." They are the rules that shape a masquerade in the hope "that they will enhance one's chances at a happy ending."
Katey is an outsider socializing with a privileged group of people, but she remains the grounded daughter of a working class Russian immigrant. She treasures her female friends. She neither hides nor flaunts her intelligence.
Rules of Civility offers up occasional glimpses into the passages from the books the characters are reading, excerpts from Hemingway and Thoreau and Woolf, an ongoing description of an Agatha Christie novel.
Katey Kontent (Katya) is the moral center of the story, an unapologetic working girl. She's an ambitious and determined to become a success. Katey and her friend Eve flirt with the men that they meet. They will kiss a man once that they'll never kiss twice. Eve and Katey meet Tinker Grey on New Year's Eve, 1937, at the Hotspot, a jazz bar in Greenwich Village. Tinker reminds me of Gabsy. The three become fast friends.
At times, the 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. It loses some steam as I tried to figure out how the Rules of Civilary relates to the writing.
The novel takes its name from the 110 rules that George Washington crafted during his teenage years. Katey Kontent eventually sees Washington's rules not as "a series of moral aspirations" but as "a primer on social advancement." They are the rules that shape a masquerade in the hope "that they will enhance one's chances at a happy ending."
Katey is an outsider socializing with a privileged group of people, but she remains the grounded daughter of a working class Russian immigrant. She treasures her female friends. She neither hides nor flaunts her intelligence.
Rules of Civility offers up occasional glimpses into the passages from the books the characters are reading, excerpts from Hemingway and Thoreau and Woolf, an ongoing description of an Agatha Christie novel.
Enjoy! Off to spoiledrotten to enjoy.
Thanks so much booklady 331 for sending me this RABCK. My bookclub will be reading this then I will be able to set it free!
There is not much I can add to booklady331's review. I agree with just about everything. My Bookclub will be discussing this in September so I will update then and make it available. By the way jnpert, I agree with you too, although it was a martini that I craved!!!!
09/30/15 I tagged waternixie with this book for the US/Canada Wishlist tag game. Will journal once I have her address.
10/02/15 sending out to waternixie as part of the US/Canada Wishlist tag game.
09/30/15 I tagged waternixie with this book for the US/Canada Wishlist tag game. Will journal once I have her address.
10/02/15 sending out to waternixie as part of the US/Canada Wishlist tag game.
Sending off to waternixie as part of the US/Canada Wishlist tag game. Enjoy!
Recieved as part of the wishlist tag game. I had forgotten it was on my wishlist, but am glad to get it.
I still don't really understand the game, so don't know if I will be playing or not. Something has been wrong with my email since Oct. 3, so this isn't a good time in any case.
I still don't really understand the game, so don't know if I will be playing or not. Something has been wrong with my email since Oct. 3, so this isn't a good time in any case.