Rules of Civility

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The setting is the year 1938 in New York City. I loved the inspiration for the book: The author attended an exhibition of the photography of Walker Evans. The photographer secretly took photographs of people on the New York subway in the late 1930’s. Upon close inspection, the author discovers that two of the photographs are of the same man, several years apart. In the first, he is obviously wealthy and at the height of his glory. In the second, he is now poor, threadbare, and careworn. This sparked the imagination of Towles. He made this man a central figure in his story and imagined what may have happened to this man that caused his fall and change. Isn’t that a great premise for a book?
The man in the photograph (the author names him Tinker Grey) meets two girls- Katie and Evie and it is their story- at least their story for the year 1938. It is a story of friendship and love and social status. It is a story of integrity and what that means in a relationship. It is a story of acceptance and forgiveness. It is a story of first love. First love is different that any that follows. The author captures those poignant emotions and brings back memories of one’s own first love.
Told from Kate’s perspective, we live through her experiences. She is charming and witty, but flawed and real.
I really liked this book and appreciate the writer’s talent.




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