Book Review: Rules Of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is a historical fiction that takes place in New York City between 1937 and 1938. The Great Depression was still plaguing America, as World War II was on the horizon, and people were defined by their class system. The Rules of Civility is about a group of characters who will not be defined by society’s class structure and try to change their station in it. Some characters hate where they are in society and openly mock the class that they are in, whereas other characters will fake it until they make it. The underlying theme of the book is everyone is a whore for somebody, the only way to get ahead is to prostitute oneself through money, influence, and jobs. Some of the characters do not realize that are controlled by someone else until the end. It’s powerful and still very relevant in today’s society by this phase: it is not what you know, but who you know. I love that the title is based off of George Washington’s writing a long set of rules called the Rules of Civility. The Rules of Civility are a set of rules for how one must subject one’s self in society, there are 110 rules that one character lives by and thankfully at the end of the book Amor Towles posts them all. The pacing moves along a little bit slowly but the history, the characters, and the conversations are all interesting. There are a couple of turns the book takes that I was not expecting. I did struggle for moments asking myself what the point of it was, but in the end, the book makes a strong statement on society and manipulation. This is my second Amor Towles book, and I love the way he writes characters that you grow to get behind despite their faults. Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow are getting adapted as a limited TV series. Rules of Civility is Amor Towles’s debut novel which was published on July 26, 2011.

Plot Summary: Katey Kontent and her roommate Eve have 5 dollars between themselves and still decide to go out to a jazz club on New Year’s Eve of 1937 and meet a young banker Tinker Gray. Who has money and treats them well. He loves that Katey is an intellectual and calls him on things but he also likes Eve a fun party girl that demands everyone’s attention. Tinker is infatuated with both women and both Katey and Eve want to be a part of the social class that he’s a part of. Katey is not as aggressive as Eve and still wants to earn it whereas Eve feels entitled to it. A car accident changes everything for the trio. There are Rules to Civility but not everyone plays by them. This a a fantastic look at 1938 New York City and what people would do and act to get ahead.

What I Liked: The dialogue of this book is really good, where the story sometimes lags the dialogue never does. The dialogue is fun and witty. This book gave me a new appreciation for Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, which I’ve always considered a very boring stream-of-consciousness writing about nature, but the way this book has conversations about it makes me want to love it the way the characters do. It does make sense that Amor Towles’s next book A Gentleman in Moscow is about a man trapped in one room like Walden is about a man alone in a cabin in the woods. I love the way the jazz clubs and speakeasies are described. I loved the theme of the book and how the surprises at the end shaped the book. I loved the horse racing scene.

What I Disliked: I wanted Tinker’s brother Hank to be in the book more his character was so complex yet the only character who rejected society’s class system and preferred to be lower class than play the game. I think the story came together at the end but there were times when I felt the novel wasn’t focused and leading me to the point of the story.

Recommendation: I recommend you check out Rules of Civility and the excellent dialogue writing. The story as a whole is very good and comes together so well at the end that it mirrors today’s society. I did not like Rules of Civility as much as I liked The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles’s third novel, but for a debut novel, it is very well written. I have requested A Gentleman in Moscow from the library after finishing Rules of Civility. If you have not checked out this man’s excellent writing please do.

Rating: I rated Rules for Civility by Amor Towles 4.1 out of 5 stars.