Rules of Civility in What's the Name of That Book???

Jul 25, 2011 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: new-york, historicalnovels, fiction, east-coast, new-england

This book was truly excellent; one of the best I've read in a while. It's cool, cunning, and has something of a Great Gatsby varnish to the characters. Katie Kontent is a young woman who climbs the social ranks of New York City in the 30s, scouring jazz bars and drinking gin. She ends up falling for a young man named Tinker Grey who oozes money and when he blushes, the patches of red are star-shaped. But it's not a sentimental story; the restrained writing evokes those hard-edges and sexy curves ...more

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May 13, 2013 The Book Maven rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-historical-fiction, read-literary-fiction, read-in-2013, 2013-best-books-read, set-in-new-york, need-to-read-again

This may end up being my favorite book of the year.

It’s not often that I come across a historical novel that is also literary (whatever that means. My concept of it changes by the day and my mood), but it’s even less often that I come across a historical, literary novel that is as –I hate to use the term that other reviewers have, but nothing else quite fits--sophisticated as this book.

The main plot opens in New York City, as 1937 is about to turn into 1938, and as two young working women, Kat This may end up being my favorite book of the year.

It’s not often that I come across a historical novel that is also literary (whatever that means. My concept of it changes by the day and my mood), but it’s even less often that I come across a historical, literary novel that is as –I hate to use the term that other reviewers have, but nothing else quite fits--sophisticated as this book.

The main plot opens in New York City, as 1937 is about to turn into 1938, and as two young working women, Katey and Eve, are about to go have as much fun as they can on their tight budget of three dollars. A chance encounter with a wealthy young banker by name of Tinker opens up a world of opportunities and acquaintances of for both of the women, as well as a potential love triangle, but when a car accident badly injures Eve and sends her into Tinker’s arms, the results seem logical and foregone. But as it turns out—their relationship with each other and to Katey is only incidental; the real meat of this story lies with Katey and the ways in which she tries to alter her life over the course of the year, and the various people she encounters. By the novel’s end, Katey has left the reader quietly pondering the people who come into our lives for “a reason, a season, or a lifetime”, the ways that those people can impact us, and how sometimes we don’t realize it until years after the fact, when they (and our own heady youths) are distant memories.

While this assured novel is strong in all aspects, there are two aspects in which the author particularly excels: the strong sense of place, and the myriad historical details, are all so subtly woven into the story, that one scarcely realizes they are reading a historical novel. Most remarkable, however, are the characters within the story--every last one of them. Whether the characters are only present in one scene, or one chapter, or accompany us from beginning to end, Towles has an incredible way of packing a lot of walloping personality into each and every one of them. Even if, like Katey, we never encounter them again, we will remember them all.
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Jun 01, 2013 Dawn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club, recommend, random-fiction, 2013, 5-stars

This book has been compared to those of F. Scott Fitzgerald (yes) and Edith Wharton (a little), but I think it was a bit like Catcher in the Rye, soaked in martinis and jazz.

New Year's Eve in New York City. Katey Kontent and her boardinghouse roommate, the whirlwind Eve, are ringing in 1938 in a basement club on $3 and a pack of smokes when they meet a charming young banker, Tinker Grey. Their friendship launches the tumultuous year that changes their lives completely. (That sounds terribly cli ...more

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May 20, 2013 Melissa Rochelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, own, read-2013

Brilliant writing, amazing characters (all with fantastic names!), incredible sense of time and place. I loved this book. My copy is now filled with underlined passages and very random marginalia.

(Also...I highly recommend taking a look at the discussion questions by the author -- fantastic!)

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Sep 25, 2011 Christina rated it liked it

Goodreads keeps eating my reviews. Short version: great supporting characters, great party scenes (it's not easy to write a great party scene, or so say the many attempts I've read, and boy, are there a lot of party scenes in this book. They are, I think, successful), "villain" lacking a dimension or two, love interest (early on my brain switched out one monosyllabic surname for another, and I had to fight the urge to think of him as "Tinker Bell" for the entire book) entirely lacking. I didn't ...more

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