Rules of Civility discussion

LOVED this book-would love to hear from other readers if they agree/disagree with my high opinion of it!

NerdGirl wrote: "I just finished it and loved it too. I'll be reviewing it on my blog soon."

Good to hear that!

I also read it and loved it. Wrote a review saying same.

Sometimes when I finish a book I just hug it to my chest and this was one of them. I loved it!! I just want to tell everyone I know to read it.

I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way when I was reading it and when I was finished.

It is a great read and so well written. I just couldn't put it down.

Yep.

I adored the book...one of the best I've read this year for sure. I really hope others will give it a try because it's so wonderful!

It was far too much fun not to. It is a perfect "relax on the hammock, lounge at the beach" read. The characters are interesting, their relationships unusual, the story different and the writing remarkably intelligent. The book is a perfect summer escape.

I'm a fan. I read The Paris Wife and saw Midnight in Paris just before reading Rules, and somehow they all fit together. I loved Rules as a play on Gatsby, but with a woman to observe and comment, as well as play her own part.

This was a fabulous book and I will definitely tell all my friends to read it (even my mother)! It has a well developed plot, great characters and good conversations, although sometimes I had to re-read some of the dialog to make sure which character was speaking. While this won't be among the "great" books (hence my 4 stars), it was defintely one I won't forget. It was also nice to read something set in the pre-WWII United States.

I recently listened to the audio version of this book. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of Great Gatsby. Highly recommended!

Just finished the other day. You can hear Fitzgerald and maybe a little Wharton in this book. It was interesting to have the female perspective. I think that even though Katey loved Tinker all along you knew it would be a mistake for them to be together. This was a really good one.

This was a wonderful book. I couldn't put it down. Cried twice! It was so easy to get sucked into the story and the characters. Will be reading it again for sure.

I'm sorry to disagree with you all but I didn't think much to this book.

Something completely different. Found it very entertaining and interesting.

This book was clever and entertaining. I gave it 4 stars. However, there were some instances (like her in-depth discussion of Agatha Christi novels) that I was like PLEASE GET TO THE POINT!

Christian--it also reminded me of THE GREAT GATSBY but the parties were better :)

I loved this book. I even enjoyed the meanderings! I was also struck by the similarities to Gatsby-I loved your comparison about the parties, Natalie!-but I think that Gatsby is more like a long prose poem and Civility is straightforward-albeit outstanding good-prose.

Yes, this book is on my top shelf - best thing I've read in months, for sure.

I loved the contrasts in this book and how Katey quietly noticed, appreciated, and tried to understand them. She lived during times of great change for both men, and especially women, Katey had a great sense of history and the ability to manage social challenges. Did her stability come from the books she read? I fell in love with Tinker, too.

I despised 'The Paris Wife' because it seemed inauthentic to me, but I loved 'Rules of Civility' and I dearly hope to read it again. The book has beautiful sentences and tons of 'yes!' thoughts, plus the resonating themes were so creative.

April the Cheshire Meow wrote: "I despised 'The Paris Wife' because it seemed inauthentic to me, but I loved 'Rules of Civility' and I dearly hope to read it again. The book has beautiful sentences and tons of 'yes!' thoughts, p..."

I read 'The Paris Wife' as well, and enjoyed "Rules of Civility' more. Perhaps it's easier for an author to write about imaginary characters than those based on fact. I was interested in Paris and the places Hemmingway and Hadley travelled to, but I lived in New York City and loved reading about what it was like in the 1930's. Also, Tinker was more endearing to me than Hemmingway. Katey was more modern than Hadley. It's interesting to compare the two books.

The problem with 'The Paris Wife' is the book was about Hadley, who was on the periphery of her husband's life, not in it. She was a housewife-yawn. While both Civility and Wife cover the same period, Civility features a character that is interesting as well as being written in the author's most talented voice. I want to read Civility to the end, while Wife kept me asking did Hadley EVER live in her husband's milieu and get out of Nursery? Religious moms may get into heaven but I can't bear wasting my time reading 300 pages of attending church and spit up. Hemingway was a rogue and frequently a bad person. 'Hadley' was determined to sweep all of that under the rug, along with the common gossip of her day. Civility, on the other hand, left me feeling I was in a REAL person's life. Ironic, yes?

I love seeing this time period through the eyes of a woman first off, and to get to see Katey get into capers and be a real, completely fleshed out female character was refreshing. Would be willing to take suggestions of other books like this one (already read 'The Paris Wife.'

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I was rather disappointed in the epilogue where she was still thinking of Tinker every day nearly 30 years later. I felt a bit sad for Valentine and I feel like it is somewhat of a betrayal of that relationship which didn't go well with Katey's genuine character. I would have figured her to be more honest and respectful of her eventual relationship with Val and not to cling to the "one that got away" sentiment. Had I not read the epilogue I too would have hugged the book and gave a big happy sigh but i actually threw the book on the table in frustration.

I understood the epilogue as a sign that a deep love is never forgotten-or a deep disappointment, especially when the 2 are combined.

And I think it is not only Tinker she remembers but, in his person, herself & her world as well as the world at that time. He becomes a kind of screen memory, a rite of passage into true adulthood.

I thought it was a very good book. Not many 1930s books featuring the well-off.

Actually the writer this reminded me of was Louis Auchincloss with the old New York, female driven narrative. I enjoyed the focus on the city itself and the many musical references. Lots of fun plot twists and compelling characters.

Louis Auchincloss! I haven't heard that name in so long! I agree, he is a great writer.

April the Cheshire Meow wrote: "Louis Auchincloss! I haven't heard that name in so long! I agree, he is a great writer."

He's been gone for a while, and I'm not sure he had written anything really memorable for a while, but when I think back to the days of Tales of Old Manhattan, etc. Rules of Civility seems to fit right in.

Who was your favourite character in this novel?

Katey

Me too-Katey.

Definitely Katey.

Ellie wrote: "I understood the epilogue as a sign that a deep love is never forgotten-or a deep disappointment, especially when the 2 are combined.

And I think it is not only Tinker she remembers but, in his pe..."

I couldn't agree more.

Sorry to disagree..I did not like it at all...I did not even like the main characters. Comparing this novel with The Great Gatsby is an exaggeration...

I loved this novel maybe as much as Great Gatsby, I think it was the female perspective that really drove my enjoyment of it.

Absolutely loved this book. I can't believe it's his first novel, it was very well-written. I just wish he wrote a little bit more about Val.

When I finished reading the last page of Rules, I went straight to page one and started over again. I couldn’t help hearing echoes of Jay Gatsby in Katey and Tinker. Beautiful, insightful writing. I'm in love with this book.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, I didn't. The first half was really good and then it got terribly boring.

I too am a fan! I listened to the audio book and loved the reader. Now I'll get a copy of the book and read it again with that voice in my head :-)

Kat--I too loved Val, but maybe she's a story for another day.

I'll check it out.


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LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book. Two months later and I am still thinking about it. Loved this book and have passed it on to all of my friends.

Completely agree - LOVED IT! I read so fast I was sorry it was over. I read a studio bought the rights. I only hope they can do justice to the characters.

I need recommendations for my next read. This will be a tough act to follow...

Nora wrote: "I'm a fan. I read The Paris Wife and saw Midnight in Paris just before reading Rules, and somehow they all fit together. I loved Rules as a play on Gatsby, but with a woman to observe and comment, ..."

I totally agree with you.

Loved it, felt transported to a different place and time, always a sign of a good book.

I too loved this book...it oozed style & sophistication of the era perfectly! I wish Amor Towles would write more....

Five of his short, non-fiction cultural essays can be read on his website, which may be of interest to fans of his book.

http://amortowles.com/nighthawks/

I look forward to another novel from him!