Rules of Civility

A Novel

By: Amor Towles

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

From the number one New York Times best-selling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow, a “sharply stylish” (Boston Globe) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society - now with over one million readers worldwide.

On the last night of 1937, 25-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society - where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

Hear why Rules of Civility is Our Book of the Summer.

©2011 Amor Towles (P)2011 Penguin

Elegant prose, poignant story

A bit slow to start, but the elegant writing will put you in New York City, 1938. Compelling characters and a beautiful rendering of the social melieu of that time and place. Excellent narration.

Hats off to Towels and Lowman!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rules of Civility to be better than the print version?

Part of the reason I enjoyed this book so much was because of the incredible narration by Rebecca Lowman. She has the perfect voice to fit the character Katey Kontent, and executes all the other characters really well. Lowman is my new favorite narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rules of Civility?

This is a beautifully written story. Towels tells the tales with a lyrical and poetic style reminiscent of Steinbeck, of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Every chapter dances along in perfect rhythm.

What about Rebecca Lowman’s performance did you like?

I very much enjoyed the story and highly recommend it, but Rebecca Lowman's performance took the novel from great to outstanding.

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for a good listen, this is it! The story takes one back to a nostalgic time in New York City. It's a wonderful coming age novel about love, friendship, heartbreak and self realization and fulfillment of one's own potential as well of that of others.

Narrator is melancholic

Slightly interesting book but the narrator sounded sad & melancholy making one feel terrible events were just around every chapter.
Characters were so bored with life, not worth reading about them.

well-written and interesting

I usually do not enjoy books that are too wordy but was pleasantly surprised with Amor Towels's novel. It is a fun look at a glamourous time and the upper east siders who ruled.

Katy Kontent is a gal's gal. I love her character and pretty much feel sorry for everyone else in this novel. But she shines.

I really love how descriptive this book is too. Towel creates new and amusing cliches.

Lots of thinking, lots of drinking

A well written book, full of adjectives and arguments, signifying nothing. Some of the characters are extremely well drawn, but many are blank ciphers. The three main characters are quite vivid and fairly interesting, but the narrative goes nowhere. Two major events dominate the book. One, a car crash, comes as a mild surprise; the other, the revelation that one of the characters is a paid companion, is no surprise at all, so that the book is simply a series of character studies.

Lovely painting of pre-WWII Manhattan

This author uses words to paint a beautiful picture of NYC in the late 30s. Slow-moving and charming, I really liked this book, not for its plot or even its character development, but for the pure joy of the words that wove the story.

Enjoyable

Great listen! Well read.Light but good story. Although similar to The Great Gatsby far different in my opinion. Enjoyed the novel and would recommend without hesitation.

Extraordinary story and brilliant narration

What made the experience of listening to Rules of Civility the most enjoyable?

The richnes of the vocabulary, the masterful suspense, the deep morsels of wisdom.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Katy. Her power of observation of telling details of body language, manners and customs. Especially, because she kept an ongoing comparison of these as they are lived in the higher strata of society and at the level of the middle class.

Which character – as performed by Rebecca Lowman – was your favorite?

Katy. Rebecca Lowman achieved a rare marvel of comming across as I would imagine the character, with her background and personality to sound.

Her voices for ALL the other characters is incredible. She created a singular voice for each person, which brought across age, gender, status and approach to life.

Who was the most memorable character of Rules of Civility and why?

Katy. For her premature wisdom of realizing how we are each born with certain gifts or characteristics and the choice of what to do with them. Then a few years ahead in life there are a few moments when some unusual oportunities present themselves to us. And it is up to us to be ready, to recognize them as crossroads and make decisions which will affect the rest of our lives.

Any additional comments?

For me it is the best book I have read in the past 5 years and I would nominate Rebecca Lowman for Best Reader 2011.

Best New Author in a Long Time

This book touched me so much that I not only recommended it to multiple friends and family, but I also bought it in hard cover and gave it to my sister for Christmas. It's one of those books where the author makes you feel that these are your friends and you're sharing a story about them with another friend. From what I've read this is Mr. Towles first book and I understand he's nearly 50, but you'd think he was in his twenties and a woman from the way he handles the story and his characters. I came to love Tinker Grey and Katherine Kontent, who tells you that it is pronounced like the "state of being." Well my "state of being" throughout this book was truly content. I plan to listen to this book again and again.

Decent book, droning narrator

While I enjoyed the descriptive writing style of the author, I do not think this book merits all the hype. I might have enjoyed it more in print since I found the narrator droning, depressing, and lacking imagination for character voices.