Rules of Civility Audiobook By Amor Towles cover art

Rules of Civility

A Novel

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Rules of Civility

By: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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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 Coming of Age Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

Editorial reviews

Amor Towles is approaching 50 and making a living as a principal at an investment firm. One wouldn’t expect his debut novel to be told from the perspective of a wise-cracking young lady of 25, but Towles is good at surprises. Katherine Kontent (“like the state of being”) is a legal secretary trying to climb the social ladder and squeeze all the juice out of Manhattan. She is the only slightly less seductive sidekick to Eve, who leaves her wealthy family behind to act like a mash-up of Christopher Isherwood's Sally Bowles and Truman Capote's Holly Golightly. It's the Upper East Side in the winter of 1939 — ripe for ripping off F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway or whatever writer you prefer from the era of roaring alcoholism, but Amor Towles doesn’t take the bait.

Neither does narrator Rebecca Lowman, who has good fun with the zippy dinner conversations while managing to keep Kate's sporting sense of dignity intact as both lovers and day jobs threaten to collapse her up-and-comingness. Lowman, who has a long string of television series bit parts from Will & Grace to Law & Order to her credit, slips easily into the everywoman role and adds notes of believable determination to our heroine's struggle for better circumstances. Who will marry Tinker Grey and who will get the promotion at Conde Nast are interesting plots, but none of this is the surprise - the plot surprise is all the more devastating. Towles gives us some glitter, but he doesn't gloss, and that is the biggest surprise. The women in this book are fraught with the tremendous burden of appearing charming but unintelligent, and Lowman lets in enough sharp tones to give their dilemmas and revelations a substantial bite. Towles has fleshed out these familiar archetypes in a unique direction, so much more rich and thick than the flat characters with which novels of this time period are usually laden. Megan Volpert
Vivid Historical Setting • Elegant Prose • Smooth Narration • Unpredictable Plot • Nostalgic Atmosphere • Perfect Tone

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I did not expect a gripping story after reading the synopsis. It surprised me with more action than I've expected. The focus of the book is still an internal life of a smart, gentle young woman and her coming of age in NYC in late 1930s.
It is beautifully written, the characters are nicely developed. You feel like you are reading one of the great classics the main heroine admires so much, but with a very modern twist to it.
If you like Jane Austin and Charles Dickens, this is a book for you.

Such a pleasant surprise

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This boook is just boring. I have been waiting for something to happen and so far (I am almost finished) NOTHING of any depth or importance has happened. This book was highly recommended by a friend and I will now have to tell her that I truly hated it. My advice is: skip this one! Yes, the book transports you to the 1930's but then abandons you there with nothing interesting or challenging to do or learn. You just get tired of the endless martinis, cigarettes, and dead ends in the story.

Nothing happens!!

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I loved everything about this book, the story, the characters, the descriptions of New York. I miss them already.

Rules of Civility

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I loved the reader, great voice. The book to me, was a bit sad at the end but over all I really enjoyed it.

Some what of a sad book

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If you could sum up Rules of Civility in three words, what would they be?

Touching, insightful and fun.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The gals of the era are lively and confident. They are strait talkers and shooters and pretty liberated for the times. The characters are flawed (aren't we all?) and still very appealing.

What about Rebecca Lowman’s performance did you like?

Matter of fact tone went really well with the main character who is a no-frills kind of gal.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily. It worked well over time.

Young, Female and Single in NYC in the 30's

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It was a book no depth. No plot and no ending waste of 9 hours .

Boring

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After having read A Gentleman in Moscow and now Rules of Civility, I cannot praise Amon Towles writing highly enough. Towles masterfully weaves the fabric of each character so artfully, his audience is treated throughout both these novels to imagery that could not be more perfect in drawing the analogies he wants us to picture through his unequaled use of language. Add both of these books to your library and start either of them tonight. You will be enchanted by both.

Amor Towles: a Brilliant Writer

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The best book I've listened to, by far! I really appreciate Amor Towles' writing style and his characters are so easily relatable; we all know someone like them. The narrator was wonderful. I listened to it twice because it's that great!!!

Awesome listening!

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I loved the narration of this book. The reader's voice was perfect, mature but with the tinge of youth that comes with reminiscence. The story was evocative of its era and place: Manhattan at the end of the Great Depression and just before war, struggling young people amidst the glamour and affluence of New York's society. A lovely novel, beautifully presented.

Wonderfully read and a beautiful story.

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Written with pithy honesty and wit, an absolute tribute to the Great Gatsby. I would recommend this to any fan of Fitzgerald and the age.

A Definite Hit

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