• Rules of Civility

  • A Novel
  • By: Amor Towles
  • Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
  • Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (9,647 ratings)

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Rules of Civility  By  cover art

Rules of Civility

By: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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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

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

What listeners say about Rules of Civility

Average customer ratings
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Fabulous!

I just loved this novel. It was one of the best that I've read in a while and I am a voracious reader. It is pleasantly dry and witty. The narrator has a beautiful voice and really brings each character to life. The novel is written just so that you have to think--but not so much that it is an academic exercise rather than an enjoyable novel. Looking forward to future works by this incredible author.

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Great read

Would you listen to Rules of Civility again? Why?

I rarely listen to books twice.

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

She did them all well, but was better with the women, but did do a great Tinker Grey.

Any additional comments?

I avoided this book because it was a debut novel, and am sorry I waited so long. It is interesting that a male author has much better developed female characters than male characters, but it is still a wonderful story. I will look for more of Towles books.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome!

If you love NYC, this book is for you. Great story, interesting characters and fabulous performance. Also, beautiful prose. Well done, Amor Towles.

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Masterfully woven storytelling

What a perfectly woven story! The author does an astounding job placing every detail from the beginning in order to call upon it later. My jaw literally dropped a few times at her genius.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ended disappointedly

The story started out enticing but ended up disappointing. Loved A Gentleman in Moscow so maybe was expecting too much out of this story but was disappointed with the end

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good period story

This surprised me - I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere of the '30s came through for me, with a couple minor flaws ("paralegals"? - not sure if they were called that back then, but oh well). The characters were good, and the story interesting. My grandmother was around the same age as Katie, and I liked picturing her as a young woman through this story. Everyone smoked and drank! Inside! Of course, Rebecca Lowman, as usual, gave a pitch-perfect performance.

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Wonderful & profound!

Rebecca Lowman is the perfect voice for this tale of life in New York in the 30's or so. Like seeing the city through my parents eyes as we so often heard from their stories being drivien around Manhattan as children. Lovely and harsh at the same time.

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absolutely fell in love

this has to be most memorable book i have ever listened to on audible. I have recommended it many times.

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Excellent!

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

First chapter did not bode well for my interest in this book, but once I got to the second one, it took off! Having lived in NYC for many years, it made it even more interesting for me as I knew nearly all the places mentioned in the book.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I must be one of the 'odd men out'....

....because I really didn't think this book was that wonderful. It was fairly interesting and the characters were intriguing but I just felt it was a long....slow....story. There were never any real highs or lows.......just all even keel. I did like Katey Kontent and felt she was extremely intelligent and street smart. With no family to help her out she made her way into a world that is difficult to gain access to and made a grand life for herself. Tinker Grey was a great name and I thought that I might use it for the next pet I end up with. There was a lot of drinking and smoking going on back in the 30's and it made me wonder if anyone was ever sober or not partying.


I was bored to tears with the 'Rules Of Civility' that were read at the end of the book.....OMG.....there were like 100 of them! At first they were a bit amusing.....then I just wanted it to END!!!....I only felt relief when the book was done.....no sadness that it ended or the want of pondering over the story. I was excited to read this but I ended up being bored and disappointed in a book that so many others have loved. I guess that is what makes life interesting....we all have our own opinions.

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