• Rules of Civility

  • A Novel
  • By: Amor Towles
  • Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
  • Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (9,628 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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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Historical Yet Relatable

A good story will transport you to another world and Rules of Civility does just this. But what's a delicious surprise is that you realize that the people of 1930s NYC weren't too terribly different than we are when it comes to aspirations, detours and the journey we call life.

Too deep? Then don't worry. You can hang out in the glamour of Manhattan the whole time, eating up Towles' eloquent and detailed narrative, and still come away satisfied.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not what I expected after A Gentleman in Moscow

dissatisfied with narrator, storyline is random at best, it doesn't look like the main character can make intelligent choices ito work or relationships, goes from bad to worse. in fact it lacks the gentle insight and delicate handling of relationships as in A Gentleman in Moscow. doesn't seem to be the same author, or can a narrator influence an authors tone and inclination so much?

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Extremely well written with the perfect narrator

I stumbled upon this book and gave it a chance. Wow. Excellent. Wonderful story and so well written. I haven't heard a book this well written since The Goldfinch. The narrator was perfect as well. Give it a chance, you won't be disappointed. I'm impressed with this debut novel from the author.

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Excellent narration, beautifully written

This is an example of a well written book! Beautiful prose, interesting well rounded characters written with depth and clarity of the human condition.
I also loved the 1930's vernacular spoken by young plucky New Yorkers and the detailed descriptions of the buildings I pass and streets I walk on daily - at one part of the book, I was actually walking by the building across from Bryant Park as the narrator was describing it!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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1930s NYC

I love it when a city is just as much of a character as the people in the story. Lovely, transformative narrative about the life and times of 1930s NYC.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Really lovely

Beautifully and vibrantly written and read. Brings to life NYC in the late 30s, and the relationships one woman lives through in a year. The ups and downs ring true and there is a sweet, but never cloying, nostalgia. Not for the time period (although the period details are rich), but for the people who come into and out of every life.

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Smart and absorbing period piece

Fantastically transporting. The protagonist is a bit flat but you'll enjoy story nonetheless. Vividly drawn. Good story. Good times. have fun.

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Loved listening to this book

Any additional comments?

While reading/listening to this story, I could really picture the 1930's in New York. It felt almost like I was there. And the way the author wrote it seemed to really fit with the times. It was also a really good story. The narrator did a great job, she was pleasing to listen to and did great with the various characters.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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waiting for something to happen

A beautiful portrait of 1938 New York. well developed characters. would be nice if something actually happened

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Wonderful!

It was such an elegant well written novel, filled with wonderful anecdotes and lessons. I loved the history and feel of late 30’s Manhattan. That characters were memorable and well rounded, the writing and their stories were clear. I really enjoyed the inner thoughts and workings of Ms Content.

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