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Rules of Civility

The stunning debut by the million-copy bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow

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Rules of Civility

By: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm, Rebecca Lowman
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About this listen

 For fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, this a witty, elegant fairytale of New York, set in 1938.

In a New York City jazz bar on the last night of 1937, watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble, there were certain things Katey Kontent knew:
· how to sneak into the cinema, and steal silk stockings from Bendel's
· how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year
· that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel then everything is going to be fine

By the end of the year she'll have learned:
· how to live like a redhead and insist upon the very best
· that chance encounters can be fated, and the word 'yes' can be a poison
· that riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat . . .

(P) 2011 Penguin Audio©2011 Amor Towles 20th Century Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romantic Comedy Urban Romance New York Witty Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Achingly stylish . . . [a] witty, slick production, replete with dark intrigue, period details, and a suitably Katharine Hepburn-like heroine
Terrific. A smart, witty, charming dry martini of a novel (David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY)
Gripping and beautiful
This is a flesh-and-blood tale you believe in, with fabulous period detail. It's all too rare to find a fun, glamorous, semi-literary tale to get lost in . . . While you're lost in the whirl of silk stockings, fur and hip flasks, all you care about is what Katey Kontent does next (Viv Groskop)
Irresistible . . . A cross between Dorothy Parker and Holly Golightly, Katey Kontent is a priceless narrator in her own right - the brains of a bluestocking with the legs of a flapper and the mores of Carrie Bradshaw
Jazz-age New York is the setting for martinis and girls on the make in Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. As glamorous as it is gut-wrenching, this is [a] must-read
Rules is more of an homage to an era, a ballsy treat of a novel with a pinch of mystery and oh so many neat one-liners
Impossibly glamorous . . . Towles conjures up vintage New York so marvellously that it made me feel nostalgic for a place I've never been to
Set against a soundtrack of clinking glasses and saxophones, the book is a love letter to the city and the era, so confidently written it instantly plunges you into Thirties New York. Towles creates a narrative that sparkles with sentences so beautiful you'll stop and re-read them. A delicious and memorable novel that will leave you wistful - and desperate for a martini
Amor Towles' stylish, elegant and deliberately anachronistic debut novel transports readers back to Manhattan in 1938 . . . Filled with snappy dialogue, sharp observations and an array of terrifically drawn characters . . . Glittering
A fizzy, finely observed tale . . . It's also a loving evocation of the chance social alchemy of Village jazz joints, Wall Street coffee shops, Midtown Champagne palaces, and Lower East Side former speakeasies
It's the Depression, and a gal Friday with a mouth like Dorothy Parker's is dallying with the smart set . . . turns out she's not the only climber. A joyride through the ups and downs of 1930s high society
If the unthinkable happened and I could never read another new work of fiction . . . I'd simply re-read this sparkling, stylish book, with yet another round of martinis as dry as the author's wit
Who doesn't want to be transported to Thirties Manhattan? (Lucy Mangan, author of ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?)
Rattles along at the pace of a riotous night out in the book's vividly evoked Manhattan. It is atmospheric, satisfying Great Gatsby-lite complete with fish-out-of-water first-person narration, country house parties and a fabulously wealthy male protagonist who is not all that he seems
Elegance and hardship drip off the page
All stars
Most relevant
Loved everything about it. Every time I opened the book, I was effortlessly immersed in the Manhattan of 1938.

The evocative writing.

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I loved the depiction of the era and the nods to Hemmingway, Fitzgerald etc. I did drift off at times, but was able to get back into. It wasn't a riveting read, but it did enough to keep me engaged. I would definitely recommend it as a book that passes the time and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Enjoyable

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The writing is excellent & brought to life a time and place and social milieu vividly.

New York 1938

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Full disclosure: I LOVED Gentleman in Moscow and thoroughly enjoyed Lincoln Highway… Towles writing here is just as magnificent, though the story itself - a relationship melodrama - is not my usual brew and not especially interesting (though I did find Katy C particularly endearing). That said, the way AT brings alive the period kept me reading happily, if not magnetically, to the end.

Poetic Prose

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Excellent narrator and engaging depiction of 1930s NY. Would love to see an adaptation of this - grit means glam.

Loved it.

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