Rules
of Civility by Amor Towles
is set in 1938 Manhattan. The narrator, Katherine Kontent, comes from a blue-collar
family in New Jersey. Her friend Evelyn Ross comes from an upper-middle-class
family in Indiana. Why is that important? This is a story about class and
mobility. The third main character: Tinker Grey, as disclosed in the Preface, is
well-off in 1938, and destitute in 1939.
One of the central themes of this book
is class mobility. Do you have to be born in the upper class to belong? Can
people from modest roots enter to upper class through luck or talent? Tinker personifies luck and Katey is
talent. Neither makes the jump.
Even though class mobility seems
beyond the grasp of our characters—no one enters or leaves the upper social
strata—Katey moves up financially. However, lest the reader might take this an
optimistic view of possibilities, Katey is absolutely brilliant…so brilliant
that everyone recognizes her talent. Others
who less talent (Tinker’s artist brother, and Evelyn Ross) do not fare as well.
On an egalitarian note, most
characters lived their life happily, even Wallace who died in the fighting
Franco, Dickey who made paper airplanes, and Eve who moved to Los Angeles.
The book includes much clever writing.
The kind of writing that is so clever, it takes the reader out of the story.
“[The
rich had] dogs that were better bred than I.”
“The
indistinguishable…were satisfied to express their individuality through which
Rogers they preferred…Ginger or Roy or Buck.”
“[He
took care of me after the auto accident because] You break it, you’ve bought
it? Right?”
If you’d like a delightful book of
life among the very rich and those that enter their circle, this is the book
for you. The style and dialogue are optimistic and everyone, rich and poor, are
allowed to pursue happiness in their own way.
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