Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Rules of Civility

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

9 reviews

emma_sky's review

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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alisonvh's review

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was not nearly as gripping as Towles’s subsequent books. It took me a long while to get into it, and by the time it finally piqued my interest, the book was almost over. Not sure the payoff was worth such a long wait. I definitely did not care about these characters nearly as much as I did for the characters in his other books.

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mmefish's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Funny how a rich middle-aged (white) man decides to write a book from a POV of a young working class girl just to completely ignore all if those attributes he himself set. The MC in question is kind of a perfect human (not like other women) but has no personality whatsoever.
Besides that, Amor Towels, for whatever reason, decided to take a dig on female writes more than once, praising men at the same time. Ah, and women in their 30s are, of course, past their prime.

I also don't see the point of setting the story during the Great Depression, because all the characters do is drink, party and spend money (the main character herself quits a job at a whim, immediately gets another one, and then another, even better one); so why not set it before the Depression? There is no poverty or struggling in "Rules of Civility" (as well as no plot).

P.s. there's a scene in chapter 21 that is the epitome of male fantasy. Just men-writing-women things.

P.p.s. there is another scene - with MC making out with an older woman. It came absolutely out of nowhere.

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