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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Nostalgic and fairly charming, but never quite got beyond a good time and a pleasant read for me as A Gentleman in Moscow did at times. It has a generally nice neutrality towards events in the past, but where this serves the stories of other characters, it takes away some of the bite of the story of a young woman social climbing, which comes off almost as passive (though it is not). The focus seems unbalanced, with the action mostly surrounding Katey but the weight coming often from Tinker. This isn’t all bad, but choices such as including narrative asides about what Tinker is doing several times felt out of place despite doing some work to prop up the imbalance. Overall a pleasant read with nice twists and turns, but didn’t come together fully for me.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I cannot put my finger on why I enjoyed this book as much as I did, but I loved it! The 1930s NYC setting was amazing, the pacing was consistent, & Katy was an amazing main character. At times, I felt like I was almost like reading The Great Gatsby from Daisy's perspective. I wish the last few chapters would have been slightly different, but overall I loved this one.
Rules of Civility follows Katey Kontent, a sharp and ambitious young woman navigating 1930s New York high society after a chance encounter with the wealthy and mysterious Tinker Grey. Through glittering parties, heartbreaks, and personal reinvention, Katey observes the fragile facades and class divisions beneath the city’s glamour. The novel explores themes of identity, privilege, and the choices that define a life, all told with wit and elegance.
299. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Novel-Audio-Fiction) 5* This novel was an absolute pleasure to read from the opening lines to the ending. I was captivated by the story and every little minute detail written into the work, moment by moment, scene by scene, I was transported into the time and felt I was part of the story, a silent but present bystander. Their are thousands of writers that are good, but very few that reach the pinnacle of being a great writer....Towles is a great writer and I look forward to reading future works...accompanied by a fine glass of wine. Highly recommend this read as well as “A Gentleman in Moscow”.
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
I was so close to DNFing this book so many times. It's such a disappointment because I loved 'A Gentleman in Moscow' so much, but this novel was just not up to the same standard. The prose was fine, which is what gave it the 2 stars, but the characters were flat and unrelatable and there was no plot to speak of. The few small mysteries that were there, were just not intriguing enough to carry the weight of the book for 350 pages. If a book is going to have no plot, the characters need to be interesting enough to make up for it and these people just weren't. I felt like I didn't get to know the characters at all, but I also felt the novel was too long, so I have no idea what to say. I probably will read another one of his works, just out of pure curiousity but this one was definetly a miss for me.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes