I am not the first reviewer to compare Rules of Civility to The Great Gatsby. Both are period dramas set in the glamorous worlds of high society of New York with a doomed romance at their center.
It’s probably literary blasphemy to say so, but I found Rules of Civility infinitely preferable. I never did have any patience for the story of the purposeless life of the bored rich and their poor life choices. Maybe I didn’t care for the romance, or perhaps I need to go back and read it appreciate the finer points of social commentary. Rules of Civility, on the other hand, was such a joy to read.
The Plot
It’s New Year Eve’s 1938, and two young women drink up their last drink in a seedy jazz bar waiting for something to happen before midnight. Just on cue appears prince charming in the shape and form of Tinker Grey, a good-looking, rich young man, clearly a New York blueblood. This chance encounter changes the lives of these three people forever.
Photo Credit @chrisbair on Unsplash.com
Our heroine, Katey Constant, is obviously very much into Tinker Grey, but before anything materializes between, a sequence of unexpected events lands Eve and Tinker together. Eve was the other young woman in the bar that night.
But this is not just a love story. It’s really the story of Katy Constant and her fateful year in New York City that started at midnight in that seedy jazz bar. To put distance between herself and the new couple, Katy focuses on her career. She works as a secretary in a law firm, and while she is excellent at what she does, her real ambition is to work in publishing. Her attempt to work with a successful literary critic follows through, and she is then introduced to the world of elite editorial assistants. Basically, rich college-educated girls passing the time before they marry and take up a house in the Hamptons.
While her acquaintance with Tinker lets Katy through the door of the rich and famous, it’s really the new job that brings her into the inner circle of the WASPs. During the day, she is a diligent secretary working for a cranky and eccentric boss in the posh offices of Conde Nast. In the evening, she roams the fancy clubs and house parties with her aimless but rich friends.
And in between, she tries to get over Tinker. The closest she comes to finding a real friendship is with another rich ye gentle soul, Wallace Wilcott. He is a great companion, friend and an excellent shooter. He further broadens her horizons in the upper circles of New York society. When Wallace ships to Spain to fight Franco, Tinker finds his way back into her life.
If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us…then there wouldn’t be so much fuss about love in the first place.
Katey and Tinker’s relationship never reaches its logical conclusion. Tinker is not able to live up to George Washington’s Rules of Civility, his guidebook on behaving in civil society. He couldn’t meet the expectations that the city foisted upon him and breaking away is his only choice. Katey, on the other hand, survives the glitz and glamour of New York.
That’s the problem with living in New York. You’ve got no New York to run away to.
Rules of Civility is not an entirely unique novel. It’s a coming of age story of sorts, about a young girl who finds her way through New York society. The beauty of the book is in it’s telling. Towles recreates New York of the past with great conviction, and it’s a joy to follow Katey around Manhattan. Towles also acknowledges the migrant melting pot that New York already was as we hop about Russian, Jewish and Chinese neighbourhoods.
The writing is elegant and engaging with an almost effervescent quality. It’s a straightforward novel to read, yet it’s deeply textured. Eve, Tinker, Nathan, A bittersweet thread runs through the pages as we live through the friendships, loves and heartbreaks of this young girl. The threat of war is looming on the country but it is not any more than background noise.
I know that right choices by definition are the means by which life crystallizes loss.
Reading Rules of Civility is like flipping through a black and white photo album, remembering the places and places of the past, with a fond nostalgic eye.
For more book recommendations, read here.
4 comments
It’s Katey Kontent…not Konstant!
Oh my god – thank you! There is the whole discussion about her name too in the book – i think this may be the case of auto-correct!
What makes the book so enjoyable is the author is a master of the English language. He considers every punctuation mark, every thought ,every word, before putting it to paper. He makes his thoughts our thoughts. Every word draws you into the story. There is very little filler to fill up a novel sized tome.
I agree completely. I found his writing very fluid and engaging. Am planning on reading A Gentleman in Moscow next