Rules of Civility

In the setup for this wonderfully told story, Katey Kontent attends a retrospective of Walker Evans photographs in the 1960s. There, amid Depression-era portraits of New Yorkers riding the subway, she is stopped by a picture of a man down on his luck. She says to her prosperous husband, "It's Tinker Gray." Soon we are in a vintage world ourselves, so impeccably does Amor Towles re-create Katey's New York of 1938 as she remembers who she was then, who Tinker was to her, and, finally, what his Evans portrait really means. Rebecca Lowman has an unusually beautiful voice and inhabits and distinguishes her characters so smoothly that she seems to disappear into the story, a gift to the listener. This production is a total pleasure. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from March 14, 2011
In his smashing debut, Towles details the intriguing life of Katherine Kontent and how her world is upended by the fateful events of 1938. Kate and her roommate, Evelyn Ross, have moved to Manhattan for its culture and the chance to class up their lives with glamourâbe it with jazz musicians, trust fund lotharios, or any man with a hint of charm who will pay for dinner and drinks. Both Kate and Evelyn are enamored of sophisticated Tinker Grey, who they meet in a jazz club; he appears to be another handsome, moneyed gent, but as the women vie for his affection, a tragic event may seal a burgeoning romance's fate. New York's wealthy class is thick with snobbery, unexpected largesse, pettiness, jealousies, and an unmistakable sense of who belongs and who does not, but it's the undercurrent of uneaseâas with Towles's depiction of how the upper class can use its money and influence to manipulate others' lives in profoundly unsavory waysâthat gives his vision depth and complexity. His first effort is remarkable for its strong narrative, original characters and a voice influenced by Fitzgerald and Capote, but clearly true to itself.