Table for Two – by Amor Towles – independent book review – Fiction

I don’t expect Jane Austen will ever be replaced as my favorite author but certainly she faces formidable competition from contemporary bestselling author Amor Towles (THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW). His latest book, TABLE FOR TWO, is a collection of stories that showcase the precisely crafted language and subtle, on-target humor readers have come to expect. And his talent for exacting descriptions of our human foibles makes reading this book a complete delight. Awarded five stars on Goodreads.

No one creates prose better than Towles. I have now read everything he has published and not for one moment have I ever been disappointed. No one reads humans better than he does. He is so exceptionally skillful in concisely describing the essence of his characters that they become instantly recognizable to readers.

Here is just one example:

"No one is born pompous. To attain that state requires a certain amount of planning and effort. Presumably you could achieve it by a variety of means, but one sure way is to attend an old prep school that's a little past its prime; while there, exhibit some facility in a field sport that you will never have cause to play again; room with a fellow whose name is over the library door; and along the way, gain familiarity with a pastime that requires travel and specialized apparel -- such as duck hunting or downhill skiing. Follow these simple steps and you are sure to gain the necessary self-assurance to expound authoritatively on wine, politics, and the lives of the less fortunate -- and to generally go on and on about anything else."
From The Didomenico Fragment by Amor Towles 

The first section of the book contains six unrelated short stories, except all connect to New York City. There’s a well-intentioned Russian immigrant who turns waiting in line into an art form, a naive man whose chance meeting with a kindly book store owner goes wrong, two strangers who wind up waiting overnight together for a rescheduled flight, an unlikely secret a successful businessman keeps from his wife, a self-righteous concert attendee who suspects his seat mate of illegally recording the performance, and a valuable Renaissance painting shared in an unusual way by members of one family.

The second part of the book is a short novel entitled Eve in Hollywood which takes place in the late 1930s and involves a character (Evelyn Ross) who first appeared in an earlier book by Towles, RULES OF CIVILITY. The author employs an interesting plot construction, relying primarily on the people Eve meets in Hollywood to tell her story. Still all of them are interesting, nuanced, and fully fleshed out characters in their own right. The plot revolves around the blackmailing of a talented rising star, whose name you will no doubt recognize.

Honestly, there’s no author that I know of writing today who has quite the skill Towles has for observing, characterizing, and nailing all the little quirks particular to us humans. And makes you laugh along the way. So, be sure to read this one. Every page is a treat.

More about Amor Towles.

You may be interested in my reviews of other books by Towles:

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW