What it takes to survive civilised society

I absolutely adored Amor Towles’ book A Gentleman in Moscow (see my review here) so I was looking forward to reading Rules of Civility by the same author. It’s a very different book and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first title of his that I read but it was still an interesting story.

The book is set in the 1930s in New York. Katey rents a house with Evelyn. They are two young women determined to make good in the city and to have a great time on the way. They meet Tinker Grey who appears to be a rich young man with plenty of contacts and who knows how to party. Unfortunately, all is not as it seems and to live the life that they want the three of them find that there is a conflict between their own moral code and the rules of society. They also find that beneath the veneer of civilisation is a dangerous world that might well destroy them.

The book is told from Katey’s point of view and she is an engaging character. She’s a woman who knows what she wants and is determined to get it. From the beginning she is protected from the catastrophe which comes upon Evelyn because she’s harder and more determined. Katey is a survivor but you realise by the end of the book that she has had to give up her dreams of love to survive in such a hostile environment.

This is a sad book in places but also a book about the importance of being yourself and not conforming inwardly to the expectations of others. I thought that the story was very reminiscent in places of the themes of The Great Gatsby. It’s an interesting story and worth a read.