Katey Kontent and her roommate, Eve, are living in New York when they meet a sophisticated gent by the name of Tinker Grey. Katey and Eve quickly become enamored with the debonair and, by all accounts, rich fellow. A tragic event changes the course of all of their lives forever and "what could have been" never materializes.
Most reviews are giving Rules of Civility between 4-5 stars, with phrases like "not able to put it down" written about it numerous times. Why then did I find it dull and boring? It has been compared to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, but I see no comparison. Because I absolutely hate to not finish a book, I slogged through it unable to care about or sympathize with any of Towles' characters. I found the plot jarring with no real underlying purpose and did not understand where it was going. But most of all, I just didn't care about any of the characters. To me, the definition of a great book has always been one where I couldn't wait to get through my day so I could curl up with it at night. That didn't happen here.
I'm giving it a 2 because Towles did a nice job integrating the historical facts and culture of that time period. The cover was brilliant. Other than that...not for me.
MY RATING - 2
