Rules of Civility

Synopsis: Rules of Civility, the first novel by Amor Towles, chronicles a transitional year in the life of a young woman in Manhattan in 1938. Katey Kontent narrates her own journey through 1938 from the future perspective of 1966. The story opens on New Years Eve in Greenwich Village jazz bar, where Katey and her boardinghouse roommate Eve have carefully rationed their nickels to ensure the night’s festivities last until midnight. At the jazz club, they make the acquaintance of Tinker Grey. Tinker is young, handsome, wealthy and successful in the banking world. Their burgeoning friendship provides Katey and Eve with access to a glittering social scene that they otherwise would never have access to. It’s a pivotal year for Katey as she tries to break free from her ho hum job in a Wall Street typing pool, and sort out the complicated events their three way friendship creates. As they say, It’s Complicated.

Review: A novel about young, beautiful, wealthy people set in Jazz Age New York…. The Great Gatsby? Well, I’ve seen others make the comparison, but to me, this is far superior. I read A Gentleman in Moscow, and I enjoyed it a lot, so figured I would like this first novel by the same author… All I can say is, WHY DIDN’T ANYONE RECOMMEND THIS TO ME BEFORE? Wow, this hit every note for me! The characters are complex, the scene set beautifully and the writing was outstanding. There were so many great lines it made me wish I was reading it on a Kindle to make it easier to refer back to them. Katey is the ideal narrator: we get to luxuriate in the glitz and fun of high society (who doesn’t like a ride in a Bentley?) but she’s a keen observer of the social strata. While you might expect this to be an indictment of the upper class, I didn’t see it that way. I think the novel celebrates some of society’s refinements, like manners, fine dining, or fine clothing, and at the same time is able to point out the universal human flaws and virtues that we all possess regardless of social class. One theme of the book is that you need to be true to yourself. The problem is, first you have to understand yourself to be able to do that.

Rating: 5/5

Recipe: Katey decides to treat herself and goes to dine, alone, at La Belle Epoque. The specialty of the house is chicken with truffles, and sadly, I think Katey has too much champagne to fully enjoy it. I’ve never cooked with truffles, but truffle butter is not as intimidating for me. You can probably buy it in specialty shops, but if you live in a rural area like I do, it’s available on line (I have purchased from D’Artagnan’s and it was great).

Ingredients

one whole chicken

1/4 cup truffle butter, room temperature

1 lemon

1 bunch of fresh thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

1) Heat the oven to 450 degrees

2) Gently loosen the skin overlying the breast and thighs, and slide the truffle butter in between the skin and meat in all 4 places.

3) Cut the lemon in half, and place this with the thyme in the cavity of the bird

4) Rub skin with olive oil, season generously with salt and Peppe.

5) Roast until the skin is golden and crispy and the temperature of the chicken is 170 degrees.