Last December, a friend and I attended a book talk put on by our local independent bookseller. As he talked about one book after another, I madly wrote down titles and authors that sounded interesting. When he mentioned Rules of Civility, two women in the room immediately said, "That was my favorite book from this year." Bingo. That name went on my list. The novel focuses on several characters living in New York in the 1930s. This is a story of friendship, love, success, and failure. The storyline and the characters are wonderful, but I really loved the writing style of the author most of all. There were just little writing gems sprinkled through the book. Here's an example of one of my favorites:
"As a quick aside, let me observe that in moments of high emotion - whether they're triggered by anger or envy, humiliation or resentment - if the next thing you're going to say makes you feel better, then it's probably the wrong thing to say. This is one of the finer maxims that I've discovered in my life And you can have it, since it's been of no use to me."
The main character, Kate, and her best friend, Eve, meet a man named Tinker in a bar on New Year's Eve. They develop a friendship, and an odd kind of love triangle. But there are other men and lots of other women who weave in and out of the storyline. I loved this book, and I'll try to remember the author so I can grab his next book when it comes along. -June
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