Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Every once in a little while, you read a book that speaks to you.  It's a definite page turner but one that you want to savor so you read slowly to really absorb all that happens.  Rules of Civility was that for me (thank you Aunt Kathleen for sending it to me).

Plot:  The novel takes place (mostly as a flashback) in New York City, 1938 - post Depression, post-1920s, pre-WWII.  It follows three friends in their twenties, Katey Kontent (emphasis on the tent rather then the kon), Evelyn Ross and Tinker Grey through a year of jazz-filled, martini swilling enlightenment mixed with tragic adventures. The three are all dynamic characters but the real star of the novel is  Katey - a woman unique in her strong sense of self as life continues to throw her curve balls.  She knows what she wants, she knows it will be a struggle to get it and she lets nothing deter her from a fulfilled and dynamic life.  In addition, she wants no shortcuts, no handouts and no one in her life that isn't genuine.  As a result of having these convictions, Katey is forced to sacrifice love and handouts that could give her a life of luxury which in turn makes her a true heroine.

About 125 pages in the book I found a quote that I think sums up Katey and her philosophy on life to a tee (as well as the book).  She's thinking back to her deceased father and the invaluable things that he taught her.  He told her one day that   "however daunting or dispiriting the unfolding of events, he always knew that he would make it through, as long as when he woke in the morning he was looking forward to his first cup of coffee."  Katey years later finally understood the meaning of this:  She states "when a person loses the ability to take pleasure in the mundane - in a cigarette on the stoop or the gingersnap in the bath - she has probably put herself in unnecessary danger."  This spoke to me because there are times as I'm lying in bed and thinking about the next morning and what I need to do, I think, "Mmm...I can't wait for coffee tomorrow!"  I don't live a life that many would think is HUGE and DYNAMIC but to me it is.  To my own line of thinking my life is full and who else really matters? I don't need to have riches and a huge house and adventures that take me to the far corners of the world.  What is rich to me is home and family and friends.  A fulfilled life is about the individual and what makes a person feel content (Ah! Kontent) in their own existence.  That is what this book made me think about:  No matter how small a person's life may seem to others from the outside - as long as they are true to themselves and find pleasure in the day to day events that occur (no matter how mundane...or exciting for that matter), it can be defined as a big and bold life.  No one can define happiness for anyone else.

Obviously I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone...I'm sure it speaks to people in different ways but the language and words used are truly poetic and I look forward to other novels written by this first-time author.  Read it you will thoroughly enjoy!