Table for Two: Fictions

I wish I had Towles' gift with language so that I could adequately express the pleasure that his writing brings. After reading just a few pages of "A gentleman in Moscow" I realised that this writer was special. In that book he conjured up a story from as unlikely a setting as it is possible to find. The book shone with his erudition, his knowledge of history, the arts and the finer things of life. A table for 2 replicates these skills, firstly with some intriguing short stories and then with a longer but still short novel based on "Eve" whom we first met in "Rules of Civility." This time we can marvel at Towles' in depth knowledge of Renaissance art but, once again, it is his ability to create believable characters in multiple different settings that really impresses. He can "hook" the reader within one page and this gift is remarkable.As an older man who has loved to read for many decades, it is now rare for me to find a book which I do not wish to end. A table for two is such a book.

Having read and absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway – especially the latter which I thought was just magnificent - I came to Table for Two with great excitement. I have also read Rules of Civility, but I did not find that that story held my interest quite as much. The writing, in Rules of Civility, was as wonderful as ever, but I found the story a bit bland and uninteresting. It is no surprise then, perhaps, that I found the same experience with the second half of Table for Two, which is a novella featuring Eve Ross, a main character in Rules of Civility, and is being portrayed as a follow up – though it is hardly that in the sense that it is an entirely new and unrelated story. I suppose it helps, for context and background, to have read Rules of Civility first, but it is not essential. I found the story in this novella just failed to excite my interest and only the writing, which is surely close to perfection, kept me going. It put me in mind of a somewhat tedious film which you can only manage to watch because it features an actor of the highest quality, the admiration of whose skills is enough to keep you hooked. The writing was riveting, the story, for me at least, was not. The six short stories that make up the first half of Table for Two were a delight, however, with wonderful characters brought to life by Towles beautiful writing. Each story stands alone, albeit following a familiar style that I find captivating. I have made the comment before, and I’ll do so again, that if there is one negative of Towles for me, it is that the stories too often end flatly and lack the feel-good, well-rounded endings that most of us love. I felt this again with the short stories. I suppose one should be more mature in the appreciation of good literature to accept this trait, but I cannot help the fact that it too often left me feeling just a tad frustrated. I really should not be negative because I marvel at how much gratitude I owe to Amor Towles for entertaining me in the way that his writing does, and I delight in having had the pleasure. I look forward to more.

After reading the excellent "A Gentleman in Moscow", which quickly became one of my favorite books, I thought I would try the other Amor Towles books. I really enjoyed this book, and whilst it is totally different from A Gentleman in Moscow, the writing is still beautiful and the characters are engaging. Very nice way to spend a few hours

Exquisitely observed stories that are an absolute delight to savour. Wonderful!

Six short stories and a novella. I really loved stories two to six. If the whole book had been that good I would have rushed to read everything else Towles has written. The first story was also okay. But the novella dragged for me. I kept having to check who was who, none of the characters resonated with me much, and Towles's ironical style (that I loved in the stories, and in Gentleman in Moscow) plus all the jumping about in time made the action-packed blackmail plot hard to follow and, for me, uninvolving. Perhaps if I'd read The Rules of Civility and known Eve’s backstory, I would have enjoyed it more. For the book as a whole a mix of five, three and two stars from me.

As always, A Towles is a wonderful read. My only disappointment was that it repeated a story I had already purchased... Eve in Holywood.

Really loved it. The guest story is different to the others but also intetrsting. It is a joy to read. The novella transported me to California. I feel I know Evelyn quite well. What a great writer.

Another wonderful book by Amor Towles

Amor Towles never disappoints. Beautifully written stories based in NY and LA. Thoroughly enjoyed! Highly recommend.

Great series of short stories. Each is a masterpiece.

Diğer kitaplari kadar iyi ama öykü kitabi

Good book

最初の短編から感動した。どんな環境であっても必ず道は分かれていて、選べる時がくる。選ぶかは、気づくかは自分次第なのだ。難しいがシンプルな問題を、クリアなアタマで考えさせてくれる。ジャーナリズムのリアルな提起と小説の感動が絶妙にミックスして、読後感が深い。