---
product_id: 12320205
title: "Rules of Civility"
price: "SAR 103"
currency: SAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/12320205-rules-of-civility
store_origin: SA
region: Saudi Arabia
---

# Rules of Civility

**Price:** SAR 103
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- **What is this?** Rules of Civility
- **How much does it cost?** SAR 103 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
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## Description

From the #1 New York Times -bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow , a “sharply stylish” ( Boston Globe ) book about a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society—now with over one million readers worldwide On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

Review: New York Remains the Hotspot for Aspirations - With agility and sensuous prose, Amor Towles takes us from the final days of the Depression to the cusp of World War II. He educates the reader through flashbacks starting with New Year's Eve in Manhattan in 1937 and creates a smashing narrator in the character of Katey Kontent. She is an orphan of Russian immigrants, apparently statuesque, quite pretty and smart. Not only smart with repartee, but she is a working girl who, although working in a structured secretarial pool, is determined to be the best. It is hard to believe that she is street-smart, but she can handle herself in any situation, business meeting or hobnobbing with the Gatsbyesque crowd she easily infiltrates. Towles begins with the turning point in her life. Forward to 1966 when Katey and her husband are at a show at the Museum of Modern Art when she recognizes two photographs of Tinker (Theodore) Grey. Towles does not really return to that time until the very end of the novel. In between, from 1937 on, is the story of the smart social milieu of the rich, used-to-be-rich, wannabes and some talented, "civil" young people. Katey Kontent meets Evelyn (Eve) Ross in a boardinghouse. Eve comes from wealth but wants to be a free spirit. Towles depicts her flitting from hotspots to dinner parties with aplomb while she remains a mystery. She literally and figuratively moves away from best friend Katey but carries around her phone number as the emergency contact. Eve and Katey meet Tinker Grey on 12/31/37 and there is a subtle competition for his heart. Tinker is a secretive bon vivant. Along with other WASPy characters, Dicky, Bitsy, Wallace, Mason we get reminiscences of Fitzgerald and Wharton. The most individual character was Eve's father, a wealthy man, who loved his erratic daughter and wanted to protect her. He knew he could not restrain her but his graciousness and fatherly worry was decidedly apparent. He was quite real. Towles' dialogue is filled with snappy retorts, especially from the women. I felt that Katey possessed unusual self-confidence in this era when women were more conventional. Her secret benefactor also had panache. New York is seen in all its splendor and degradation of the period. The tight group of characters Towles developed as a pre-jet jetset, who are often estranged from their families, enjoy their liquor. Sloshing from scene to scene, no one much could get through a day without a drink or the offer of one. Nothing much has changed, it appears, in haute society. Towles does a remarkable job of modeling the plot with "real" aspirations often provoked by quick decisions. Towles is clever: is Gotham, a Conde Nast periodical, really The New Yorker? Do we have a few chances to grab onto the best course for our lives? Is integrity the winner despite the menacing prejudice of real "old" money? We all have the chance to be amazed and can create a new version of ourselves at any point.
Review: Read A Gentleman in Moscow First - Everyone I know loves this book but I preferred A Gentleman in Moscow. That was 5 stars for me and this one was 4 1/2 stars. The writing is very good and engaging. Amor Towles is a very gifted writer and speaker (I have been to one of his Author talks). It was just a little bit too "Great Gatsby" for me with characters making some really bad choices but really no bad outcome. I did like the main character Katey, and I did enjoy her social climb. But it was sad to see the progression of Tinker's character and his outcome didn't seem realistic to me. Eve was unlikable - so selfish. The social scenes are fun and I could picture the young professionals out on the town so that was enjoyable. Some of the characters were a bit out there but I think in life we do meet a lot of different types so it did add some color to the book. Overall - I would say read A Gentleman in Moscow (which is brilliant!) and if you like that - then read Rules Of Civility.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #13,204 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #185 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books) #635 in Literary Fiction (Books) #640 in Historical Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 45,940 Reviews |

## Images

![Rules of Civility - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91yPmeFovFL.jpg)

## Available Options

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ New York Remains the Hotspot for Aspirations
*by M***T on November 18, 2011*

With agility and sensuous prose, Amor Towles takes us from the final days of the Depression to the cusp of World War II. He educates the reader through flashbacks starting with New Year's Eve in Manhattan in 1937 and creates a smashing narrator in the character of Katey Kontent. She is an orphan of Russian immigrants, apparently statuesque, quite pretty and smart. Not only smart with repartee, but she is a working girl who, although working in a structured secretarial pool, is determined to be the best. It is hard to believe that she is street-smart, but she can handle herself in any situation, business meeting or hobnobbing with the Gatsbyesque crowd she easily infiltrates. Towles begins with the turning point in her life. Forward to 1966 when Katey and her husband are at a show at the Museum of Modern Art when she recognizes two photographs of Tinker (Theodore) Grey. Towles does not really return to that time until the very end of the novel. In between, from 1937 on, is the story of the smart social milieu of the rich, used-to-be-rich, wannabes and some talented, "civil" young people. Katey Kontent meets Evelyn (Eve) Ross in a boardinghouse. Eve comes from wealth but wants to be a free spirit. Towles depicts her flitting from hotspots to dinner parties with aplomb while she remains a mystery. She literally and figuratively moves away from best friend Katey but carries around her phone number as the emergency contact. Eve and Katey meet Tinker Grey on 12/31/37 and there is a subtle competition for his heart. Tinker is a secretive bon vivant. Along with other WASPy characters, Dicky, Bitsy, Wallace, Mason we get reminiscences of Fitzgerald and Wharton. The most individual character was Eve's father, a wealthy man, who loved his erratic daughter and wanted to protect her. He knew he could not restrain her but his graciousness and fatherly worry was decidedly apparent. He was quite real. Towles' dialogue is filled with snappy retorts, especially from the women. I felt that Katey possessed unusual self-confidence in this era when women were more conventional. Her secret benefactor also had panache. New York is seen in all its splendor and degradation of the period. The tight group of characters Towles developed as a pre-jet jetset, who are often estranged from their families, enjoy their liquor. Sloshing from scene to scene, no one much could get through a day without a drink or the offer of one. Nothing much has changed, it appears, in haute society. Towles does a remarkable job of modeling the plot with "real" aspirations often provoked by quick decisions. Towles is clever: is Gotham, a Conde Nast periodical, really The New Yorker? Do we have a few chances to grab onto the best course for our lives? Is integrity the winner despite the menacing prejudice of real "old" money? We all have the chance to be amazed and can create a new version of ourselves at any point.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read A Gentleman in Moscow First
*by A***R on March 4, 2025*

Everyone I know loves this book but I preferred A Gentleman in Moscow. That was 5 stars for me and this one was 4 1/2 stars. The writing is very good and engaging. Amor Towles is a very gifted writer and speaker (I have been to one of his Author talks). It was just a little bit too "Great Gatsby" for me with characters making some really bad choices but really no bad outcome. I did like the main character Katey, and I did enjoy her social climb. But it was sad to see the progression of Tinker's character and his outcome didn't seem realistic to me. Eve was unlikable - so selfish. The social scenes are fun and I could picture the young professionals out on the town so that was enjoyable. Some of the characters were a bit out there but I think in life we do meet a lot of different types so it did add some color to the book. Overall - I would say read A Gentleman in Moscow (which is brilliant!) and if you like that - then read Rules Of Civility.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A soliloquy of Life
*by A***R on August 14, 2025*

I want to step outside my typical writing and share something I have never shared before – two novels, an author, and the most poignant understanding of personal human endeavors, loss, and life within historical context that is so penetrating, I slow my reading for fear the novel will end. The author is Amor Towles. The two books I read of his in wrong descension was his latest first, A Gentleman in Moscow, and his debut – perhaps last, Rules of Civility. The cadence of his novels is not ruled by dialogue, but intent on sharing the characters convictions, their philosophies, and their trials. The intensity with which he delves into the persona is beyond anything I have read. Interspersed with wit personified in Agatha Christie, and the poignancy of Walden and Dickens, he unveils the human spirit like no other. That combination seems well suited to today’s conflagrations of betrayal and ineptness and ignorance. It revels in the spirit of human dignity and self worth given the circumstances of the era – revealing that every era of time is in its own tapestry of a painting whether along the Seine or the trials of personhood in the Soviet Union or America. They are the inner struggle for self – and love. The words spill across the pages like a violin. Each note reverberating a different soliloquy to be embraced and coveted lest it be lost in a singular second of time. Never to be grasped again. I have never felt so moved by an author as I have with these novels. Fictional in their rule, historical in their setting and societal ambiance. Seductive in the worldly sense without the necessitation of overtly candid sex, this author has grasped the gift of tale. And the diction of words in a melodious composition just as reminiscent of an opera as a jazz quartet or a dance routine of Fred Astaire. Amor provides a glimpse into what was to see what is today. From a place of society within the frame of the political eras that existed in this time frame he portrays. The politics of which are integrated but not judged. Simply presented – as an historian might. His main characters are seemingly devoid of one common anomaly – family. And thus traverse the rails of trains traversing the countryside – devoid, yet desperate to create this fulcrum of court. Of a purpose. Of a life outside of life apparent. I finished the second – albeit debut novel today – and feel a sense of vacancy. As though I need him to fill more of the vacuous void that has eclipsed our society in such tragedy we cannot find a leveled jutty from the mountainous cliff. I personally shared the experiences of wonderous persons who have come in and out of my life through the resonance of time and situation. Leaving a mark. A memory. Long gone. Never forgotten. The basic instinct of the novels being to revel in each and every moment as a punctuated gift from God or Angels. Each person brought to us in our lives was placed there for a valuable purpose – sometimes good and sometimes bad – but always for purpose. And nothing is coincidental or random. Good Night My Friends -

## Frequently Bought Together

- Rules of Civility: A Novel
- The Lincoln Highway: A Novel
- Table for Two: Fictions

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*Store origin: SA*
*Last updated: 2026-10-19*