Amor Towles' books seem to get better with each one. I do not rate books highly with a 5 being the best and this is his 2nd in a row(Lincoln Highway). The book consists of 6 short stories and a a 200+ novella. This is the first time for Towles to publish short stories and each was excellent and. long enough(around 40 pages) for the story to develop. They center around New York. Each has a very creative plot with the characters making decisions that not always follow their previous experiences. Towles usually makes sure that the bad guys get their just due. The novella was terrific. It follows Evelyn Ross a character from Rules of Civility(his first book). Given that I read almost 50 books a year and this came out over 10 years ago, I did not remember the plot of that book but it did not matter in terms of enjoyment. This is Hollywood in the late 30's. Towles has all these great characters and mixes in some real people. It ends being a good detective story. Eve is a great almost mythical type character. Towles use of prose etc is terrific and he does a great mix of moving from character to character. If have not read Towles, this is a great place to start. I am sure that you will end up reading all of his books. ( )

Table for Two, Amor Towles, author, Edoardo Ballerini, J. Smith-Cameron, narrators
What an interesting examination of the human condition. Using a variety of short stories, and one novella, each concentrating on particular characters that have either been wronged by the outside world or been wronged by their own faulty choices, Towles takes the reader down a path that exposes their human frailties and basic values, or the lack thereof. The book begins with one of the characters, Charley, an older gentleman and former police detective, illegally taping a performance at Carnegie Hall. When he is caught by Tom, and he is reported to the management, he explains that he is taping it for his wife Betty who was now too ill to attend performances with him. Was Tom being self-righteous or responsible? Was Charlie breaking the law for a good reason? Should he be excused? Tom feels guilty about what he did. Should he? Was Charley angry? In this story, and all of the others, each experience motivates a character to move forward or remain stuck in the past, percolating about the injustices experienced by them. The stories are told with a light, sometimes witty touch, so they are never overwhelming or dark.
The short stories feature different characters that are subtly connected, and their relationship to each other is knitted together seamlessly at the end. Towles eloquently shows each character with a capacity for dignity and righteousness and/or a capacity for breaking rules and cruelty, even when the intent was not to hurt, but rather, to do the right thing. The choices made by the characters are influenced by the ways in which they have suffered, or perhaps have been abused by the system, or by the ways in which they have lived within the system. Whether from the grief of loss and/or disappointment, or from the inability to understand the whole picture and instead be guided by confusion and misdirection, some characters make foolhardy choices. Some characters were lonely, some felt abandoned, some felt betrayed or betrayed others, some were desperately trying to be independent. Many were dissatisfied with their lives in some way and felt unable to change the direction. The stories reveal how some of us, who are aging and experiencing the exigencies of age, can be given a new lease on life in unexpected places. When offered choices that encourage independence, can we begin again? I wondered if Towles drew from the pieces of his own life experiences and feelings in these tales. Doesn't everyone need a purpose in life and to have hope for a brighter future, even after disappointment and loss? Must grief and the feeling of desperation and an overactive imagination control us as it did some of the characters? Shouldn’t we live life to the fullest?
Many of the characters were trapped and locked in their own mindset, hiding from life and reality. They were not living, or were living in the shadows or in the past. I thought that the message from this book was that we all need to face our challenges head-on, with courage and a creative approach for the future. Perhaps we cannot do what we always did, but does that mean we should stop doing?
Can an actor who is typecast break free, can an out-of-work photographer who is blackballed seek a new career, can a person who feels wronged only seek vengeance, can a widow or widower find happiness alone, will our decisions make or break us? The fantasy world of Hollywood, the wild and frantic world of New York City, all combine to create a life for the characters. Is the Hollywood world that creates fantasy and dreams for their followers and nightmares for others nirvana? Although everything is connected in the end, sometimes it was hard to remember the beginning. Still, the writing captured my imagination, and it all came together, in the end. There were some characters who did the right thing for the wrong reasons and some who did the wrong thing for the right reasons, and some who were simply right or wrong. Towles revealed the strengths and weakness of people through his depiction of their lives even when sometimes it seemed like it was the theater of the absurd. ( )

Another great book by Amor Towles which consists of 6 short stories and a novella, Eve in Hollywood. Eve in Hollywood is based on the character in Rules of Civility which I read many years ago so I didn’t remember all of the details. But it wasn’t necessary.

Amor Towles is an amazing writer. He effortlessly weaves in great thoughts or observations in his story telling that often ring true. My favorite of the short stories was The Bootlegger which is about an elderly man who tapes the symphony at Carnegie Hall much to the dismay of the man sitting next to him. The unfolding of the story was excellent but, what most impressed me was Towles writing about what it’s like to listen to classical music. So true and so relatable. ( )

I'm addicted to reading Amor Towles. I grabbed this book as soon as it was available. I was surprised to see Fictions on the cover. I immediately thought of Borges' Ficciones, which I had recently read. That's when I realized this was not a novel but a collection of short stories. Not being a short story fan, I was disappointed, but at least it was Amor Towles.

Towles' stories, like his novels, are about people of wealth. Often its generational wealth, growing up with money and attending exclusive schools and clubs. Often it's those aspiring to be one of them by hanging around them, partying with them, working for them or at least running with them. For some, it's marrying them. Often celebrities appear with them. Money is everywhere. Fancy cars appear. Much centers around New York City. Not just New York, Upper West Side Manhattan. As someone who at least grew up in Brooklyn, I recognize the places, the museums, the attitude. These novels and stories shift us back in time, more like the Fitzgerald era. This is a world about to disappear, for many, the reality of the depression. They don't accept that their world has disappeared, they just need to get back to the party. Some were silly and acted without a safety net. Some had their own safety net or figured out they needed to adjust. That did not change what they wanted to be doing, just their ability to do it.

It's only a week or more since I read this book, but I'm disappointed to report I've already forgotten most of the stories. Yes, I'm getting older and sad to say, memory is occasionally an issue. But that's not what's going on here. These short stories are the real issue. They are well-written, interesting, pure Towles, but like chocolate, they're a quick dopamine hit, making you smile but you barely remember having eaten them. I'm glad I did, but they just don't register for the long haul. It's part of the reason I'm not a fan of short stories. With one exception – Eve in Hollywood. I've been anticipating this since I read Towles' first novel, The Rules of Civility. I had sought out The Rules of Civility after getting addicted to Towles by reading both A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway. Once I get addicted to an author, I search out their earlier work.

Eve is a major character in Rules of Civility. In that book, she takes a dramatic exit stage left, leaving readers wondering what's up with that. It didn't make sense in the arc of the story and left a big hole in the story. At the end of my 2011 paperback edition, there was an ad for an audio only story, Eve in Hollywood. Last year I tried to get a copy from Amazon only to be told it was no longer in circulation. Who takes an audio book out of circulation? Made no sense. Now I know why. Eve in Hollywood is the last story in this book. It's much longer than any of the others, taking almost half the pages of the book. It stretches the definition of a short story, closer to a novelette. It's the only story which I clearly remember. The story would have been a major subplot in Rules of Civility and would have been a distraction as it did not fit with the rest of that book's narrative. Eve in Hollywood is more a detective story, eventually a murder mystery. Beyond the major character, it shares one theme with Rules of Civility, life with the upper crust. Eve sets herself up at the famous Beverly Hills Hotel and is soon rubbing shoulders with celebrities everyone would recognize, such as Olivia de Havilland. Someone is blackmailing her with nude photos of questionable origin. Eve is determined to get to the bottom of the issue and protect her friend. Once again, her personality is her strength. I won't spill the beans. You'll have to read it to learn how she does it. It's worth your time. ( )

In his latest work, Amor Towles presents us with six short stories and a novella. I have not read Towles before (yes, I know I am late to the party, but better late than never, right?), so this was a great introduction for me to his work. I so much enjoyed this book that I plan on going back and reading all of his previous work.

The language was beautiful without being overly flowery and the prose flowed effortlessly. I would read several pages and it read so smoothly that I felt like I had only read a couple of pages, when it fact it was half of the story. Towles’ language sold me. But, more than that, the stories were wonderful tales.

Most of the stories are set in New York, except for the first one, which begins in Russia and ends up in New York. I will say all of the stories have somewhat of a sad ending, but a pleasant ending, nonetheless. Justice is served and wrongdoers are punished, even when we have closely identified with those characters.

Briefly, here is a summary of each story. The first story, “The Line,” tells the story of a man in Russia who is so inept that he even loses his job as a janitor. He cannot sweep flour up from the floor without filling the air with the flour. However, he eventually finds his calling. He is a patient man who has a knack for standing in line. He enjoys the mindless task so much, and is so good at it he volunteers to stand in line for others. And, in Russia, there are many lines in which to stand. Finally, he ends up in New York with disastrous results.

The second story is “The Ballad of Timothy Touchett.” This story is about a failed author who finds his calling as a forger of famous author’s signatures. Unfortunately, his scheme ends tragically.

In “Hasta Luego,” our protagonist meets a man at the airport waiting in line, and unfortunately gets more involved in the stranger’s life than he intends to. This was a great story with lots of emotional tugs, but with a tragic ending.

“I Will Survive” was probably the most enjoyable story, but had the most craft issues, which I will explain shortly. A woman who suspects her husband is cheating on her asks her daughter to follow him and see where he is going. At the last minute, she changes her mind and tells her daughter not to follow her husband, but her daughter is so curious now, that she follows him anyway. What she learns about her father is strange and has disastrous results for him and his wife.

This issue has many craft issues. There are multiple POV shifts from the first person to the third person which are jarring to the reader. The first person sections are told from the perspective of Jeremy, the daughter’s husband. But in the third person sections, Jeremy is still telling us of things that happen even when he is not present, which is not possible. This took me out of the story and was distracting. Also, toward the end of the story, the author inserts a section containing his personal views about abortion. This stuck out like a sore thumb and had no relevance to the story. Why Towles felt the need to insert his personal views about abortion in the midst of the story is beyond me and was distracting to what was a very enjoyable story.

“The Bootlegger” was another very enjoyable story as well. A man and his wife have season tickets to performances at Carnegie Hall. They are seated each week next to an old man who is recording the performance on a tape recorder, which is strictly prohibited. After several weeks, the man decides to report the elderly man who is recording the performances, with disastrous results. He later learns a secret about the elderly man and comes to regret reporting him. This may be the most emotional story in the book.

The final short story, “The DiDomenico Fragment” tells the story of a man who has inherited a fragment of a famous painting, but sold it years ago. When an opportunity arises for someone looking to buy his fragment, he tries to broker the sale of another relative’s fragment of the painting. And, like all the other stories, this one also ends with his failure.

The final piece in the book is a novella, “Eve in Hollywood.” It is a sequel to Towles previous book, Rules of Civility. As previously stated, I have not read Rules of Civility, and am told that it is best to read Rules prior to reading this story, but I read the novella in this story anyway and plan to go back and read Rules of Civility soon.

This story picks up where Rules of Civility ends with Eve extending her train ticket and ending up in Hollywood where she meets Olivia de Havilland. I won’t go into the plot here as it is rather involved. This novella, about 200 pages long starts out strong, lags a little in the middle, then picks up strongly at the end. It contains many twists and turns and is a great story. I am anxious to now read Rules of Civility to learn more about Eve.

Overall, this is one of the best books I have read in ages. A FULL 5-star rating. ( )