"Table for Two," by Amor Towles

The silver medal winner in our most recent future-selections poll is by Amor Towles, an author we've spent time with before when we read his Rules of Civility shortly before lockdowns--to generally favorable opinion among our book club. It's a ubiquitous book at the moment, found in most bookstores, libraries, and must-read lists since its April publication.

This is a rare selection for us in that we don't do many short story collections--albeit, this book has a novella in the mix. One of these stories is a continuation of Rules of Civility, but it's said that you don't have to read RoC in order to enjoy the tale. At any rate, with a variety of plots, character casts, and settings, we should have plenty to talk about at our table this month!

From Goodreads:

From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories set in New York and Los Angeles.

The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of compromise which operate at the heart of modern marriages.

In Towles’s novel, Rules of Civility, the indomitable Evelyn Ross leaves New York City in September, 1938, with the intention of returning home to Indiana. But as her train pulls into Chicago, where her parents are waiting, she instead extends her ticket to Los Angeles. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood” describes how Eve crafts a new future for herself—and others—in the midst of Hollywood’s golden age.

Throughout the stories, two characters often find themselves sitting across a table for two where the direction of their futures may hinge upon what they say to each other next.

Written with his signature wit, humor, and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles’s canon of stylish and transporting historical fiction.