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Sparkle (1)
The 1930s have always fascinated me. The era was fancy and fantastical. It is the time, in my mind's eye, that draped the world with lace and intrigue. I have always wished to attend a party in the '30s where you dress up, don the pearls, mingle with money and know the subtleties of a carefully crafted conversation.
Towles captured the feelings of old with the same genius of our classical writers. This novel read like an afternoon at the cinema.
I was immediately drawn in, fell in love and was completely engrossed.
I finished this book in under 3 days. Katey Kontent is our heroine. Kate Hepburn would have played her and won an Oscar. She's tough as nails with the hugest heart -- smattered with sarcasm.
The others in Katey's trio would have been Cary Grant playing Tinker Grey, Lauren Bacall as Evey. I also envisioned Irene Dunne as Bitsy Houghton. Yes, I was driven to imagine this read as an incredible black and white!
Katya was smart and sassy and so easy to follow and like.
Thankfully, having never been to New York, and certainly not familiar with NYC in the 1930s, Towles laid out the city with beautiful description without being wordy. Several gripping occurrences shocked me. Also, I tend to monitor how often I weep during a novel of this caliber. I weeped deeply on several occasions -- situations and simple phrases laid out so expertly being the culprit of my waves of emotion.
We were given this opportunity via e-book which was really nice because often you long to return to your fantasy while you are waiting for your car, or in line at the local mart.
I applaud Amor Towels for giving us a taste of antique thoughts. Rules of Civility was a velvety, bubbly, classic full of just enough romance, twists and turns to make this a read that I will definitely revisit.
