Table for Two by Amor Towles
Amor Towles has done it again and has given us the gift of multiple stories and characters in one beautiful book. Table for Two is a compilation of short stories that bring life lessons, understanding and compassion to the forefront.
Above all else, Towles’ specialty is taking the mundanity of daily life (I.e. standing in lines in communist Russia for bread, having a flight canceled on you, random hobbies, etc.) and turning them into beautiful tales of kindness, loyalty, determination and understanding from human to human. The mundane task fades away and the reader finds themselves in the middle of a conversation that they could be having with a friend, or that they did have last night. And you can’t turn away.
Devastatingly Beautiful Collection
This book includes six captivating short stories and a novella, all best read with a martini in hand. He has brought to life everyday occurrences and developed intricate, detailed and devastatingly beautiful stories around them.
His characters live in different major cities — in Russia, New York and Los Angeles — and you can feel the unique life of each city jumping off the page. You are in the city with these characters, experiencing these events with them and leaving your prejudices about location, time period, personality type, and more far behind.
Each story had me wanting more, because true to form, Towles’ most impactful points were often in the last sentence or two. Making you really think and debate about what the message is, and what just happened to you!
For there is no remembrance of former things. And neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
A Must-Read Author
I have read a lot of books in my time, whether required by school or because I read in my free time, and short stories have rarely ever satiated me. But enter Amor Towles and I knew I had to read his new book, short stories aside!
He is an auto-buy author for me; I fell in love with his writing style immediately. But I realized that the novels he has written that I have fallen in love with have achieved incredible success due to his skills in writing a short story. I had such an amazing experience with this book, that it is leading me to reread his other stories.
One of the hardest parts of being an avid reader is when a book touches you so deeply, makes such an impact on you… and then it ends. And you have become friends with the characters, really bonded with them and then they leave you. However, one of the best surprises about this book is that old characters come back.
Old Faces, New Stories
I have recommended Rules of Civility to people for years and I was beyond excited to discover that the last short story in this book surrounds Eve, one of the main characters from that book, and is about her time spent in LA which we never had insight into. It was like seeing an old friend after being apart for years. That excitement and familiarity is amazing.
Towles has said that he feels the characters in Rules of Civility have had their stories told, but that he wonders about Eve. And so did I! So being able to have a conclusion to her story, to know that she ended up ok and was still vibrant, strong and loyal, makes me so happy.
Overall, if you love literary fiction then Amor Towles is a must-read author. And if you have read his other books and loved them like I have, then there is no question… you need to read this book. You will not regret it.
About the Author:
Amor Towles is the author of New York Times bestsellers Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway. The three novels have collectively sold more than five million copies and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Towles lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.
