finished reading

This is a book of six short stories and a novella.  I was captivated.  The settings and characters were vivid.  Interestingly, I've read and enjoyed The Lincoln Highway and DNF A Gentleman in Moscow (although my book groups LOVED it).  I might try listening to A Gentleman.  The audio of this collection is fantastic.  

Each story involves a touch of humor and the range of settings, situations, and characters captivated me.

I enjoyed the author's complex characters. Even within the confines of a short story, he breathes life into his protagonists, making them both relatable and flawed. These characters wrestle with moral dilemmas, navigate modern relationships, and confront the weight of past choices.  And his urban depiction of life--both the gritty side and the fleeting nature of connections are poignant.

From the publisher:

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.

#52bookclub prompt 49: Set in a city starting with the letter M