Hello my fellow readers I went to an event celebrating Amor Towles my favorite writer of literary/historical fiction. Towles was the recipient of the 2025 Nashville Public Library Literary Award. At the event he talked about his novels and short stories with Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Mecham.

What I Learned: His newest novel will take place in Cairo, Egypt during World War II. The Lincoln Highway will get a film adaptation and be directed by Christopher Storer who created the TV show “The Bear”. He mainly only reads the classics he mentioned George Elliot, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway. He spoke about the importance of manners in society. HE talked about his writing process that includes writing in notebooks and at the computer. He says your brain works differently when you do the other. He does like to plot.

I have read all 4 of his works: Rules of Civility, The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Table for Two. I got two books signed The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow. Those are my favorites. 

I thought about ranking his books since this event came up. I have completed all his books. I will rank them in order of favorite to least favorite. My order will differ from most list I’ve seen, my top book spoke to me a little than the other. I have given Amor Towles  books 4 and 5 stars.  Two of his books would make my top 20 books that I have ever read.

1. The Lincoln Highway is historical fiction taking place in the 1950.  This is a wonderful story about life. It explores the many ways life can change. Change can happen either by standing up to it or by being caught in its wave. The theme of the book is redemption. All the characters are trying to redeem themselves for something they did. They might also seek redemption for something their family did.  What I love is that all don’t succeed or have a very messed up view about redemption. The writing really makes you feel what these characters are going through. I thought this book was going to be a road book. I expected the characters to be thrown off course to their California destination but eventually make it. The opposite happens. By happenstance, the character goes backwards, away from California. The story balances tragedy, humor, and joy evenly throughout.

2. A Gentleman in Moscow is a historical fiction. It is about a former aristocrat under house arrest at the Metropol. This is Russia’s grand hotel across from the Kremlin. The novel takes place in Moscow from just after the Russian Revolution 1922 – 1960s. The book despite its one location captures a lifetime events. The main character may be trapped but his spirit is not. The main character Count Alexander Rostov can charm anyone with his manners. His strength of will is infectious. It makes you look at your own life and say what am I complaining about. Rostov had nothing and managed to live a life to be happy about.

3. Table for Two comprises 6 short stories and one novella. This collection is fantastic. There are way more hits than misses in the collection. Amor Towles is my favorite writer of literature today. His writing has this timeless quality that draws you in. The short stories reminded me of Charles Dickens and O. Henry. Where each story has a moral at the end. Towles is great at adding little twists in his stories. These twists do not shock you, but they squeeze my heart. These twists make the story more personal. The novella is a noir set in the golden age of Hollywood. The writing channels James Ellroy and Elmore Leonard. It features a theft that goes wrong with some quirky characters from 1930s Hollywood.

4. Rules of Civility is a historical fiction that takes place in New York City between 1937 and 1938. The Great Depression was still plaguing America. World War II was on the horizon. People were defined by their class system. The Rules of Civility is about a group of characters. They refuse to be defined by society’s class structure. They try to change their station in it. Some characters hate their place in society. They openly mock the class they belong to. Other characters will fake it until they make it. The book’s underlying theme is that everyone is a whore for somebody. The only way to get ahead is to prostitute oneself through money, influence, and jobs. Some of the characters do not realize that are controlled by someone else until the end.