Book Review: A Table for Two by Amor Towles

Rating: 4.5⭐

Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles is a fascinating collection of stories featuring distinct characters and varied themes in contemporary and historical settings, written in elegant prose. Of the seven stories in this collection, the first story is set in communist Russia and New York, the following four in New York and the final story is set in Los Angeles.

The Line (4.5) follows a Russian peasant named Pushkin whose wife, inspired by Bolshevik ideals, moves them from their village to Moscow and then to New York in an attempt to realize their full potential. The Ballad of Timothy Touchett (4.5) follows an aspiring writer whose search for inspiration leads him to take a job as an assistant to a rare bookseller, unaware of what would be expected of him in his new workplace. When a man befriends a fellow traveler while stranded in New York City due to inclement weather he has no idea what his evening with his jovial companion will entail in Hasta Luego (4.5) After her mother suspects her stepfather of infidelity, a married young woman decides to follow him to find out what he is actually up to, triggering a sequence of events that subsequently reveals the cracks in each of their own relationships in I Will Survive (4) A successful investment banker exposes an elderly man for secretly recording performances at Carnegie Hall  only to be haunted by the consequences of his actions in The Bootlegger (5). The DiDomenico Fragment (5) follows a sixty-five-year-old retiree with his own agenda as he tries to manipulate a relative into selling a rare piece of art to a collector.

Eve In Hollywood (4) follows Evelyn Ross (from the author’s novel Rules of Civility) after she leaves Manhattan and lands in Los Angeles. Set during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the narrative is shared from multiple perspectives and introduces a cast of interesting characters (featuring both fictional and fictionalized versions of real-life characters) with a noir element that adds a touch of intrigue to the story. This is more a short novel than a short story and is an expanded version of a novella by the same name. While I enjoyed following Eve, I did think her story has the potential to be developed further into a full-length novel. Please note that it won’t be necessary to have read the preceding novel to enjoy this novella.

Each of these stories was well-crafted and the characters are well-thought-out. The author explores themes of choices and consequences, family and trust, ambition and guilt, friendship and appreciation for the arts, among others. Towles’ characters are realistic, their flaws and reactions believable ( even in their most absurd moments). The author’s keen observation of human behavior is evident in his writing. Thought-provoking and entertaining with a perfect balance of wisdom, humor and emotion, this collection is a joy to read. For those who have enjoyed Towles’s work in the past, this collection stands as a testament to the author’s masterful storytelling and literary craftsmanship. If you haven’t read the author’s work before, this collection would be the perfect introduction to his work.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Viking for the digital review copy via Edelweiss+. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.