Our Take
Amor Towles made his name with sweeping, meticulously plotted novels like A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway, so it's a pleasure to see him stretch into shorter forms here. Table for Two splits into two parts: six stories set in New York City, followed by a novella set in Los Angeles that catches up with Evelyn Ross, a character readers of Rules of Civility will remember fondly. The New York stories showcase Towles at his most playful and precise, each one a tightly wound character study full of coincidence, ambition, and quiet reckoning. His prose remains as polished as ever, full of dry wit and period-perfect detail, whether he's writing contemporary Manhattan or glancing back toward mid-century glamour. The closing novella is the real draw for longtime fans, offering a satisfying expansion of a minor character into someone with her own ambitions and schemes. Readers who enjoyed the ensemble energy of Rules of Civility or the clever plotting of Kevin Wilson's short fiction will find a lot to love here. It's also a great entry point for newcomers wary of committing to one of Towles' doorstop novels. This collection is best suited to readers who appreciate elegant, character-driven fiction with a side of sly humor. Fans of Towles' earlier work, or anyone who enjoys stories about reinvention and the games people play in pursuit of a better life, should add this one to the list.
