In the first six short stories, Towels creates vivid characters who shaped New York around the millennium. The other half is a novella about Evelyn Ross, a character in Rules of Civility, and the people she met in 1938 after extending her train ticket to Los Angeles instead of getting off in Chicago, where her parents were waiting. Towels presents a sharp yet elegant approach to characters across age, gender, nationality, and occupation through delicate and witty diction. If you are ready to sit at a table for two, meet a guest invited by the author across the table and listen to their past dreams that become present, and pay attention to how someone's life changes through a conversation with one person who listens, this book will be a feast. You may be flipping through the phone book to schedule your next meeting, searching for that person's name without realizing they are fictitious characters.


If your book group enjoys discussing realistic characters and their decisions, this book would be a great choice for your next meeting. If you have parents or grandparents reminisce about old New York and old Hollywood, open this book and hear their voices again. I would also recommend it to those who have enjoyed Ha Jin's short story collections such as The Bridegroom and Ocean of ​​Words.

Such an interesting compilation of stories. I always enjoy Amor Towles' writing. There were so many ironies and aha moments in these stories that they truly kept my interest. Well done!

I loved A Gentleman in Moscow. I liked The Lincoln Highway. I have not read Rules of Civility. Amor Towles is an excellent writer. His use of language puts the reader into the time period.

Towles' latest book is a collection of short stories and one novella. I loved the short stories! I can't say the same about the novella. I felt like it was all over the place. There were so many tangents that I kept wondering what the plot was. I almost did not finish it, but I kept going. The latter half of the novella was better. It kept to the main storyline more. Maybe part of the problem was that I never read Rules of Civility. I did not know much about Eve or her story.

For the short stories alone, I would recommend Table for Two. I found them well-written and witty.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Best-selling author Amos Towles returns with a work of short stories and a novella. Touching on previous works, we see Russia, New York, and Hollywood.

A young couple gets swept away in the revolution that would become the Soviet Union. In a peasant farming couple, the wife wants to go into the city and be a part of the new world, while the husband is perfectly happy farming. She goes to the city like a duck to water while her husband struggles to stay employed. Trying to be helpful, he waits in long lines daily to get what they need. He enjoys it and unwittingly creates a black market for waiting in line, which results in him getting a visa to visit New York (and while it is a culture shock, they end up fitting into old routines).

A married couple enjoys the symphony. When the husband suspects an audience member of recording the show, he accuses him publicly, only to embarrass him and his wife. This very long story demonstrates both the dedication to marriage and the strife that a marriage can create. It's a clever finish to this one.

Lastly, we have a follow-up to Rules of Civility in which Eve goes to Hollywood. Her street smarts help a young actress in distress, and she gets mixed up in a darker part of Hollywood.

Great follow-up stories for those who wanted more of his significant works, but an uneven collection.

Towles's "New York stories" are incredibly diverse and so much fun! The audio, narrated by Eduardo Ballerini, is exceptional. It's hard to pick a favorite but there's one story in particular (about the trip to Carnegie Hall) that I continue to think of often, months after finishing the collection.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

The latest Amor Towles entry is a bit different in that it is a collection of short stories with a novella at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the well-written short stories but fell in love with the wonderful characters in the novella. Can’t wait to see what Towles has in store next.

As a fan of Amor Towles I was really excited to get a copy of this book. It did not disappoint. Each of the short stories could have been its own novel. In fact, I found myself wishing to have more time with the characters. While I liked all of the stories the one about DiDomenico was absolutely my favorite. I loved the details about the painting, the Met, the family....it could be a movie it was so detailed.

Amor Towles charms me whenever I read him. He's got style. I listened to this book on audio, but if you check out the physical book you can see the fonts, the cover, the whole impression is a sort of vintage, days-gone-by feel. The readers of the book also managed that impression in the voices and paces that they used. There's a dry sense of humor tempered by empathy for the human condition that keeps me coming back. People are funny. But aren't they also sometimes tragic, amazing, singular?

When listening at this book I felt like I was in Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", sitting at a table in a old-school New York red sauce joint with a bottle of red or white (it all depends on your appetite) at a table for two, hearing the latest chisme from an old friend who really knows how to tell a story.

Most of the stories take place in New York City, a place which the author clearly knows and loves well. They are tales of conmen getting conned, people trying to do just a little getting over what the system will give them, new acquaintances who are not as they first appear. I laughed a lot, but there were also wry or wistful smiles.

Honestly, the LA section of the book is what kept me from giving the book five stars. I didn't care much about Eve when she was a character in Rules of Civility, and I didn't care much about her escapades in LA either. Eve is still just as charming, just as quick on her feet, just as willing to do what it takes. Mostly she is seen from the outside, and mostly by men. She does get one small POV chapter and I'm not sure that was a good idea. Maybe we didn't need to know about Eve from the inside- after all, she never lets anyone else see that either. But other than Eve, it's a rather dark noir story, although not without its humor.

If this collection had just included the short stories, I would have given it 5 stars. The way Amor Towles is able to imbue them with so much sarcasm and meaning with his observational humor and poignancy is brilliant. The novella, however, drags--the pacing is not established well, and I found myself skimming pages to finish it.

This has got to be one of my favorite books that I have read this year! I have enjoyed books by this author in the past. Even though I had not read Rules of Civility I still jumped right into the novella and immersed myself into the lives of the characters. I only wish some of the stories were longer - I didn't want them to end!

A collection of short stories and a novella that expands on the plot of Rules of Civility. Towles does a good job with the short stories, which can be a tough genre to do properly, and they are told with his engaging prose. The novella is best understood after reading Rules of Civility, to help give context, but it could be read on it's own. Overall, this will tide over Towles fans, but will still be waiting for his next full length novel.

DNF @ 20%. The stories were slow and painfully boring. I forced myself to read 2 of them but I do not wish to continue. Sad because I have enjoyed this author’s previous work, but this one is not for me.

A good collection of diverse short stories. The writing style leaves you with a lot to think about when each story finishes. I didn’t enjoy the last story as much as I hadn’t read the author’s previous novel which covers the character in the short story.

The only disappointing aspect of the book is how it shows Towles is long past due writing a golden age of Hollywood novel.

I love a collection of short stories, but the novella at the end of the book was the best part of this book. Towles paints a picture of the golden age of Hollywood... full of starlets, corruption, and anything else you can associate with that period.

This is exactly what I expected when I heard a follow up to Rules of Civility. I reread that in preparation for Table for Two and I'm so glad I did. Towles has built himself such a delightful and crafty New York City. I was excited to hear he was going to return to this world with a short story collection. I devoured these stories. I even think folks who haven't read Rules of Civility will be able to enjoy this.

Normally, I'm not a big fan of short stories, but with such a phenomenal story teller like Amor Towles, what can go wrong? The answer is nothing! This book is full of the same wit, charm and well rounded characters as you will expect from Amor Towles. I'm already looking forward to his next full length novel.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Towles is such a superb writer. These are short stories, but they feel like each is a complete immersion into a character's world. Nothing is sold short here! Each story could stand alone on its own merits. Characterization and setting for the win!

It turns out Amor Towles is as good at writing short stories as novels. There is not a dud in this collection. I was completely drawn in to each of them and--thought somewhat long stories--I did not want them to end. I have greatly enjoyed everything that he has written--and this is no exception. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for allowing me to read this wonderful collection.