Timeless Tale Of Those Trying To Find Themselves In Manhattan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Katya becomes Kate, Teddy becomes Tinker, and there is actually, in here a character named Bitsy Houghton.  It is 1937, and young people are flocking to New York to find, or reinvent, themselves.  What Amor Towles' novel, set in 1937 and 1938, proves is that not only was this going on before our times and some, his chronicling of such is on a plane comparable to Mary McCarthy or Dawn Powell, surpassing that of Candace Bushnell or Lauren Weisberger.

                                        How I wanted a Sidecar while reading this, darlings!  Once I learned what it was.  It also has a bit of the flavor of Somerset Maugham's "The Razor's Edge."  While not nearly as philosophical, or tragic, its characters, by novel's end, have all learned a bit of truth about themselves.

                                         Which is what living in New York is all about.  Running about, when young, telling yourself you have a life, then coming to terms with what you have or can have, once age begins to slow you down.  I wouldn't trade my wild times for where I am now, for anything.

                                            Readers who love New York Novels--which could be a whole genre, in itself--will love this novel.  As will those who love good writing.  Even if Towles' second novel, "A Gentleman In Moscow," is better, his debut shows promise, and a writer worth keeping up with.

                                            And read the actual Rules Of Civility at the end, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            And make sure you practice them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!