Table for Two

I loved The Lincoln Highway and adored A Gentleman in Moscow, so when the advance copy of Amor Towles’ new Table for Two, consisting of six short stories and one novella, arrived in the bookstore, I snatched it up before anyone else could. Once again, I found myself in love with his writing. Towles is so good at making you care deeply about people doing the tiniest of everyday things: standing in a line, casually chatting with others at the airport or in a bar, the quiet moments that make up a marriage. If I told you that a 37-page story about a man waiting in line was one of the most deeply human and touching things I’ve ever read, would you believe me? If you’ve read Towles’ previous books, you would. Before reading the novella "Eve in Hollywood," I first had to read his debut novel, Rules of Civility, which I had somehow neglected to do. Towles had previously written a short story based on Evelyn Ross (Eve to her friends), a major character from that book, but so many people clamored for more that he finally expanded it to more than 200 pages. Eve is the strongest of women who shows up for her friends when they need her most, and I dearly hope that Towles will find more to say about her in the years to come.