Amor Towles

Table for Two is a short fiction collection consisting of six New York stories and a novella set in Los Angeles.

Throughout this collection, Towles is an architect of the imagination, moving along the narrative of sophisticated tales, rendered in prose that is intelligent yet effortless to read and delivered in a traditional storytelling style of which I’m sure Dickens would have approved. The interesting and colourful characters in these stories guide you on a historical journey through twentieth-century America from sea to shining sea.

‘The Line’ begins in Soviet Russia and is about the resourcefulness of a seemingly useless husband who uses his social skills to beat communism and get to New York.

‘Hasta Luego’ is about the kindness of strangers in a beautifully written, though slightly darker version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

‘The Ballad of Timothy Touchett’ is dark again, but comically so. It is a brilliantly constructed story of deceit and classically Greek in the delivery of the finale.

‘I Will Survive’ continues with similar themes, and the importance of trust and understanding in relationships, involving a seemingly innocent secret hobby.

‘The Di Domenica Fragment’ and ‘The Bootlegger’ are, on the face of them, black-comedy/heist tales with tension and thrills, but with deeper themes of tolerance, forgiveness and the true meaning of family and friendship.

‘Eve in Hollywood’ is a brilliant noir novella, told from the viewpoint of multiple compelling characters. Set in the cut-throat underbelly of Hollywood’s golden era. A woman out for revenge aided by a retired cop may sound familiar, but there is real depth to these characters, delivered in a plot that doesn’t lack action.