The title of this book is taken from George Washington: sometime before the age of 16, he transcribed ‘Rules
of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation.’ It covers a
year in the life of Katey Kontent, who seems to use the rules as a primer on
social advancement.
On New Year’s Eve, 1937, Katey Kontent and Eve Ross meet Tinker
Grey in a Greenwich Village jazz bar. Katey is the daughter of Russian
immigrants who works in a secretarial pool at a law firm. Eve is from the
Midwest, the daughter of wealthy parents who refuses her Daddy’s money and is
working in a low-paying job in a publishing house. Katey is hard working and
grounded; Eve is beautiful and mercurial. Tinker is a handsome, charming, enigmatic,
wealthy banker. The three of them become fast friends. Tinker introduces them
to a life far removed from theirs, one of wealth, privilege and sophistication.
Then they are involved in a horrendous accident that changes all their lives
forever.
I really liked this book. The characters are well developed and
memorable. It has an underlying sense of sadness underneath the glitz and
glamor of 1938 New York.
352 pages
