As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, short stories are not my favorite – because I am never satisfied, always wanting more out of the story, more from the characters – but if anyone can pull it off, it is Amor Towles. And Table for Two shows us this is true.
We so quickly warm to each character that Towles creates within these pages – quickly enough to bond, to care, and to engage with the stories, brief as they are. And each vignette becomes a surprisingly fully formed story, leaving us almost as satisfied as we’d be if he’d written an entire novel for each of them. The final story, more a novella, is my favorite. In it, he creates suspense, unexpected twists, and characters with strength and wit whom we come to love almost immediately.
Most striking is the writing, which, as in all his books, is just stunning. Towles’ use of words is both descriptive and spare, witty and dry, almost poetic and yet prose at its best.
Of course this is a MUST READ – I am a die-hard fan.
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