Wonderful.

This broad class of book (folk navigating polite society with a world history backdrop) is not something I typically reach for. I came for Towles though, whose [b:You Have Arrived at Your Destination|49665863|You Have Arrived at Your Destination|Amor Towles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563468097l/49665863.SX50_SY75.jpg|72182622] was my favorite entry in Blake Crouch's Forward Collection. In his notes about the collection, Crouch gushed about Towles in general and this book in particular. The praise is all well-deserved: the writing is excellent, the characters beautifully drawn. There are memorable/quotable lines overflowing from this book, and little risk of an idle highlighter.