I loved this book just as I loved two of Towles’ earlier novels, The Gentleman from Moscow and The Lincoln Highway.  Growing up in Boston and educated at Yale and Stanford, Towles appeared to be on his way in a career in investment banking, when he dropped that and began to write.  Inspired by Peter Mathiessen, his books became best sellers and The Lincoln Highway was selected by Time as the best book of 2021.

This collection of six short stories and a novella continues that record of excellence.  The short stories are all set in New York City, and the City is not only the setting, but also a major character. These stories about a Russian emigre, a rare book signature forger, an elderly roller skater in Central Park, a bootlegger recording concerts at Carnegie Hall, an business traveler who becomes responsible for an alcoholic when their flight at LaGuardia is cancelled, and a con artist seeking a rare Renaissance painting could not have been set anyplace other than the Big Apple, and Towles’ love for his adopted city shines through in his elegant prose and terrific plots.

In contrast, the novella is set in LA, a city where Evelyn Ross ends up after deciding not to get off the train from NYC in Chicago as originally planned. Evie meets an extraordinary cast of fascinating characters, becomes involved with Olivia Dehaviland and her studio, and ultimately ends up colluding with a retired LA cop to break up a blackmailing ring.  Bodies pile up in the best tradition of Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler in this terrific story.

Many English professors (e.g. James Wood), authors (e.g. E.M Forster) and critics (e.g. Frank Kermode) have written lots of books to describe how fiction is made and what makes for great fiction.  George Saunders wrote that if a book gets a reader to keep turning the pages, it’s good fiction.  I’d add to that two other characteristics. First, do the story, the characters, and the outcome stay with you for days after you finish the book?  Second, are you more interested in getting back to the book than watching the Patriots or Celtics on TV?   Table for Two met all three of these criteria and I’m sure you will not be disappointed if you read it.