4 Stars
The book begins in 1966 though most of it is a flashback to 1938. Middle-aged Katey Kontent attends a photographic exposition which transports her back to New Years Eve 1937 when she was 25 and met the man who appears in two of the photographs on exhibit. The book then describes a year (1938) in her life, a year which determines the direction of her life.
Katey and her free-spirited roommate Eve go to a jazz bar where they meet Tinker Grey, a handsome wealthy banker. This encounter propels her into the upper echelons of New York society where she is introduced to a world of Gatsbyesque parties, luxury residences, swanky clubs, and posh restaurants. In many ways, the book is a coming-of-age story as Katey makes new friends, experiences love and loss, advances her career, and learns much about the world.
Katey is a likable character, though sometimes she struck me as somewhat unbelievable. The daughter of a Russian immigrant, she is intelligent and ambitious and works hard. These traits get her noticed. Her insistence on independence is also noteworthy. She is well-read, though I was sometimes amazed at the extent of her knowledge of art and contemporary music. Very much middle-class, she knows the mannerisms of high society and easily manages to become accepted by the ultra-wealthy and powerful? All the men fall in love with her and all the women become her friends?
But I guess that’s one of the novel’s messages: the randomness of chance which sometimes determines the course of someone’s life. Looking back, Katey acknowledges that she was gifted choices: “To have even one year when you’re presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course – that’s by the grace of God alone.”
Another theme is the importance of finding a purpose and maintaining integrity: “maintain some sense of direction, some sort of unerring course over seas tempest-tost.” The title of the book comes from George Washington’s rules of civility, the last of which is “Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Celestial fire Called Conscience.” Some people make various degrees of moral compromise, but Katy refuses monetary opportunities that would make her life easier but she would see as dishonourable. Eve draws her line in the sand: “’I’m willing to be under anything . . . as long as it isn’t somebody’s thumb.’” Sometimes it looks as if Eve is not living by that principle, but that impression proves to be incorrect. At the end, Tinker looks at the windows lit across New York but sees some specific windows “that seemed to burn a little brighter and more constant – the windows lit by those few who acted with poise and purpose.”
The other theme that stands out for me is that appearances can be deceiving. People can hide their true inner selves. People are like butterflies: “there are tens of thousands of butterflies: men and women . . . with two dramatically different colorings – one which serves to attract and the other which serves to camouflage – and which can be switched at the instant with a flit of the wings.” Based on what she sees, Katey makes assumptions about Tinker’s life that prove to be wrong. The inner lives of some characters are at odds with their initial appearance. For instance, Wallace Walcott is someone Katey almost dismisses until she gets to know him. Some people, especially the wealthy, tell lies, have ulterior motives, or use their money and influence to manipulate others’ lives. It’s interesting that the coat of arms of the exclusive Beresford apartment building where Tinker lives has a Latin motto “Fronta Nulla Fides“ or “place no trust in appearances.”
There is much I enjoyed: the snappy dialogue, the humour in the witty repartee, the beautifully rich prose, and the many literary allusions to other writers and books. I didn’t like this book as much as A Gentleman in Moscow, but It is nonetheless a great read.
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