Sarasota's Off the Page Literary Celebration Presents Amor Towles

Amor Towles

Spending an evening with Amor Towles -- compliments of Sarasota's Off the Page Literary Celebration -- felt like an antidote to the world in which we've found ourselves living. Towles writes books with titles like "A Gentleman in Moscow" and "Rules of Civility." He exuded the qualities embodied in his characters. It was a wonderful event. 

Towles' desire to be an author took hold when he was in first grade. His teacher invited a writer of juvenile poetry to his class, and he was enthralled with the word play and observations. (He was apparently quite a bright child.) Fast forward to when he graduated from college. Towles moved to NYC to give writing a shot. But it was a lonely existence, not to mention a less than lucrative one. When a friend started an investment banking firm, he joined him while continuing to write on the side. It was 20 years before "Rules of Civility" became a bestseller and he decided he could finally become a full-time author. 

Towles spent much of the evening sharing his thoughts on writing and his process. Take, for instance, the difference between a novel, on one hand, and a short story or play, on the other. The latter literary forms don't give the writer the time or space to establish a foundation for the characters whom the reader/audience member will meet. He likened short stories and plays to overhearing an intriguing conversation at the next table when you're out to dinner. Just as you're getting interested, they get the check and leave. But what happens next? And what brought them to the moment you just overheard? As the listener, you get to decide. The same applies when you go to a show or read a short story. (Note: Towles' most recent book -- a collection of short stories and a novella -- is aptly entitled "Table for Two.") 

For a novel, planning -- or what Towles calls "designing" -- is required. And boy does he design his books. While he often develops the key elements of his story in a shockingly short period of time -- we're talking minutes -- he spends years fleshing out his characters and the plotline before actually writing a word. He fills so many notebooks with his thoughts that by the time he starts the true writing process, his characters are fully imagined.

Still, his design can somtimes be a bit off.  He occasionally writes a passage and immediately hears the character standing behind him saying, "I wouldn't do that!" As his characters evolve in unexpected ways, so does the story. And so he goes back to the beginning to adjust accordingly. This can happen multiple times during the writing process. Instead of finding this frustrating, Towles embraces these surprises, confident they enrich the story he's creating. 

Towles of course spoke about the adaptation of "A Gentleman in Moscow" for television. After all, the series served as the introduction of his work to many viewers. In fact, enticing more people to read his books was the primary reason he agreed to the project. 

He called the project fraught with the potential for disaster, but he's happy with how the show turned out. He shared a conversation with Michael Lewis, author of "Moneyball," about the adaptation process. "They said they would welcome my input," Towles shared. "Do they mean it?" Lewis was to the point with his reply. "They are definitely just being polite," he responded. "Not only do they not care what you think, they wish you were dead." Okay, then! I understand that the show is very well done, but I am a purist who always prefers the book to its adaptation. And so I haven't seen the series. Towles braved the experience, watching with his wife. He reported fidgeting a bit at the inclusion of a scene that didn't take place in the novel. As he was turning to her to complain, he saw that she was quietly sobbing. "Well," he said, "I guess that worked." For a Q&A in which Towles shares more about "A Gentleman in Moscow," click here. 

Towles with Renee DiPilato, Director of Sarasota County Libraries

Towles wrapped up by telling the audience that we can contact him through his website and that he reads every comment/question. He went on to share a couple of hilarious missives from his readers. My personal favorite was the note from Karen from Wisconsin about the way Emmett washed the dishes in a scene on p. 477 in "The Lincoln Highway." She noted that the order in which the young man washed them was plates then crystal then pots. She went on to say, "As the winner of the 1973 Betty Crocker something or other, I can tell you definitively that the correct order is crystal then plates then pots." I think Karen has a bit too much time on her hands. 

As entertaining as I hope this post is, it can only scratch the surface of what it was like to hear from Towles directly. While I'm sure he's given the equivalent of this talk dozens of times, he seemed genuinely pleased to hear the pre-planned "audience" questions. He was charming and funny and smart and gracious. I loved it from start to finish. Thanks to the team at Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources for organizing a wonderful evening. For more on Towles and his work, click here. Happy reading!