Table for Two: Fictions

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 2024

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Summary

Background

Story Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Story 1

Part 1, Story 2

Part 1, Story 3

Part 1, Story 4

Part 1, Story 5

Part 1, Story 6

Part 2, Epigraph-Section 1

Part 2, Section 2, Chapters 1-6

Part 2, Section 2, Chapters 7-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Tools

Discussion Questions

Book Club Questions

Table for Two

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

Consider the novella “Eve in Hollywood” in relation to Towles’s novel Rules of Civility, in which Eve Ross, the novella’s protagonist, is also a central character. How does the novella deepen or complicate your understanding of the novel’s characters and setting?
Which stories stood out to you as most compelling? What do these standouts have in common?
How do the stories fit together, even though they feature unrelated characters and take place in different times and places? What makes them work as a single book?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences and perspectives.

Choose a story that made you feel grief, anger, laughter, or any other strong emotion. How did the story evoke this emotional response, and how did your emotional reaction contribute to your understanding of the story’s themes?
Throughout these stories, characters negotiate social boundaries—seeking freedom and self-expression while trying to maintain the approval of their communities. Reflect on a time when you felt that your identity, desires, or freedom of expression were at odds with social expectations.