TABLE FOR TWO: Fictions, by Amor TowlesFew literary stylists not named Ann Patchett attain best-sellerdom, but Amor Towles makes the cut. His three lauded novels — “Rules of Civility,” “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “The Lincoln Highway” — hung around on lists for months, if not years. The book spans the 20th century, bringing characters from a range of backgrounds into tableaus of deceit and desire. Towles devotes the first section to New York, its wealthy and famous shuffling against strivers and innocents in La Guardia terminals, musty bookstores or immigrant communities. In “The Line,” a naïve Communist builds a lucrative business that steers him to Manhattan, where con games lurk on every corner.

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Persons: Amor Towles, Ann Patchett, ”, Towles, Timothy Touchett, Pennybrook, he’s Organizations: Carnegie, Motorola, Nokia Locations: Moscow ”, Lincoln, New York, Los Angeles, La Guardia, Communist, Manhattan