The overlapping worlds of Amor Towles

MOR TOWLES HAD NEVER ACTUALLY been beneath the vaulted ceiling of an Adirondack lake house when he described the one in his 2011 debut, the best-selling He could only imagine the appeal of such an exalted communal space—“this great room where the family gathers”—until, while shopping for a second home with the money from that book, he found himself touring a property an hour and a half north of Manhattan. “I was like, This is it!” says Towles, throwing his arms toward a 30-ft. ceiling that, like the glistening lake outside, now belongs entirely to