The Lincoln Highway
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.4
Amor Towles
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than ONE MILLION copies soldA TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club PickA New York Times Notable Book, a New York Times Readers’ Choice Best Book of the Century, and Chosen by Oprah Daily, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Bill Gates and Barack Obama as a Best Book of the Year“Wise and wildly entertaining . . . permeated with light, wit, youth.” —The New York Times Book Review “A classic that we will read for years to come.” —Jenna Bush Hager, Read with Jenna book club “Fantastic. Set in 1954, Towles uses the story of two brothers to show that our personal journeys are never as linear or predictable as we might hope.” —Bill Gates “A real joyride . . . elegantly constructed and compulsively readable.” —NPR The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s AmericaIn June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York. Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles's third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes. “Once again, I was wowed by Towles’s writing—especially because The Lincoln Highway is so different from A Gentleman in Moscow in terms of setting, plot, and themes. Towles is not a one-trick pony. Like all the best storytellers, he has range. He takes inspiration from famous hero’s journeys, including The Iliad, The Odyssey, Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, and Of Mice and Men. He seems to be saying that our personal journeys are never as linear or predictable as an interstate highway. But, he suggests, when something (or someone) tries to steer us off course, it is possible to take the wheel.” – Bill Gates
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More Details:
Author
Amor Towles
Pages
592
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2023-03-21
ISBN
0735222363 9780735222366
Community ReviewsSee all
"Family, sports, small town politics and individual stories of family perspectives! Great writing!"
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siobhan solecky
"First, I’d like to let you know that, while the title might suggest that this highway is the star of the show, it is not what you think. <br/><br/>The year is 1954 and young Emmett, having completed his time in a juvenile facility, wants to start a new life with his little brother Billy in a place far away from their late father’s foreclosed farm. They have a car, some money, and a plan for their future. Their route to happiness is the Lincoln Highway, America’s first coast-to-coast highway. At Billy’s insistence, they must follow this highway to California where they will implement Emmett’s plan to buy and flip houses, and find their mother (Billy’s dream) who took off when Billy was just an infant. <br/><br/>But life is never simple and their journey takes quite a few unexpected turns thanks to the surprise appearance of Duchess and Woolly, two friends from the juvenile facility. <br/><br/>These two characters and their lives are revealed intermittently throughout the book, and by the end of the book, their fates had me in tears. I really felt for these two young men, who never really had a chance to develop their own lives. Circumstances created these people and brought each to a point of no return.<br/><br/>So how do Emmett and Billy manage to get back on track—back on the Lincoln Highway, so to speak? <br/><br/>Read this book!"
Diane Oravec
"Outstanding. My favorite Amor Towles novel. I loved the characters and the overall tale. "
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David Guy
"This book was nothing like what I expected it to be, and I loved it. For some reason I thought this was going to be a coming-of-age tale, which in some respects it was, but it ended up being so much more. The story felt electric, like it captures this one moment in America’s past in a truly unique way. Emmett has just finished serving his sentence at Salina Youth Facility and arrives home in Nebraska to his family farm being repossessed. He plans to head out to California with his brother Billy, when fellow inmates Duchess and Woolly show up unexpectedly and derail their plans. The four young men play a game of cat and mouse into the heart of New York City and meet a bunch of amazing people along the way. The whole thing feels like American mythology complete with freight hoping, fake preachers, sexy circuses and a heist gone wrong. The book delivers in all the ways you want a book to deliver… heart, humor, plot, history, characters and adventure."
Nicole Falche
"I was blown away by Towles’s writing and storytelling. This is the kind of book I will be rereading. It’s immersive, original, and deep. <br/><br/>I was enamored especially with the characters of Billy, the intelligent 8-year-old who has a love for heroic stories, and Ulysses, a man whose life mirrors that of his namesake, Odysseus, very closely. I loved Emmett (I’m a sucker for older brother guardian characters) and Wooly as well, and Duchess really grew on me. Sally, our token female character, had very well-written chapters with striking lines, though I wonder what the purpose of her character was overall. <br/><br/>Most of the story gives a delightful yet poignant folk vibe that I couldn’t get enough of. It was the kind of story I never wanted to end and warranted its page count. <br/><br/>But the ending. I don’t know what to make of it. It leaves me feeling empty, when I felt like everything before it urged you to hold on to the ounce of hope, the ambiguity in your future that could lead to something you’ve been longing for for a long time.<br/><br/>But I can’t quite wrap my mind around this jarring final chapter. I want to trust Towles and that he didn’t just use it for shock value, so I’m going to spend some time thinking about it and how it impacts the message of the novel as a whole!<br/><br/>Would definitely recommend this book. I struggled greatly between choosing 4 or 5 stars for my rating. I will gladly pick up Towles’s other books."
Charis Negley
"4.5 stars"
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Paul Garcia
"A twisty and adventurous tale from an obviously talented writer.<br/>I enjoyed the development of both the characters and story. An interesting development or discovery in each chapter. Seamless transitions and weaving of characters. I loved this book!"
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