The Lincoln Highway: A Novel

A long and winding road. It's 1954 and newly released from a work camp, Emmet wants nothing more than to pack up his little brother Billy and head to Texas where he plans to use his carpentry skills to renovate houses. Billy, however, wants to go to California where he believes their mother, who left the family, is living. Both of their plans are knocked sideways by the surprise appearance of Willy and Duchess, who escaped the camp in the trunk of the car that brought Emmet home. Duchess has hatched a plan to go to New York and take $150k from the safe in Wooly's family home= and he's steals Emmet's car, forcing Emmet and Billy onto a freight train where they meet Ulysses, who has been riding the rails since his own family disappeared during WWII. Duchess also wants to wreak revenge on or atone to several people and to find the father who abandoned and betrayed him. This is a story of seekers, of fathers and sons, of heroic tales, of the hidden places, of mental illness, and of hope. These are vivid characters, even if they might seem archetypes- it works. While the novel is set over a ten day period (it counts down from the day Emmet gets home and then documents each day in the journey to and around New York), each character's back story is parceled out along the way. I found myself wrapped up in this well told story thanks to Towles' storytelling and, frankly, a desire to know what would happen. And I was surprised. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Excellent read.

Once again, Amor Towles has managed to populate his novel with a cast of endearing and quirky characters that tug at your heart strings. "The Lincoln Highway", is a marvelous story that is at once an adventure novel while being a tale of hopes and dreams fulfilled or dashed.At the heart of the story are 2 young brothers, one a teenager and one a child of 8, who are about to set out to find their mother after the death of their father. The people they encounter, the ones who join their travels, are such interesting and unique characters, with big hearts and dreams all their own, that we become privy to.Amor Towles' writing is pure poetry. It lets you ride along with him on the wildest of adventures that leaves you breathless and satisfied. This book is a winner.!.

Try as I might, I failed to generate a spark of interest in any of the characters or their aimless wanderings. A Gentleman in Moscow, though set almost entirely in one building, had a great deal more action and interest.

The principles are teenage boys in the early 1950s--except for an eight-year-old little brother. The narrator ricochets from one of the characters to another, their thoughts (except, maybe, for Emmett’s) far too mature and introspective considering the ages involved. Moreover, the little brother is beyond precocious. The plot meanders, soon becomes tedious, then devolves into the absurd. I gave up…

I know there were a lot of people who loved this, but after such anticipation, I was disappointed. To me it lacked the magic of Towles's earlier two books, in particular, A Gentleman In Moscow, but then that book set such a high bar. Here, instead of having his central character virtually under house arrest and retaining the narrative to a single setting in "Moscow," Towles hits the open road in 1954 with four characters that made me think of Of Mice & Men by way of Huck Finn. I did like some of the atmospheric choices, such as the Highline decades before it became known as such and was still part of the railway spur that serviced the meatpacking district. But there were too many instances of deus ex machina, too many inconceivable occurrences, I could not suspend belief. I did finish since I was intrigued enough to learn what happens to these people, but was ultimately unsatisfied.

I thought his two first books were brilliant. This one is horrible. Uninteresting characters, no action, strange punctuation. Really hard to read.

Mr. Towles is a brilliant writer and certainly proves it, again, with The Lincoln Highway. However, I found it to be more an exercise in literary extravagance and elaborate story telling, but far less in meaning and message.Characters appeared and disappeared rather randomly, as did the story-lines, with ambiguous conclusions ( or none at all).I know this book has been extremely well received and critically acclaimed, but my advice is to not waste your time on it!

so many wasted extraneous words, on and on with repetitive stories, endlessly boring book

I am a fan of this author. I freely admit that some readers found his earlier books to be trivial and frivolous. I found them to be a delight. Towles is like no other author I know. It takes some time to become hooked by his stories, but the reward is refreshing writing that is unique. The present novel is the story of two brothers who plan to set off from their failed family farm in Nebraska and start a new life in California. Their Plans are thwarted by the appearance of two friends who cause a major disruption which leads to multiple detours on the journey. The story is far fetched and almost ludicrous, but the characters who are portrayed come alive and I did not wish the book to end. In no sense is this book a thriller and yet tension does exist as the end approaches. Th final element of the conclusion has an element of theft from the ending of "The Italian Job" but I think that can be forgiven. Despite an almost total lack of sex, violence and foul language the book moves along at a compelling pace. There is a smattering of philosophy, a touch of Greek mythology and Shakespeare is not forgotten. Much to admire and enjoy.

I was enchanted by this novel, not least by the way it so comprehensively dodges any attempt to consign it to a particular genre. Set in June 1954 it follows brothers Emmett and Billy Watson who plan to leave their home in Nebraska, and travel along the Lincoln Highway, America’s first transcontinental highway, to San Francisco, where they hope to start a new life.Their old life has certainly featured many tribulations. As the novel opens, eighteen-year-old Emmett is being driven home by the Warder of Salinas, a juvenile detention centre, where he had served a short sentence for accidentally causing the death of a young man (not without provocation, Emmett had punched him, causing him to fall and hit his head). He is welcomed back to the family farm by the father and daughter from a neighbouring farm. During his sentence, Emmett’s father (who had always struggled to manage the farm) had died, and eight-year-old Billy had been looked after by Sally. She will emerge as a powerful character in the book, driven by a fierce righteousness that has been provoked by finding herself constantly expected to look after men who scarcely even acknowledge her. Immediately upon his return Emmett also learns that the bank is about to foreclose the various loans that his father had taken, and on which massive arrears have accrued.I am conscious of how much I enjoyed the book, so am anxious not to strew any inadvertent spoilers, so won’t say much more about the basic background scenario, beyond saying that, after having planned to head to the west coast, for various reasons they actually end up travelling east. Their journey will be far from smooth, with a succession of mishaps and pitfalls, but also some extraordinary encounters, and some delightful characters.Emmett is a finely drawn character, and his attitude to life and his obligations is far from what one might anticipate from a character just released from a custodial sentence. He has a strong moral code, and is determined never again to place himself under a debt or obligation to anyone else. Billy is earnest and erudite beyond his years, but with a very literal approach to life. His understanding of the world is largely formed from his enthusiastic study of a book drawing together a series of stories about exalted traveller, both real and fictional.Emmett and Billy are joined in their travels by Duchess and Woolly, two of Emmett’s fellow inmates at Salinas. Woolly is from a privileged background, but has not found it easy to engage with life. Duchess has had a far harder upbringing, and while he has his own moral code, it is markedly different in scope, and implementation, from that of Emmett.Towles delivers the story through sections focusing in turns on different characters, with some first-person observations from Duchess thrown in along the way. I have found that this narrative form can detract from a story’s impact, but that is not the case here. The author keeps the story moving smoothly forward, despite the various tangents on which the action frequently departs.All in all, this is a great story peopled by marvellous characters, and I had enjoyed reading it so much that I felt sad when I finished it.

Interesting at first then the characters and story start to wander all over the place - and I don't just mean as they develop their journey. Emmett and Billy come alive in the first chapters but then seem to fall away and become far less believable. VERY disappointing.

After having read A gentleman in Moscow, I knew I had to buy The Lincoln Highway! I haven’t completely finished it yet but I couldn’t wait to share my thoughts! The writing style is simplistic enough but full of detail and let’s you understand each character in such a meaningful way. Towles writing style is recognisable and I can’t wait to finish this book as well as hope there’s more books in the making!

The front cover of the hardback drew me in – young guys travelling across Americaon the Lincoln Highway.Here, I thought, was a saga, an adventure to savour, young guys full of mischief.And so it was.The characters were well defined, each one with a different destination in mind, and thedialogue was fun and snappy.The book is told through each of the respective characters.But at 576 pages this book was considerably overlong, mostly by virtue of two of the characters going over the same ground, repeating what we’d already learned.SPOILER ALERTBut my biggest beef is the way the book ends.Right from the start Emmett and Billy were aiming to get to California to find theirmother, who’d disappeared some years before, but who’d left a postcard trail leading toSan Francisco.But as events unfold they have to detour to the opposite end of the country, to NewYork.But at 576 pages wouldn’t you think the obvious finale is for the two brothers to gofind their mother?As I ploughed through this beefy hardback I kept telling myself that the best was yet tocome, that they would find their mother, then find out the reason for their mother absconding.No such luck.Story ends in Manhattan, as they set off on their journey to California.Did I feel cheated?You betcha!