The Lincoln Highway
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- Create Date：2021-11-10 06:51:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amor Towles
- ISBN：0593459873
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Summary
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 America
In June， 1954， eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year 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 and head west 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。
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。
In June， 1954， eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year 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 and head west 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。
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。
Reviews
Cali Coulthard
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audio
Muriel
，
It took me quite awhile to warm up to this novel but it ended up being a definite 5 star for me。 Amor Towles is such a fine storyteller and creator of such vivid characters。 I want to describe this novel as picaresque even though I know it doesn’t fit exactly into that style。 Three young men， former bunk mates at a juvenile offender work camp travel by varied means from Nebraska to New York City in 1954。 One， a parolee， travels with his 8 year old brother。 The other two， escapees， travel togethe It took me quite awhile to warm up to this novel but it ended up being a definite 5 star for me。 Amor Towles is such a fine storyteller and creator of such vivid characters。 I want to describe this novel as picaresque even though I know it doesn’t fit exactly into that style。 Three young men， former bunk mates at a juvenile offender work camp travel by varied means from Nebraska to New York City in 1954。 One， a parolee， travels with his 8 year old brother。 The other two， escapees， travel together in a stolen studebaker。 A lot of adventures ensue， a lot of other splendid characters are met and it all makes for some very good reading。 。。。more
Bob
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Loved the richly-drawn characters， but， the book is much too long。
Kathleen
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Amor Towles does it again。A trip to California by way of New England！！！！！
John
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Amor Towles is one talented writer。 This is a lot more than a "road trip" story。 It is a touching account of how the relationships among families， siblings and friends expand and contract -- a beautiful work。 Amor Towles is one talented writer。 This is a lot more than a "road trip" story。 It is a touching account of how the relationships among families， siblings and friends expand and contract -- a beautiful work。 。。。more
Blue
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For me it was a page turner。 I cared about the characters， their trials and tribulations， the writing was almost epic。 I thought for awhile it might be targeted to the YA population， but as a retired person who was 10 when the boys set out on their adventure， I enjoyed it immensely。
Janice Gaare
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Wow！ Best book I’ve read this year！
Mark
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For kindness begins where necessity ends。
Jamey Harvey
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I like the book。 To much f-word and the end was a bit abrupt
Diane
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To be honest， I had a difficult time rating this book， but in the end I decided that I really enjoyed it， even though I was incredibly nervous while reading it。 The writing is excellent， and I liked hearing the story told from the viewpoints of the different characters。 Although， she didn't play a major role， I loved Sally！At first the ending bothered me， but maybe it ended the way it needed to end。 It did， however， leave me wanting to know what happened after that。 To be honest， I had a difficult time rating this book， but in the end I decided that I really enjoyed it， even though I was incredibly nervous while reading it。 The writing is excellent， and I liked hearing the story told from the viewpoints of the different characters。 Although， she didn't play a major role， I loved Sally！At first the ending bothered me， but maybe it ended the way it needed to end。 It did， however， leave me wanting to know what happened after that。 。。。more
C Stanford
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A wild adventurous road-trip story with good and bad characters and all sorts of fits and starts on a trip that was supposed to be only on The Lincoln Highway from NYC to California。 An enjoyable and clever story told from each main character’s point of view， which added to the fun。 My only reasons for not giving 5 stars are that it wanders and goes off-subject at times， as if Towles was just writing what came into his mind and not sticking to the main story。
Joyce Roby
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A delightful romp of a book--adventures on an odyssey。
Amber
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Sometimes it sucks to like an author's work so much to then expect it of them in everything else they touch。 Towles likely wrote one of the best novels of our generation with A Gentleman in Moscow， and now everything else is just great， not perfection。 There are portions of this book that are excellent - the pacing， the characters who come to life whether you love 'em or hate 'em， the ingenuity of the youngest as the wisest character， and the themes of starting over， paying your debts and experi Sometimes it sucks to like an author's work so much to then expect it of them in everything else they touch。 Towles likely wrote one of the best novels of our generation with A Gentleman in Moscow， and now everything else is just great， not perfection。 There are portions of this book that are excellent - the pacing， the characters who come to life whether you love 'em or hate 'em， the ingenuity of the youngest as the wisest character， and the themes of starting over， paying your debts and experiencing the ebbs and flows of life rather than following one's prescribed plan for how things "should" go。 BUT - I have qualms。 The title is misleading， at best。 And of the three works I've read by Towles， this is the novel with the WORST ending by far。 It's not congruent with the rest of the story， especially of Duchess's character， but possibly also of Emmett's。 **Self-edit** It helped to gain the author's perspective through his Q&A and Reading Guide sections at amortowles。com。 3。5/5 stars。 。。。more
Jwedseltoft
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Amor Towles is a master at creating memorable characters and their stories。 His wiring is superb and the stories interweave in an entertaining and engaging manner。 Highly recommend this book！
Laura E
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I loved this book。 I did not like the ending！ I am going to reread the last three to four chapters again to make sure that I readed this correctly。 The characters "Little Mr。 Bossy pants" my favorite the story line was so entertaining but I just did not see the ending coming。 Did anyone else feel this way？ Would really like a conversation with Mr。 Towles。 I loved this book。 I did not like the ending！ I am going to reread the last three to four chapters again to make sure that I readed this correctly。 The characters "Little Mr。 Bossy pants" my favorite the story line was so entertaining but I just did not see the ending coming。 Did anyone else feel this way？ Would really like a conversation with Mr。 Towles。 。。。more
Joe Silber
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I loved Amor Towle's previous book， "A Gentleman in Moscow"， and was eager to read his follow-up。 "The Lincoln Highway" is in many ways the complete opposite of "Gentleman" except in quality。 Rather than a single main character and a setting in a Russian hotel over the course of decades， we have 4 main characters （and several secondary ones） engaged in a road-trip across a wide swath of the United States over the course of about 10 days。 Our lead character， Emmett， is about 18 years old， returni I loved Amor Towle's previous book， "A Gentleman in Moscow"， and was eager to read his follow-up。 "The Lincoln Highway" is in many ways the complete opposite of "Gentleman" except in quality。 Rather than a single main character and a setting in a Russian hotel over the course of decades， we have 4 main characters （and several secondary ones） engaged in a road-trip across a wide swath of the United States over the course of about 10 days。 Our lead character， Emmett， is about 18 years old， returning home from a stint in Salinas， a juvenile corrections facility （he was sent there for accidentally killing a boy in a fight that the other boy provoked）。 His father recently deceased and the bank repossessing the family farm， Emmett is prepared to take his younger brother Billy out west to start a new life （and maybe try and find their mother， who abandoned the family years ago）。 But the unexpected arrival of two of Emmett's friends from Salinas， who snuck out for purposes of their own， suddenly upends Emmett's plans for a straight-forward journey。 As in "Gentleman"， this novel starts out a little slow， as Towles gradually reveals the situation （it's a good 20% through the book before the road trip even starts） and while the pace becomes brisker later on， there are always detours （both literal and figurative） as side stories， backstories， and other stories are relayed by the characters。 In fact， without spoiling anything， the detours really are the point of the book - as the saying goes， it's the journey， not the destination。 Towels divides chapters up into different character POVs， and the switches in POV help keep things moving。 Of course， Towles is so great at giving voice to his characters （especially Duchess， see below） that they could be talking about nearly anything and make it interesting to the reader。 Towle's characters initially seem trope-y， but time reveals hidden depths。 Emmett， our lead， is a bit of an enigmatic everyman - at one point， someone says he looks like Gary Cooper， and indeed he is a bit of the strong， silent type， as Tony Soprano might say， with a powerful sense of honor and 。 Billy， his younger brother， feels a bit like the cliched talkative， annoying younger sibling trope， but his naivety and exuberance belie keen observation skills and intelligence， and Billy saves the day more than once。 Woolly， Emmett's seemingly slow-witted， neuro-divergent friend from Salinas， initially feels like an homage to Lennie from Mice & Men， but Woolly （despite his lack of common sense and poor decision-making skills） is quite thoughtful in his way， and is amazingly big-hearted and loveable。 The star of the show， though， is Duchess， the theatrical， charismatic， conniving， and unpredictable abandoned son of a washed-up actor， with a strong sense of karmic accounting。 Duchess' chapters are a pure delight to read。 Sally， the young adult neighbor and friend to Emmett and Billy， initially appears to be a passive love interest for Emmett， but is later revealed to be both fiery-tempered and quite possessing of her own agency （although this threatens to turn her into the trope of the harridan， so your mileage may vary）。 （Sadly， though， Sally is the only female POV character and her relatively little screen-time means the book is quite gender-imbalanced - if one were to make a critique of Lincoln Highway， the lack of diversity in characters is certainly a fair one）。 Ulysses， a black soldier turned railway-hobo， is a fascinating side-character that Billy befriends。 I've noticed in some reviews of the book that people critiqued the characters as unrealistic， or perhaps a little over-the-top， especially Duchess and Woolly， which is probably a fair point， but it didn't bother me at all。 All told， "The Lincoln Highway" is just a well-written yet effortless book to read。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Dayle （the literary llama）
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4。5 Stars
Giovanna Valenti
，
I thought the writing was good and easy to keep up with what was going on in the story。 Character development was pretty decent as well。 You could see how each back story shaped the characters as they are today。 I did not like Duchess。 Even though I think his character was kind of meant to suck I still didn't really enjoy reading his parts of the book。 I wanted more from Sally's story or for her to be cut all together。 It fell flat and even given the time this book takes place she is just a typi I thought the writing was good and easy to keep up with what was going on in the story。 Character development was pretty decent as well。 You could see how each back story shaped the characters as they are today。 I did not like Duchess。 Even though I think his character was kind of meant to suck I still didn't really enjoy reading his parts of the book。 I wanted more from Sally's story or for her to be cut all together。 It fell flat and even given the time this book takes place she is just a typical woman doing woman things， adding no real value。 Emmett and Billy's brotherhood was wonderful and I would have liked a lot more on that。 Disappointed that the Lincoln Highway wasn't explored as much as expected considering its the title。 Is it part of the book？ Absolutely。 Just not how I anticipated。 Also， didn't love the ending。 I was hoping for more closure with Emmett and Billy's original adventure plan and that wasn't given to my liking。 And what about Ulysses's ending？ Not a terrible book， but probably longer than it needed to be。 *SPOILERS FOR ME TO REMEMBER LATER*Billy tells Ulysses about the great Ulysses story and then ends up feeling hope he can find his wife and son after 10 years。 No conclusion there。 Duchess dies at the end because Emmett puts him in a boat that he falls out of and can't swim。 Emmett and Billy get their share of Woolly's inheritance。 We don't find out if Emmett and Billy find there mom if they even make it to California。 Not much travel down the Lincoln highway。 Billy did get to meet the author of his favorite book。 Woolly kills himself after he gets in trouble with his sister and "Dennis"。 。。。more
Laurie
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I liked the book。 It was fast-paced， and told from multiple perspectives。 Being told from multiple perspectives helps me get to know each character well， and I feel I did know them well。I liked the symbolism of the Lincoln Highway。 It was the physical road for the quest that each character was taking to improve his/her life。 I also liked that the days were broken into a countdown from ten。 It prepared me for the ending "blast off。" It also represented Emmett's control of his temper。What didn't w I liked the book。 It was fast-paced， and told from multiple perspectives。 Being told from multiple perspectives helps me get to know each character well， and I feel I did know them well。I liked the symbolism of the Lincoln Highway。 It was the physical road for the quest that each character was taking to improve his/her life。 I also liked that the days were broken into a countdown from ten。 It prepared me for the ending "blast off。" It also represented Emmett's control of his temper。What didn't work for me was how contrived the plot seemed。 For example， Emmett finds Dutchess and Wooly very quickly even though he had never been to New York。 Another is example is when Billy needs help， Ulysees shows up。 I also had a hard time liking the characters。 While I did like Billy， he seemed too young to be so wise。 I liked Woolly。 He was just plain kind。 However， Emmett put Billy in danger so many times in the book。 His character doesn't grow。 Even in the end， he needs Billy to calm his temper。 Dutchess said he cared for Woolly， but he really only cared for himself。 Towles lets us know this is because of his upbringing。 Dutchess' father only cares for himself， but even that didn't help me like him。I am glad I read the book， though， and I would recommend it for those who are fans of Amor Towles。 。。。more
Kellie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 [a solid 4/5] This one surprised me， as I thought I might get bored。 After all， I was also in the middle of reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with my students。 With that in mind， I felt like this was a wholesome cross between Huck Finn and Of Mice & Men。 Woolly's death， though sad， made sense。 Dutchess's took me by surprise！ [a solid 4/5] This one surprised me， as I thought I might get bored。 After all， I was also in the middle of reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with my students。 With that in mind， I felt like this was a wholesome cross between Huck Finn and Of Mice & Men。 Woolly's death， though sad， made sense。 Dutchess's took me by surprise！ 。。。more
Sarah
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Ok， so this is almost 600 pages which sort of feels like a vanity novel after the （well deserved） success of A Gentleman in Moscow。 Where is the editor？ Who has time to read a book this long？ About 150 pages in， Towles spins a side character's back story out by 30 or so pages。 And at first it seemed so unnecessary， like an author so in love with their own writing that I almost DNF at that exact spot。 BUT！ The way that side character's aside comes around really is pure storytelling genius。 Turns Ok， so this is almost 600 pages which sort of feels like a vanity novel after the （well deserved） success of A Gentleman in Moscow。 Where is the editor？ Who has time to read a book this long？ About 150 pages in， Towles spins a side character's back story out by 30 or so pages。 And at first it seemed so unnecessary， like an author so in love with their own writing that I almost DNF at that exact spot。 BUT！ The way that side character's aside comes around really is pure storytelling genius。 Turns out I finished the book in 3 or 4 days。 I'm not going to go into details about the plot， but this is one of the best road trip stories I've ever read and I LOVE road trip stories what with the literal and metaphorical journeys。 And the four main characters are all on wildly different journeys but how they intersect and interplay with each other was delightful。 Where A Gentleman in Moscow focused on the characterization， this does a better job at storytelling。 The fates of the characters becomes paramount over the actual characterization and I'm not mad。 This is also one of the better literary examples of Chekov's gun。 I was waiting and waiting for it to come around and when it did I audibly gasped。 The page count alone will be enough to turn off readers， but I would easily suggest this to historical fiction readers especially those looking to take a break from the WWII time period。 。。。more
Gordon Paisley
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Wow， what an incredible story。 Effortlessly profound at many turns。 Beautiful prose， wonderful characters and sense of place and time。 I just got submerged in the story every time I picked up the book and emerged later as if from a dream。I'm sure I didn't even grasp everything because there are so many layers to this story。 A masterpiece。 Wow， what an incredible story。 Effortlessly profound at many turns。 Beautiful prose， wonderful characters and sense of place and time。 I just got submerged in the story every time I picked up the book and emerged later as if from a dream。I'm sure I didn't even grasp everything because there are so many layers to this story。 A masterpiece。 。。。more
Jeanne Bradley
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Absolutely loved this book。 Like Huck Fin adventure set in the 1950's。 Sorry it ended :（ Absolutely loved this book。 Like Huck Fin adventure set in the 1950's。 Sorry it ended :（ 。。。more
Angie Miller
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I rarely write anything in these spaces—but goddamn。 Read。 This。 Book。 ❤️❤️❤️ It’s a modern day Steinbeckian novel full of flawed characters who will make you chuckle and then break your heart， and then will stay with you long after you close the pages！ I’m not reading anything heavy these days—the news is enough。 But I also want excellent writing。 This sates all needs。
Ellen
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Emmett and his brother Billy plan to leave their life in Nebraska for California but their plans are upended when Duchess and Woolsey appear on the scene。 Good characters， wild story。
Marty
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If I could give this more stars I would。 This is a wonderful story with characters that you will love and hate and sometimes at the sometime。 An adventure story for the ages。
Rose
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Another great one for this author。 I actually felt bad as I progressed through the book because I didn't want to get to the finish too soon。 Another great one for this author。 I actually felt bad as I progressed through the book because I didn't want to get to the finish too soon。 。。。more
Christina Gagliano
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Just to be clear， this is not a "Gentleman in Moscow" 5-star review because， technically， that book should get 10 stars and is one of the best books ever written。 The Lincoln Highway gets 5 stars for being a stylishly and humorously written romp of a road trip with memorable characters who have， for the most part， satisfying trajectories。 I'm still mulling over one but， ultimately， I think I'll get there。Don't let the book's length stop you from reading it。 I flew through the 550+ pages， and wan Just to be clear， this is not a "Gentleman in Moscow" 5-star review because， technically， that book should get 10 stars and is one of the best books ever written。 The Lincoln Highway gets 5 stars for being a stylishly and humorously written romp of a road trip with memorable characters who have， for the most part， satisfying trajectories。 I'm still mulling over one but， ultimately， I think I'll get there。Don't let the book's length stop you from reading it。 I flew through the 550+ pages， and wanted to keep going on the trip with Emmett and his crew。 Could there be a sequel in this novel's future？？ 。。。more
Kim
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If， like me， you loved A Gentleman in Moscow， that's wonderful， but The Lincoln Highway is not the same kind of novel。 Best not to enter into it with preconceived notions as that is surely a road leading to disappointment。 Go forth with an open mind and let The Lincoln Highway's unique beauty and wisdom enrich your life。Eighteen year old， Emmett， and his younger brother， Billy， live on a farm in 1954 Nebraska。 Life has not been kind to them。 Their mother left when Billy was small， their father r If， like me， you loved A Gentleman in Moscow， that's wonderful， but The Lincoln Highway is not the same kind of novel。 Best not to enter into it with preconceived notions as that is surely a road leading to disappointment。 Go forth with an open mind and let The Lincoln Highway's unique beauty and wisdom enrich your life。Eighteen year old， Emmett， and his younger brother， Billy， live on a farm in 1954 Nebraska。 Life has not been kind to them。 Their mother left when Billy was small， their father recently passed leaving them in debt （losing the family farm in the process） and Emmett has just been released from a youth detention facility serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter。 What is their plan going forward？ To hop in Emmett's Studebaker and drive to California in search of their mother。 A worthy goal until their plans are thrown in the air with a surprise visit by Duchess and Woolly， Emmett's compatriots from the youth facility。 The Lincoln Highway is a rich story full of heart， humor and wisdom。 Surprisingly， the greatest wisdom comes from Woolly， a slightly medicated， gentle， character who grew up in the bosom of a well-to-do family。 He sees the best of every situation and person。 It is wonderful to follow him on his journey and spend time reminiscing on his younger years with his much loved extended family。 The journey Emmett and Billy undertake is not unlike that of Ulysses in that the path to the final destination is a bumpy and varied one that brings a multitude of mini adventures。 I so enjoyed the many characters we meet along the way and the valuable lessons they bestow upon the brothers。 No， this is not the same as A Gentleman in Moscow， but the gentle humor and life's unexpected challenges which enrich the journey are just as rewarding and delightful。 。。。more
Debbie
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Time for a road trip！ In the summer of 1954， eighteen year old Emmett returns to his home after living on a juvenile work farm。 He involuntarily killed a young man。 His mother is missing， his father recently passed away， and their property is being foreclosed。 Billy， his younger brother， is intelligent and oh so logical。 Emmett and Billy decide to drive to California in search of their mother。 Two juveniles from the work farm hid in the car's trunk and the adventures begin！ Instead of traveling Time for a road trip！ In the summer of 1954， eighteen year old Emmett returns to his home after living on a juvenile work farm。 He involuntarily killed a young man。 His mother is missing， his father recently passed away， and their property is being foreclosed。 Billy， his younger brother， is intelligent and oh so logical。 Emmett and Billy decide to drive to California in search of their mother。 Two juveniles from the work farm hid in the car's trunk and the adventures begin！ Instead of traveling west， the group drives to the east to New York City。 Each chapter is told by a different character which creates a fascinating read。 I enjoyed these quirky characters and their challenges in life。 Many layers in the plot -- friendship， loyalty， responsibility， trust。 Another thought provoking novel by a master story teller。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Lincoln Highway
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Lincoln Highway&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Lincoln Highway&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0