Returning home in 1954, he retrieves his younger brother and the two decide to travel west along the Lincoln Highway to California, where they hope to find their mother who ran away many years prior. Duchess, Woolly, Emmett, as well as Billy all have their own agenda for this road trip." The Lincoln Highway" is most centrally about Emmett Watson, an 18-year-old boy who has just completed his one-year sentence at a work farm for involuntary manslaughter. However, Duchess and Woolly two friends have escaped the farm intending on joining Emmett. He is planning on picking up his brother, selling the farm, and heading west to start a new life. Emmett’s mother has abandoned the family, his father passed away, and all he has left is his brother Billy. Synopsis:Įmmett Watson has spent a year on a work farm for involuntary manslaughter. There’s a lot of discovery, both on the road and in the characters’ growth throughout the story. This is a book, however, which is meant for discussion and dissection.
This is especially true when the excitement of not knowing who the group will come across, or what trouble they’ll get into. Towles is a talented author, and at many points, the book shines capturing the adventure. These references are almost always done by the young Billy, but there are many other legendary travelers in 1954 who would speak much louder to him (from Huck Finn to Superman). I would have enjoyed a bit less of references to Odysseus and Shakespeare, and maybe a few references to the pop-culture hero of the time. The book tries too hard to be epic in scope, as well as to make its readers feel smart, by beating us over the head with literary references. On the other hand, Duchess and Woolly are so devious, it becomes over the top at times. Emmett is a generic protagonist, and very predictable, which makes him less interesting. I really wanted to enjoy this book much more than I did. I actually enjoyed that aspect of both of those books, as well as the slow revelation of each character’s backstory (explaining the reverse chapter numbers).
Towles sets up his plot points upfront and revisits them throughout. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles does capture the excitement of travel, the sense of adventure, and the company of strangers along the way.Īs in his previous book, A Gentleman in Moscow, Mr.
Towles is one of the lucky few who can devote their full time to writing.īy all means, I always love a good journey yarn. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles is a coming-of-age story of four juvenile delinquents on a road trip, as well as the people they meet.
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