The second event I want to discuss is the fact that Duchess makes it seem like this trip is an effort to get revenge at his father for framing him and sending him to the work camp. How should I describe it? , X-Ray Additionally, some campaigns and content may only be available to users in certain areas. The Plot (skip if you have read the book) The year is 1954 when the story begins with a warden releasing 18 year old Emmett Watson from a detention centre for involuntary manslaughter. However, once Duchess is awake and the money begins to blow away, Duchess shifts the boat to try and get itcausing it to sink and since Duchess cant swim, he drowns. Margaret M - Hiatus - I will respond when I can. This is my personal blog, where I share about the people I meet, the books I'm reading, and what I'm learning. I like to leave a novel with a good feeling. With this ominous cue you may sense some very unpopular review is on its way! So the brothers take their share of the money and plan to finally go to California. However, with the desire for retribution, a past haunting them and an opportunity to make money fast, you are totally caught up in their dilemma between doing what is right and wrong. So dont read this unless youve finished the book. . He has a plan to take his 8-year-old brother Billy to California and with the money his father has left him purchase a dilapidated house he can remodel and sell to purchase two more and so on and so on. It was a disappointment. For themselves and the others in the group where the emotional intelligence seems to constantly work against them. This is how I interpreted The Lincoln Highway ending. At nearly 600 pages, The Lincoln Highway is remarkably brisk, remarkably buoyant. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Coming of Age Fiction (Audible Books & Originals), Historical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals), Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. This is their chance to leave behind Nebraska and its bad memories and try out California. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2021. This section attempts to have the ending explained of The Lincoln Highway. (Spoilers), Book Club Questions for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Er lebt mit seiner Frau und seinen beiden Kindern in Manhattan. In 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 . The lives of the four males become so entwined and all of them are taken on a different journey and in a direction that has some devastating consequences. The Lincoln Highway: A Novel Kindle Edition by Amor Towles (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 72,670 ratings Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction See all formats and editions Kindle $14.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than ONE MILLION copies sold . A masterpiece! Their journey will be far from smooth, with a succession of mishaps and pitfalls, but also some extraordinary encounters, and some delightful characters. After serving 15 months, Emmett is released on compassionate grounds after the death of their father to care for his younger brother Billy. Of course he didn't want to continue a connection to Duchess but I'm not sure why (he seemed smart and to have sense) he couldn't have thought of a better way to leave him behind (safely). Utterly enchanting, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2021. Once known as the "Main Street of America," the Lincoln Highway route was established across northern Indiana in 1913, linking larger cities--Fort Wayne, Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend, LaPorte, and Valparaiso--to smaller communities. Loved Billy and how the author used him as a guiding light throughout the novel. By the end of Billy and Emmetts journey east, its clear that Billy is anything but a tragic figure. 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. Anyway, still bit troubled by the ending just as I was with A Gentleman - did occur to me would make great ending for the film though. We will never share your information. . His second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was also a New York Times bestseller and was ranked as one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Dispatch, and NPR. Jimmy was a thorn in Emmett's side who had provoked him into striking him. Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2022. The entire time I was reading it I kept wondering how the author was going to tie all of the loose ends together. This is another beautiful and well-written tale by Amor Towles, almost as heart-warming and addictive as. That would have taken another day for sure. The new book's title, referring to . Each of the main characters are at a crossroads of sorts and in a way, the Lincoln Highway serves as a getaway from their current, somewhat bleak situation. Review and Comments Characterisation was superb and the dynamics between the group and between individuals within the group make this such a unique and extraordinary story. : In Chapter 1, Emmett arrives at Woolly's great-grandfather's house to find Woolly dead and Woolly still trying to get the safe open. We dont know if she and Emmett fall in love; Towles doesnt give his story such a tidy narrative. Reprinted by permission. The story takes place over ten days in 1954, when two young brothers, Emmett and Billy, intend to drive their Studebaker from Nebraska to California. Having worked as an investment professional in Manhattan for over twenty years, he now devotes himself fulltime to writing. Bursting with life, charm and unforgettable characters, The Lincoln Highway is an extraordinary journey through 1950s America from a master storyteller. Im not surewhat do you think about that scene? "Wouldn't it be wonderful if everybody's life was like a piece of a jigsaw puzzleno one's life an inconvenience to another'sfitting snuggly into its own, specially designed spot.enabling the whole intricate picture to become complete." Ships from the UK. Their Plans are thwarted by the appearance of two friends who cause a major disruption which leads to multiple detours on the journey. I felt similar when reading the first Cat in the Hat book when Thing I and Thing II had demolished the house. and filled with digressions, magic tricks, sorry sagas, retributions, and the messy business of balancing accounts."NPR.org I was really looking forward to this one following the excellent Gentleman in Moscow but unfortunately it failed to grip me in the same way. Excellent Customer Feedback. At the close of the book, Duchess dies, ostensibly due to his own short-sightedness and greed. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Please try again. It took a long time for me to make it to the Lincoln Highway and what a long winding road / read it was, but what an adventure and what a touching exploration of human nature with this intricate character study from the master storyteller that is Amor Towles. Another hero is Sally, a young neighbor who cares deeply for both Billy and Emmett. The writing style is simplistic enough but full of detail and lets you understand each character in such a After having read A gentleman in Moscow, I knew I had to buy The Lincoln Highway! They leave to escape angry townspeople who believe Emmett got off . And if it doesnt matter for most people where they live, it certainly doesnt matter where theyre going. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold. , File size In the endtime is a precious resource. (He doesn't kill Duchess because he had made a promise to Billy not to lash out again.) This horrifies Emmett and hes determined for Duchess to finally go to the police to own up to his crimes and thats when the two get into a fight. Amor Towles spins a beguiling and rollicking historical adventure set in the 1950s, brilliantly imaginative, and with an unforgettable cast of characters, ostensibly about a Lincoln Highway road trip to California that keeps gets derailed. (I could keep going, but you get the point.) Try again. Like all the best storytellers, he has range. Superior! Their old life has certainly featured many tribulations. But Emmett is concerned that Duchess will try and find them. Ive been writing short reviews these last couple of months, but I knew at some point a book would come along and Id be compelled to say more about it than just a few sentences. At times I wondered if this really was a myth or fantasy. 18 year old Emmet Watson is a surprisingly composed and mature young man, who arrives back home to Morgen, Nebraska, after serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter at a juvenile work farm in Salina. Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2023. Superior! Please try your request again later. Both novels have been translated into over fifteen languages. Last year, the world saw the fewest number of polio casesjust 21, according to the latest figures. I am conscious of how much I enjoyed the book, so am anxious not to strew any inadvertent spoilers, so wont 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. Oh, what a book. The two novels have collectively sold more than four million copies and have been translated into more than thirty languages. Enthralling and life affirming with some epic qualities to the storytelling and characterisation. I just finished reading it last night and was so wound up by the ending I had to Google what other people thought - including Amor Towles. If youre new to Book Club Chat, I write spoiler-free reviews and spoiler-filled book club questions for each novel I read. . 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, Americas first transcontinental highway, to San Francisco, where they hope to start a new life. Duchess lives by a moral code not far off the Old Testament: an eye for an eye, a whack with a cast-iron skillet for harm done to a friend. As for the ending there are many layers to the final part of the book. From there, we follow Emmett and Billys journey to regain the car and they meet an interesting cast of characters along the way. A literary work of genius! If Emmett didnt stop Duchess, Emmett believes that Duchess would again get in the way of their plans. Thank you for being a Gates Notes Insider. Reading the story from Duchess first-person perspective caused the reader to try to sympathize with him but soon it became apparent that not only was he a liar but hes also a dangerous person. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Viking) was named the Best Book of the Year by Amazon Books editors. . So, maybe he didnt actually kill Woolly but he also didnt help to prevent the overdose. : Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. I am a fan of this author. Pleasingly, the boys cross paths with a varied cast of characters: clowns, hobos, out-of-work actors, panhandlers, home-makers, hucksters and just plumb ordinary folk. The Lincoln Highway A Novel by Amor Towles Critics' Opinion: Readers' Opinion: First Published: Oct 2021, 592 pages Paperback: Mar 21, 2023, 592 pages Genres Rate this book Write a Review Book Reviewed by: Rebecca Foster Buy This Book About this Book Summary Excerpt Reading Guide Reading Guide Questions Much worse than death of Woolly - which was so sad and a tragedy but not shocking. There is something wrong with the plot when I only decided I loved this book halfway in and then the ending felt a bit incomplete and lacked the closure I wanted for the four boys. Once he steals Emmetts car and heads up to New York, it completely delays Emmetts and Billys plans. Utterly enchanting, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2021. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. It also made maneuvering across the country and navigating NYC seem extremely uncomplicated and easy for 1954. The Lincoln Highwa y is a coming-of-age tale about the transition from teenager to adulthood. Sally sounds a bit whiny though she is devoted to Billy. Oh, What a Book! Extraordinary! Despite an almost total lack of sex, violence and foul language the book moves along at a compelling pace. Once again, I was wowed by Towles's writingespecially because The Lincoln Highway is so different from A Gentleman in Moscow in terms of setting, plot, and themes . Sometimes if we make the right choices, we will find positive consequences. Very sad and tragic. Er ist in der Finanzbranche ttig und gehrt dem Vorstand der Library of America und der Yale Art Gallery an. He was determined that The Lincoln Highway should unfold over 10 days, though at 600 pages the first draft required 18 months, as did A Gentleman in Moscow. This guy is a very talented author and since I loved A Gentleman from Moscow, I was looking forward to this one. The writing style is simplistic enough but full of detail and lets you understand each character in such a meaningful way. I do love everything stopping still like in Marcellines stage act - thats usual Amor Towles elegance. Emmett had been serving a sentence at a boy's reformatory for his part in the unintentional death of a local bully, but when his father died of cancer, a decision was made to release Emmett so that he could return home to care for his little brother. : Unable to add item to List. Towles is a supreme storyteller, and this one-of-a-kind kind of novel isn't to be missed. Five stars. , Language If youve changed your mind about deleting your account, you can always hit cancel and deactivate instead. One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now). So it was a no-brainer to pick up his next novel, The Lincoln Highway, when it came out last October. Like the intercontinental route that it is named for, is long and filled with intriguing detours. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: friendsofshorew. 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. It is hard for me to rate this book because I loved the first third and was extremely disappointed by the rest. Just about to start another Amor Towels. We'd like your feedback. Upon the death of his father from cancer, 18-year-old Emmett Watson is released early from a juvenile work farm in Kansas and driven home by a kind warden to a small town in Nebraska, where he is. We will never share or spam your email address. Join the Gates Notes community to get regular updates from Bill on key topics like global health and climate change, to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more. You should recieve an email shortly with instructions on how to reset your password. I hope that you'll join the conversation. My favorite character is Billy, an eight-year-old who has endured abandonment by his mother and the death of his father. He would have had to know how to read signs. I know some feel that way but I just dont think that was the authors intention. Its been a long time since a book tugged at my emotions like this one did. How else would he know where to drive to in New York City? 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. I was enchanted by this novel, not least by the way it so comprehensively dodges any attempt to consign it to a particular genre. Learn more. And its a road trip!! It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Brilliant storytelling! 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. I loved the latest from the author of A Gentleman in Moscow. He takes inspiration from famous heros journeys, including, . Extraordinary! Does this item contain inappropriate content? Audiobook.read by Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, Dion Graham, It is important to read this if you have triggers >>. He was so focused on getting into the safe that he forgot about Woolly. All of them you will care about deeply. Clearly this doesnt represent the future since Woolly is alive but maybe that flash was simply Duchess wishes. But, he suggests, when something (or someone) tries to steer us off course, it is possible to take the wheel. So he decides to put an unconscious Duchess on a boat with his own share of the money. Duchess, like the self-justifying Pastor John, is an outcast, and his remorseless debt-settling is frontier justice personified. Particularly, Emmett and Billy. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. A remarkable blend of sweetness and doom, [The Lincoln Highway] is packed with revelations about the American myth, the art of storytelling, and the unrelenting pull of history. In no sense is this book a thriller and yet tension does exist as the end approaches. The touches of homespun wisdom, typical of Towles, seemed quirkily sage in the Tolstoy-inspired A Gentleman in Moscow. Orders received by 3pm Sent from the UK that weekday. Towles is an incredible storyteller. In no sense is this book a thriller and yet tension does exist as the end approaches. : I have found that this narrative form can detract from a storys impact, but that is not the case here. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2022, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2021, Amor Towles is one of the best authors of today, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2021. Immediately I was endeared to each of them, and then the story widens with other narrators who are part, or become part, of Emmett and Billys world as they travel the country. . is filled with nostalgia as well as the gentle navet and hijinks of those who are young, optimistic, and on a mission. However, best laid plans and all that, when everything is thrown up in the air by the unexpected arrival of Duchess and Woolly from Salina. Extraordinary! I love to read and review various genres with a focus on contemporary fiction, historical fiction with some mysteries/thrillers and also select nonfiction and memoirs. The only character that jarred with me was Billy who was wise beyond his years, and although I enjoyed the character, I would have preferred he was cast a few years older. After serving a year in juvenile incarceration for the murder of Jimmy Snyder, Emmett Watson finally returns to Morgen. Book Club Questions for The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, Review: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. In no sense is this book a thriller and yet tension does exist as the end approaches. . The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles review - an all-American road trip Two teenagers pursue a stolen car in this folksy 50s-set novel from the author of A Gentleman in Moscow Carrie O'Grady Wed. This is a 10-star book in a five-star world. That is until they meet up with two of Emmetts fellow inmates and now escapees; the dangerous swindler that is Duchess Hewitt and Woolly Martin, a man addicted to prescription medicine. Click the link below to begin the account deactivation process. So I eagerly awaited receiving my copy, and I read it through to completion. The Lincoln Highway Overview. The pace is fast and writing concise, making it a digestible read whether in bed or at a loud coffee shop. I think so. After having read A gentleman in Moscow, I knew I had to buy The Lincoln Highway! It begins with him returning from a juvenile home, after spending time there because he . 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. The story is told from multiple points of view. 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