The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles (2021)
The Lincoln Highway was one of the earliest transcontinental highway routes in the United States. It was formally dedicated in 1913 and ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco.
The novel, The Lincoln Highway, begins in June 1954 in Nebraska, roughly the half-way point of the Highway. Beginning a story in the middle is a subtle theme of this novel, thus it is no coincidence that a trek along this transcontinental highway has its starting point in the middle of the country..
The novel follows four boys, three teenagers who met at a reform school and one of the boy’s 8-year-old brother. The novel begins when the warden of the reform school brings Emmett Watson to his home following the death of his father. Emmett is now responsible for his young brother, Billy. He plans to depart for San Francisco to find his mother who had abandoned the family several years earlier.
His plans are derailed, however, when, Duchess and Woolly, his pals from the reform school appear. They had escaped from the reformatory by hiding in the trunk of the warden’s car. Woolly, who comes from a monied family in New York City, has a trust fund of $150,000 in New York. Trouble-maker Duchess convinces Woolly and Emmett to travel to New York where they can get the money and divide it in thirds. The night before Emmett and Billy are to leave for California, Duchess and Woolly “borrow” Emmett’s blue Studebaker and take off for New York.
So, instead of heading towards California, Emmett and Billy must get the car back. They hop on a boxcar and travel to New York to find Duchess and the car. The novel is told through the perspective of each of characters, thus giving the reader insight into the actions that take place in the novel. We learn of the adventures that Emmett and Billy have on their train ride as well as the car travel of Duchess and Woolly.
I enjoyed the novel, but I found some parts to strain one’s credibility. There is no denying, however, that the four boys are in for an adventure of a lifetime.
Read: January 20, 2022
4 Stars
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