THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY
“The comfort of knowing one’s sense of right and wrong was shared by another, and thus was somehow more true.”
This extraordinary new novel follows the journey of 18 year old Emmett, who in 1954 was released early from a juvenile work farm and is eager to start a new life with his younger brother - and his friends Duchess and Woolly, who stowed away in Emmett’s release car and have an altogether different adventure in mind. The foursome make their way to New York City, where their pursuit of their respective versions of the American Dream, manhood, and friendship must be continually reimagined along the way. This story, which takes place over 10 days and through multiple perspectives, is one the best I’ve read this year.
The Lincoln Highway is so richly imagined with so much discuss, I am having a little fight with IG’s character limit! I’m especially partial to coming of age novels with teen boys, since I have two of my own. Filled with Greek mythological references, American history and even some Easter eggs from Towles’s wonderful first novel, this book is lengthy but well-paced, literary but accessible, and a treat to read from start to finish. I especially loved the way Towles contrasts Emmett’s honor and integrity with Duchess’s more vigilante-style set of ethics, each character confident in his own moral compass, which are vastly different yet equally strong. But my favorite was Woolly, and I won’t soon forget his kind different-ness, his “enthusiastic sunshine” and the indelible mark he’s made on my bookshelf and heart.
@jennabhager @readwithjenna and @amortowles Thank you for the challenge - I understood the assignment! Here’s my double post: one order of Fettucine Mio Amore, complete with the Wolcott’s fancy table setting, and one batch of homemade biscuits with Sally’s berry preserves, with plenty of spoons for the boys at the St. Nicholas school to share, plus some big apples for NYC. I tried to make an “absotively magnificent, one-of-a-kind” post for a book that matches that description just perfectly. Thank you for the wonderful story!
