Book Review—The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

I could hardly wait to read The Lincoln Highway, the newest novel by Amor Towles. I have read Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow previously by the author, and they are two of my all-time favorite books. The Lincoln Highway has now joined that group of favorites.

All of the author’s books are different in plot and era, but all contain Towles’ beautiful writing style. The Lincoln Highway is set in the 1950’s and actually begins on June 12, 1954. (For Towles’ fans, that is the exact date that A Gentleman in Moscow ended.) Main character Emmett is driven home by the warden of the work farm where he has been incarcerated. Emmett was released early because of his father’s death. He comes home to Nebraska to find his father’s farm foreclosed upon. But, Emmett, only 18-years-old, has a plan for his life. Along with his younger brother, Billy, and his two friends from reform school, Duchess and Woolley, Emmett begins his journey on The Lincoln Highway. However, his plan is thrwarted right away, and many more times throughout the novel. Towles takes the reader on the highway with the boys and the interesting, eccentric characters that they meet along the way. 

This novel is full of Towles’ storytelling expertise. All of the characters I previously mentioned (Emmett, Billy, Duchess, and Woolley) are central to the direction the novel takes the reader. The novel encompasses only ten days (note the chapter numbers as you read), which again, is a departure from his previous books. Most chapters end with a cliffhanger, which makes the reader want to continue reading. With only the span of ten days, the tension begins to build as you near the end of the novel.

I loved The Lincoln Highway. It made me want to research more about the highway, itself. When you finish the book, I encourage you to listen to some of the many interviews Amor Towles has given on The Lincoln Highway. Jenna Bush Hager’s is an especially good interview in which she visits the author’s writing studio. It can be found on YouTube.

I highly recommend The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

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