I was completely bowled over by Amor Towles' previous book 'A Gentleman in Moscow', so was incredibly excited to see this title available on NetGalley! 'The Lincoln Highway' is a huge contrast to Towles' previous work - a gripping character study set amongst the sweeping highways of postwar USA. Quite a slow burn, but still glistening with exquisite prose and a cast of unique, striking characters. A thoroughly entertaining read.

I was absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity to read and review #TheLincolnHighway by Amor Towles prior to it's publication. I was a huge fan of A Gentleman in Moscow and couldn't wait to see what Towles wrote next. I was not disappointed. It was nothing like his previous novel, firstly it set in another country and at a different time - in 1950's America. What it shared with the previous novel however was beautiful writing, memorable characters and an absorbing story.
The main characters are three young men, a child and a young woman and I pictured and cared for them all. (I absolutely loved Billy - it isn't easy to portray the voice of a young child, and the author does this beautifully.) The cast of supporting characters were also excellent - so many small but perfectly portrayed roles. A lot happens over the short time frame of the plot, and the histories of the main characters are revealed with enough detail to provide understanding and sympathy.
It quite a long book, but I flew through it in no time. I didn't want it to end, yet I did not want to put it down. I highly recommend this wonderful novel,. It is up there with my favourite books of recent times. I think it will appeal to a wide audience and I will be shouting about it.
Thank you to #NetGalley the author and his publishers for sharing this fabulous story.
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A beautifully written story of family and redemption, with characters that will stay with you long after reading it.

I wish I could give this 5 stars, because it is beautifully written and I loved the story. But I found that the constant thwarting of Emmett became tedious and the ending was very drawn out and not at all satisfactory - I wanted to see them at the end of their journey and know what happened. The other issue I had was lack of speech marks, which made the dialogue difficult to read and stopped it from coming across. I don't understand why authors think it's clever to use dashes instead - it doesn't work!

Emmett and his brother Billy embark on a trip along the Lincoln Highway in pursuit of their own American Dreams. Their journey ends up taking them several hundred miles in the wrong direction, and giving them experience they could never have imagined.
As a huge fan of A Gentleman in Moscow, I approached this book with trepidation- I desperately wanted to enjoy it! Luckily, it delivered. A riff on the Great American Novel, this book was fresh and intriguing with all of the multifaceted characterisation I love Towles's work for.
As ever, the prose is poetic without being florid. I very much enjoyed the structure, with sections from the perspective of multiple different characters, and a number of loose ends left 'untied' at the end.
While this book was not as revelatory as A Gentleman in Moscow for me, it was still an outright success.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book if I’m honest but I was sold on the marketing and the blurb. I am 1000% not disappointed that I took a chance on this and requested it from NetGalley!

The prose is almost poetic in how it flows from sentence to sentence as we follow Emmett and his brother across America. The story itself only takes place across 4 or 5 days of real time but the flashbacks to the past of nearly every character do so much to bring it all to life.

You really feel for Emmett the whole way through. He’s just trying to get a better life for his brother and everyone he interacts with seems to hinder that in some way. I wanted to punch Duchess for being a jerk a number of times!!

The setting is great and the cast of characters are excellent. Would highly recommend!

Firstly, thank you for selecting me for an early copy of this ode to the great American masters. As Steinbeck is my favorite author of all time, I found this to be an entertaining read.

Here Towles captures a depressed America recovering after the second world war reeling into the fifties as teenagers were beginning to become a problem. The teenagers in question are Emmett, Woolly, and Duchess, whose complicated relationship extends to everyone they come in contact with.

To begin, we see Emmett, our stalwart protagonist, released from a juvenile detention center on good behavior with the plan to look after his little brother after they're both orphaned. However, unbeknownst to him, the damaged Duchess and the naive Woolly escape the very same jail by stowing away in Emmett's ride home.

Written in Steinbeck's expansive style fused with the Greek tragedies, we see our players on an odyssey to escape the collapse of the farmland economy in the deep south, their bad starts in life, and the consequential mistakes they made.

While on their epic journey north to the land of the golden fleece and the promise of riches, we learn the group's collective histories. Histories that ultimately manifest constantly becoming intertwined with the transients they meet along the way - reminiscent of Steinbeck's Tom Joad.

In this fusion of genres, we see Towles masterfully telling the story from each different player's point of view, as these threads converge into a tragic accident. And as these intricate character studies are very well written, I felt the loss of our Jason in the rotten bow of his Argonaut acutely.

However, as much as I enjoyed spotting the many Steinbeck easter eggs in this novel there will never be another him, hence the four stars. That aside, it was a thoroughly enjoyable tribute to the great writer and the tragedies from a bygone age.

A 1950s US road trip with a difference.
Having served his ‘time’, for involuntary manslaughter, 18 year old Emmet is reunited with his little brother, Billy. There is nothing for them in Nebraska; their father has died, the failing farm is foreclosed and their mother left years ago. They determine to follow their mother’s postcard trail to California where they are convinced they will meet her at the fireworks on July 4th.
But the best laid plans…and all that, when two fellow escaped inmates join the brothers and divert them to pursue a different path. So begins a richly diverse story of four very different individuals with very different backgrounds and ambitions on a twelve day whirlwind tour, taking us on a rollercoaster ride of feelings and reactions. And California remains as remote as when the first plan was mooted.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouse for my pre-release copy.

Another winner from the talent that is Mr Amor Towles .

It’s June 1954, and 18 year old Emmett Watson is being driven home by Warden Williams after serving time in a Kansas youth facility. Emmett has to tie up his late father’s estate, and then he and his little brother Billy will be leaving town for a fresh start in life.

Emmett and Billy have different ideas about which direction they should head - Billy wants to follow the Lincoln Highway, where their mother, (who walked out on the family many years ago) is thought to be living. Emmett wants to follow wherever the work is, however, much to Emmett’s surprise, Duchess and Wooly, who are still supposed to be serving time in the facility where Emmett was, have managed to secrete themselves in the trunk of Warden William’s car, and are intent on a road trip of their own! What follows is madness and mayhem, but what a journey!

What an inventive and absorbing read this is. The characters are wonderful - all memorable in their own special way, the storyline is just an escapade full of humour and joy, not to mention some moving scenes thrown in for good measure. Can’t praise it enough!

Thanks to Penguin Random House for giving me a copy to review via NetGalley.

Amor Towles' second book, A Gentleman in Moscow, was thrust upon me at my book club. It was not a book that I would have picked up on my own, but I loved it. One of my most enjoyable reads in recent years

So I was more than intrigued by The Lincoln Highway , his third book.

Once again Mr Towles presents us with a rich cast of characters, each whose thought processes and motivations are well explored. The narrative is told from the perspectives of several parties. I was a bit taken aback when Emmett's narrative changed to another character. It kicked me out of the moment as the style of writing was distinctly different. While it reflects the skills of the author, I liked these characters to varying degrees and this did impact of my enjoyment of the book.

While sold as a road trip, The Lincoln Highway, is more about the people than the places as the road trip never takes place. Often the book seemed to rattle about with moments that added little to the story. These asides made the book long winded in places and did not draw me back to it.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. It was clever rather than a notable book for me. Mr Towles is a skilled wordsmith and I await with interest what else he will create.

Amor Towles is without doubt a master storyteller. Completely different to A gentleman in Moscow, this again manages to captivate with a very motley crew of characters. Emmett is driven home after a year in a detention centre to look after his little brother. They plan to drive the Lincoln Highway to find their Mother (long gone) but two other inmates (escapees) arrive and hi-jack the plan and the foursome make it to New York where adventures abound. This is a marvellous tale of stories. It begins in the middle and we slowly learn the reasons why the boys were in the detention centre, how their lives have been, and also hear of heroes from old such as Achilles from Billy's book. It is a multi-layered tale_ all seems innocent and fun in a fifties kind of way on one hand but there are very dark characters and events as well and it is certainly a story of growing and discovering. Can see this so clearly as a film. Take your time and enjoy as it is worth it.

This, my friends, is a proper travelling escapade! My hat is off to Amor Towles for writing another masterpiece - I may just have to read everything this good man writes!
Emmett has just been released from a juvenile detention farm known as Salina, and plans to make a fresh start in San Francisco with his kid brother Billy - but little does he know that two of his friends from Salina, Wooly and Duchess, have broken out early and intend on disrupting every well stage of a well laid plan… I loved this book. When it starts off, you think you are about to travel the Lincoln Highway with Emmett and Billy, as per the title, but the starting point keeps getting further away until you realise you’re reading a different story which is amazing anyway and the ride you’re on is even better than you were expecting.
Complete with a good Italian dinner, I could not have asked for a more entertaining read. I’m just kind of sorry that the cover doesn’t do it better justice though, I’m not sure I feel the book’s personality through it.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Random House UK for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

'A Gentleman in Moscow' is one of my all time favourite books. Towles is indeed a 'master storyteller', with unforgettable characters, described in detail so you end up knowing them inside out. 'The Lincoln Highway' is another example of his brilliance. You fall in love with all the characters, flaws and all. Every sentence is richly detailed, and scenes described in the most impeccable way. I've heard his books and storytelling described as 'charming', and I can think of no better word.

The one downside is purely a NetGalley e-book fault. The font is so minuscule I had to buy a magnifying sheet to read each page! Changing the font size on my e-reader made absolutely no difference. I've had this problem a few times before, and ended up DNFing some texts cos it was so impossible to read.

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. Undoubtedly well written but I felt it generally dragged and failed to engage me. I have read many reviews that contradict my review but at the end of the day it is my personal opinion and nothing else.

In June 1954, eighteen year old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His father has recently died and his mother left a long time ago so the family farm is about to be taken over by the bank. Emmett plans to head for California to start a new life with his eight year old brother Billy. Once the warden drives off, Emmett discovers that two friends from the farm have stowed away in the warden’s car and have very different plans regarding Emmett’s future. Together the four travel in the opposite direction and head for New York.

Well written but too slow and unengaging.

I would like to thank both Net Galey and Random House for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a superb read - pretty long and epic, both in the roads travelled and the length of the book - but definitely my sort of novel.

Amor Towles' new novel follows a largely male set of characters. Emmett has been released from Salina, a jail of sorts, and is back home in Nebraska about to start his life again. He is the main guardian for his much younger brother, Billy - their father has died and their mother is in California, apparently. Just as Emmett and Billy are preparing to head out west to find their estranged mother (they think they know her supposed whereabouts as they have received a series of postcards from Lincoln Highway destinations), two of Emmett's fellow inmates, Duchess and Woolly, turn up, having escaped from Salina in the boot of the warden's car. What follows is a great adventure, as Emmett and Billy try to head west, but Duchess and Woolly want to go to New York first, to claim some of Woolly's inheritance - something driven by the dominant Duchess, akin to the relationship (in some ways) between George and Lennie in 'Of Mice and Men'

The Lincoln Highway is a captivating read. Chapters alternate in terms of viewpoint - but only Duchess' chapters are written in the first-person narrative (the others, although focusing on events concerning different characters, are written in the third-person). Seemingly, Duchess's voice is very distinct - he is wily and determined, and has a very different outlook to the others, which is perhaps why Towles made this decision.

Throughout, we see Emmett and Billy stowing away on a train; we meet vagabonds, and those with their own agendas, such as the pastor. Towards the end of the novel, in upstate New York at Woolly's family's rural summer home, there is definite pathos - but also farcical goings-on, something that the writer is evidently skilled at juxtaposing. In some ways, I think this is a little over-written - particularly in latter chapters, when readers learn about the same events but with a different character focus. And I really was wanting Emmett and Woolly to get to California, but it wasn't to be - perhaps that will be the next book?

'The Lincoln Highway' is cinematic and I really think this could be a brilliant film - I am already thinking of who'd be cast in each role. It's evocative on the 1950s; it's memorable; it's a road trip with trials and tribulations, and near the end, even though he has often been on the periphery, it is Billy that comes to the fore - and readers see what a bright, sparky young lad he is.

Read this - give it the time and attention it deserves - and enjoy.

This book is set in the early 1950s in the USA and starts with Emmett returning to the family farm in the care of a warden. He has been in a juvenile detention centre and while he has been in there his father has died. As a result of his father's death and some unfortunately seasons on the farm his first task is to sign over the property to the bank. He is then reunited with his younger brother (Billy) again who has been staying with neighbours until his return. For a number of reasons the brothers decide that a fresh start elsewhere would be good. Emmett has managed to keep his own car from repossession and so they plan to leave and travel the Lincoln Highway heading west as soon as possible.

However...! They have a surprise in store as two other inmates of the juvenile facility hitched a ride without the warden knowing and have other ideas about their direction of travel. Quite a variety of characters wander the pages of this book and the narratives are from a number of perspectives including theirs. Of these two new arrivals the main player initially is Duchess who definitely seems to be the leader. The other person is Woolly - he seems to be "other worldly" and is but is very good at it!

The story follows Emmett's and the others, travels generally in a linear fashion (allowing for the characters reminiscing). I see that reviews of this tend to vary from "I loved it" to "it was too slow". I actually understand both those positions. At times I felt as though I was reading a series short stories as each of the characters develop. The pace was at best fairly slow. However some of those stories were simply SO good that I was held by this. All the characters are credible and become very rounded over time. Even the more minor players do their job very well for me.

So this is a "road trip" from different perspectives? Probably but it does it very well for me and is something beyond that maybe. This book contains quite a few powerful stories. If parts felt really quite slow that may say more about my patience than the book. I think if you relax and allow this book to engage you, you are in for a good read. The same applies if you like character driven narratives. If you want an action packed adventure this is probably not for your.

Having first read A Gentleman in Moscow, one of the finest books I have ever read, followed by The Rules of Civility, I wondered if another title by Amor Towles could live up to such greatness, and it certainly did.

The story is well-paced and cleverly moves between narrators so that I was longing to pick up the thread again when the narrative voice changed. Even when the author digresses, which in the hands of a lesser writer could well be tedious or irritating, within one sentence I was engrossed in every new aside. There is not a single superfluous word, and every sentence is such a delight that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with characters other than the main four. Even when the same scene is repeated from up to three different perspectives, all are interesting, shedding light on an event from different perspectives and filling in background details that would otherwise be lacking.

Towles is a rare author whose characters, both main and subsidiary, come to life to the extent that I feel they are truly living breathing people inhabiting my world. They interest me enormously. Duchess is fascinating, full of his own brand of philosophy; Emmett is full of contradictions, as if he does not know quite where he fits into the world; and all I can say about Billy is that he is a lovely boy, serenely travelling along with a cast of criminals through situations a boy should not encounter.

Many fascinating themes are explored in the book, especially those of good and evil, and the settling of scores. There is much 'honour amongst thieves' and plenty of dishonour too.

The ending was a complete surprise, but so very cleverly though out. Now what I really want is a follow-up as I long to know what happens next to Emmett, Billy, Sally and Ulysses. Mr Towles needs to go back to the beginning of the road trip, and next time he needs to get us along the Lincoln Highway!

Amor Towles provides a superb follow up to his excellent "Gentleman in Moscow'. Four young men set out on a journey along the Lincoln Highway which leads each of them in a different direction. Their responsibilities to each other clash with their individual goals. The characters are beautifully drawn, I wanted to read it really slowly to enjoy every moment. A beautiful evocation of 1950's America, with an enthralling cinematic quality. I loved it.

‘Questions can be so tricky, he said, like forks in the road. You can be having such a nice conversation and someone will raise a question, and the next thing you know you’re headed off in a whole new direction. In all probability, this new road will lead you to places that are perfectly nice, but sometimes you just want to go in the direction you were already headed.’

A road trip that backfires and stutters, barely getting started. Not a trip taking in the states from east to west coasts as I’d hoped and expected but, once I realised I was to enjoy the characters rather than the scenery, I relaxed into it and enjoyed them indeed. The story is told from from all the characters’ viewpoints in turn (though only Duchess’ and Sally’s chapters are in the first person) and, as well as seeing the same scene from different points of view, we also switch characters as the action rollicks along. The outstanding achievement here is that they come across as individuals, with strong, unique voices. I was engaged with each of them throughout their ‘escapade’.

My main niggle is that it went on for so many pages and I was on the verge of losing interest towards the end. A second niggle is the actual ending - a big surprise to me and I’m still not sure I’m entirely happy with it.

There is a very small number of authors who write so perfectly that no matter what they write about. it will be a joy to read. Amor Towles is one of them. His third book - different again in subject matter from his other two - is proof. It's hard to imagine him writing a bad book, even if he tried. It's just the way he puts things.

'The Lincoln Highway' is set in the USA in 1952. Emmett Watson is a young man who has just been released from a juvenile correctional work-farm after serving time for an accidental 'one-punch' killing. Emmett is a decent and sensible young man, which is just as well as he is now responsible for his eight year old brother after their father's recent death. Emmett has careful plans to start a new life in California, following the Lincoln Highway. However that is all disrupted when he finds two fellow inmates have stowed away in the car that returned him home. Duchess is a charmer and troublemaker, although not a malicious one, and self-appointed guardian of Woolly, a sweet natured boy with a mild learning disability. Duchess has a grand money making scheme which Emmett wants no part of - but nevertheless fate conspires to overturn Emmet's sensible plans and sends them on an extraordinary road (and rail) trip up and down America.

The characters are all brilliant and wonderful - aside from his ability to phrase things to perfection, Towles also has the ability to create loveable and complex characters and uses it to full effect with the young men and the various people they meet on their journey. The novel is narrated from the point of view of all of different characters (in sections headed with their names), a technique that works well as the characters come together and apart throughout their odyssey. Each character has a different perspective, and a distinct voice - you really get the feeling these are real people who think in different ways, rather than just the same authorial voice overlaid on characters with a defined set of circumstances, which is what you get in most (including perfectly good) multi-viewpoint novels.

Sometimes the story is frustrating, as poor Emmett's attempts to do the right thing keep getting derailed, and he finds himself in deeper and deeper trouble. But as Emmett himself finds, it's difficult to really dislike Duchess despite his propensity for causing chaos. And Woolly is a really loveable, complex character - 'on his own frequency' as Duchess puts it, but by no means stupid. I wanted things to work out for all of them - even though it was hard to know how possible that would be, given that two were on the run. Events unfold in a way that is surprising and fascinating, and I love that it's not a story where you know what will happen and how it will turn out. Of the possibilities I'd speculated on whilst reading, the eventual conclusion was not one I'd considered. It's always nice to be surprised by a book.

The whole thing is such a pleasure to read that I will probably re-read it one day, something I do extremely rarely (too many good new books to be read and not enough time!). But this would be worth it. If you don't get to read much, you need to make this one a priority. You'll be hard pressed to read better all year.