The Lincoln Highway: New Book By Amor Towles

Recently I wrote a tidbit about “The Lincoln Highway”, in a New & Notable Mentions post. It is a new novel by Amor Towles.

One of you commented that the book was very good.

So when it came time to order from the Book Of The Month Club (I had points for a free book), I ordered “The Lincoln Highway” as an add-on book.

It arrived a couple of days ago and I started reading it. The person who left the comment is right. It IS a good book. The book has a great plot and is well written.

I read about 100 pages or so Friday night. And another 100 last night. It has nearly 600 pages total, which always is a pleasing aspect of reading for me.

Long books mean I’ll get to enjoy the story longer. That’s if I read slowly enough to savor every element of the story.

“The Lincoln Highway” spans 10 days and is written from multiple points of view.

The story begins when a young man, Emmett Watson, just finished his sentence at a juvenile work farm in June 1954. He served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter.

The warden is kindly driving him home to Nebraska.

Anticipating A New Start:

The now 18-year-old boy has lost both his parents. His mother left them years ago and his father recently died.

Only his devoted little brother Billy is waiting for him. Billy is 8 years old and quite precocious. He reads books far above his grade level.

But most of all he adores his big brother Emmett. And Emmett plans to take good care of him.

Once Emmett gets home, a man from the bank is waiting inside to tell him the farm has been foreclosed on. Emmett knew his father had a lackluster mastery of farming, so he isn’t surprised.

Also waiting is the man who took in young Billy while Emmett served his time. The man’s daughter has a bit of a crush on Emmett and thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with Billy.

On the day of his arrival home, she has cooked and cleaned and tried to make his return special.

The Surprise Event:

What Emmett doesn’t know is that in the trunk of the warden’s car are two boys from the work farm who managed to escape.

Emmett and Billy’s plans are to move to a bigger metropolis area.

While Billy is being schooled, Emmett plans to use his carpentry skills to buy rundown homes and renovate them. Then he will sell them for a profit.

But the two boys who snuck out of the trunk of the car while the warden is inside have other plans.

Now I have only told you a small portion of what happens in the beginning.

Who Is Amor Towles:

You may be surprised to learn that Mr. Towles was a Wall Street banker.

“The Lincoln Highway” is currently #3 on the Amazon charts.

The book is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and a TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick.

Born and raised in the Boston area, Amor Towles graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University.

From 1991–2012, he worked as an investment banker and director of research at Select Equity Group in New York.

Towle’s First Foray Into Book Publishing:

Amor Towles’ first novel, “Rules of Civility”, was successful beyond his expectations.

So much so that the proceeds from the book afforded him the luxury of retirement from investment banking. Thus the opportunity to pursue writing full-time.

Amor Towles Previous Novels:

His second novel “A Gentleman In Moscow” was a finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. It was also longlisted for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award.

Towles’ third novel, “The Lincoln Highway”, was published on October 5, 2021.

Towles lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

Back To My Reading This Book:

Now “The Lincoln Highway” is gracing my bedside table. And I look forward to following Emmett and Billy’s story.

Upon my first view of this book cover, I did not think it was going to be a book I would enjoy reading.

Well you know what they say, don’t you? Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Obviously, I did judge “The Lincoln Highway” by its cover. And my assumption was wrong.

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