The Lincoln Highway
Book Feature - The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
HBL Note: The first Amor Towles book I read was Rules of Civility, and I became an instant fan of his beautiful writing and layered stories. In addition, one of the most common responses to my question Which book character would be your best friend? or Which book character would you like to be stuck in an elevator with? is Amor Towles’ Count Alexander Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow. So if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading one of Amor Towles’ novels, put this one at the top of your list. THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY is about a man (a kid really, since he’s 18) who is released from a juvenile work farm after completing his 15 month sentence for involuntary manslaughter. He has plans to take his little brother to California, but those plans evaporate when he discovers two of his friends escaped. Scroll down to read more.
Book Character You’d be Best Friends With: Count Alexander Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. He seems delightful. - Leslie Cohen, author of My Ride or Die
Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator with: Who wouldn't love being stuck with Alexander Rostov from Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow? It would be the most charming elevator experience imaginable, and he might even bring wine... - Gin Phillips, author of Family Law
From the publisher:
In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York.
Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles's third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.