There were also other reports of thefts at the hotel, and Fitzy swore a statement saying hed seen Duchess exiting rooms where he shouldnt have been. Theyve promised to return by June 18. Hed ended up the the room with the safe (while Emmett was upstairs with Woollys body and while Duchess was in the boathouse). He also claims that the cops were only concerned about the car because Woolly almost got a ticket. In the novel The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, when 18-year-old Emmett Watson told his younger brother William "Billy" Watson they needed to make a fresh start, Billy suggested they follow the route their mother took when she abandoned them, along the Lincoln Highway. As the crosses through the boxcars, he finds a empty private car, littered with remnants of a days full of festivities, undoubtedly attributable to the passengers in the nearby sleeping cars. She had taught them how the wrongs people do to one another become your chains by binding you with either indignation or guilt. This line Emmett thinks before driving away is significant: Having come fifteen hundred miles in the wrong direction, on the verge of traveling three thousand more, Emmett believed that the power within him was new in nature, that no one but he could know what he was capable of, and he only has just begun to know it himself.. Outside the library, Emmett is accosted by two guys he knows Jacob Jake Snyder and Eddie Anderson and one he doesnt wearing a cowboy hat. Then, Woolly hid the phone. . One day during his junior year of school, he impulsively found a way to ditch school and take a taxi to visit his sister in Hastings-on-Hudson. Meanwhile, Duchess and Woolly have driven as far as Illinois by now. One thing smart Billy comes to realize: He belongs to a long tradition of sidekicks who come to save the day. His new novel, THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY, will be released on October 5, 2021. When he exits, Billy informs Emmett that Duchess and Woolly have taken the Studebaker and are on their way to New York. Elsewhere, Ulysses takes Billy and Emmett to a vagrant camp where they can stay for the night. Amor Towles- The Lincoln Highway (Spoilers!) He finds Ackerly asleep in a BarcaLounger in the living room with a smile on his face. However, Sally says that the sheriff came to see her. (He doesn't kill Duchess because he had made a promise to Billy not to lash out again.) Emmett plans to move them to Texas, a plan he has carefully researched. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if everybody's life was like a piece of a jigsaw puzzleno one's life an inconvenience to another'sfitting snuggly into its own, specially designed spot.enabling the whole intricate picture to become complete." She has learned that he has purchased the Watson farm and all their land from the bank during the foreclosure. . Duchess also uses a pay phone to call Salina to ask for the address of the retired former warden, Warden Ackerly, by pretending to be his uncle. But Sally makes it clear that shes not interested in trying to get involved with him. He saw that it was locked, but hed managed to guess to combination easily since he remembered what Woolly had said about his great-grandfather loving the 4th of July. Back in Nebraska, Sally thinks about how his father has always spent Fridays chatting with his friends and ending up at McCaffertys Favern. Afterwards, Emmett thinks about how he had been free of debts and obligations that morning, but was now encumbered by two promises hed made that day. He tells Pastor John to leave Billy alone and demands that Pastor John exit the moving train, saying that he rides alone. It turns out that his father had sent him downstairs so he could take the watch, and when he realized the police were interested in its whereabout, he had slipped it into Duchesss pocket to avoid being caught with it. He takes the bat with him, and he takes some clothes from Denniss closet as well. And because his family are society people, she uses the Social Register to find an address for his family. Marceline Maupassant was living there as well. He decides to go with Ulysses to travel via boxcar and seek out his own adventure. She also tells Emmett the story of how Duchess wound up with them. This surprises Emmett since Duchess had always implied that Delphine had abandoned them. Like his first two novels, The Lincoln Highway is elegantly constructed and compulsively readable. After hearing Pastor John yelp in pain (when Billy kicked him), he got up to move toward Pastor John, though not before he heard Stew get knocked out as well. (He tells Billy that For only when you have seen that you are truly forsaken will you embrace the fact that what happens next rests in your hands, and your hands alone.). Instead, Emmett works quickly to clear up and traces that theyd been there, and they deal with Duchess. Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts Book Club Questions for This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens, Book Club Questions for Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, Review: The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan, Review: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy, Review: The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim, Book Club Questions for The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes, Review: The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes, Q&A with Bart Mruz, Author of All My Clothes Were White, Book Club Questions for Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica, Book Club Questions for Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, (Updated February 2023) Reeses Book Club Picks: Entire List, The Lincoln Highway: Lets Talk About That Ending! I love to read and review various genres with a focus on contemporary fiction, historical fiction with some mysteries/thrillers and also select nonfiction and memoirs. . Pastor John asks to see whats in there. As Duchess and Woolly head to New York down the Lincoln Highway, Duchess assuages Woollys guilt over taking Emmetts car by reminding him that with the money they recover, Emmett will be better off and Billy can come closer to having the house they dreamt up. Find the perfect used Lincoln Nautilus in Greensboro, NC by searching CARFAX listings. However, he actually goes down the steps to drop his body in the river. Townhouse then directs Emmett to where Duchess will be that night, which turns out to be a raunchy circus show attached to a brothel. Billy says that hed want a house in San Francisco. So, even if his brothers idea of finding their mother seemed crazy, his plan could work in California. Warden Williams drops Emmett Watson off at his house after being released from juvenile detention at Salina after completing his sentence. Eventually, Emmett knocks out Duchess. He seems upset that she remarried after their father died, but Sarah gently reminds him that she waited four years and either way you cant begrudge your mother the comforts of companionship. Emmett sees that the book is from 1951, but Ma Belle tells him that with society people, the addresses never change. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. In Emmetts fathers room, he finds Billy reading a big red book called Professor Abacus Abernathes Compendium of Heroes, Adventurers, and Other Intrepid Travelers. Ulysses instructs a man named Stew who was cooking some food to give some to Billy and Emmett, and Ulysses pays for their food. Emmett had brought down the picnic set to urge them to go, and his mother had reluctantly agreed. Of course, Towles is drawn to that one in a thousand. Woolly then muses that it would be magnificent to have a one-of-a-kind kind of day. Fitzy explains that Duchesss father was the one who had refreshed his memory when he wrote that statement. When Billy hesitates, Pastor John grabs it from him. Load groceries and much more with ease into this 1/2 ton suv thanks to the power liftgate. The Lincoln Highway is a coming-of-age tale about the transition from teenager to adulthood. Townhouse tells Emmett what transpired with Duchess, and Townhouse warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess. Hes being let out a a few months early from his 18-month sentence because his father has passed away. Duchess finds Fitzy FitzWilliams, an old friend of Harry. That night, Duchess sleeps in Emmetts room, and he notices how barren the walls are, as if Emmett had been preparing to walk out of his house with nothing but a kit bag for a long, long time. Amor Towles' new Great American Road Novel tails four boys three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory, plus a brainy 8-year-old as they set out from Nebraska in June, 1954, in an old Studebaker in pursuit of a better future. Sure enough, Woolly is headed for the statue. It took him six tries to get it open. Sally had lied, saying he didnt. (In another fun connection for Towles nerds, nave trust funder Wallace "Woolly" Wolcott Martin is the nephew of Wallace Wolcott from Rules of Civility.). (Billy has been ably taken care of by a neighbor's hard-working daughter, Sally, during Emmett's absence; she's another terrific character.) The Lincoln Highway: About the Book Click the image to expand A #1 New York Times Best Seller 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. Book Club Questions for The Lincoln Highway Why do you think this book was titled The Lincoln Highway? The wind also causes some bills to fly away. Earlier that day, when Emmett had said he was taking off on his own to find Duchess and Woolly, Billy had thought about how in his stories heroes liked to take off on their own. (And the teachings of Jesus Christ can free you through atonement for guilt or forgiveness for others). The Lincoln Highway: A Novel Audible Audiobook - Unabridged Amor Towles (Author), Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator), & 3 more 73,282 ratings Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction See all formats and editions Kindle $14.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than ONE MILLION copies sold He ends up heading there on foot. Upstairs, Woolly shows Billy his own collection of stuff. And back at that camp, Ulysses and Billy are attacked by Pastor John. This is how I perceive the author's intent for all his characters. The Lincoln Highway Summary. So again, while I dont think Emmett set out to murder Duchess, I also believe he didnt care what happened to himhe just didnt want to deal with his toxic behavior any longer. Over dinner, Duchess further explains that Woolly has a trust fund, for which his brother-in-law, Dennis Whitney, is the trustee (the person who makes decisions on behalf of a minor). I feel Emmett was truly concerned that Duchess would find him and Billy and continue to cause havoc so he had to delay Duchess. He offers it to Billy, who initially declines it, saying that its too precious. It seems like the loud noise was probably Sallys car making some type of noise. Before they leave, the manager waves down Woolly, who had forgotten a giant stuffed panda bear that hed purchased for his sisters baby. The police soon pat Duchess down, and to Duchesss shock, they find it on him. Billy then pulls out his big red book to show him the story of Ulysses. The two-paragraph version: Emmett (18) has just gotten out of juvie and is now planning to drive down the Lincoln Highway to move to San Francisco with his younger brother Billy (8). After Ulysses tells his story, Professor Abernathe considers it and says that the infiniteness of the universe means there must be duplicates (or even triplicates) of people and their experiences. When they got married, he was working as a lineman at the phone company. As he got older, Polly passed away and his children grew up and moved on. He gently warns Emmett that while it might be understandable (given his situation) to never want to put up a fight again, people who let themselves be defeated often end up turning to alcohol. So dont read this unless youve finished the book. Woolly hated the thesaurus and the unnecessary amount of alternative words it offered. However, he feels certain Emmett did not owe a debt to the man in the cowboy hat (the cowboy). At the park, Woolly notices a man feeding the birds and some squirrels (the Birdman) by placing kernels of popcorn all over himself. However, hed found a stream to clean himself off and eventually made his way to some empty boxcars. Mr. He says that he thinks Ulyssess life could be an echo of the life of the Great Ulysses, and that after ten years you could be reunited with your wife and son. Find the perfect used Lincoln MKC in Tupelo, MS by searching CARFAX listings. Emmett reminds Billy that its not necessarily safe to take food from random strangers. West to 18th or 24th Street depending on year. His father was between jobs. When I picked up The Lincoln Highway I wasn't sure what to expect from the story. The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller Paperback - 5 October 2021 by Amor Towles (Author) 70,688 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $14.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $48.99 1 Used from $75.29 4 New from $48.99 Paperback $22.75 1 Used from $41.50 10 New from $22.75 In spring of 1953 his father had a flu he couldnt recover from. On reflection now, I can see that Duchess is a charming psychopath (who can quote Shakespeare but cant read) and his end is kind of fitting. In the endtime is a precious resource. Very sad and tragic. The Lincoln Highway is, among other things, about the act of storytelling and mythmaking. Your email address will not be published. Amor Towles ' new Great American Road Novel tails four boys three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory, plus a brainy 8-year-old as they set out. Elsewhere, he finds a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and marvels at its design. Enjoy the incredible handling with the rear wheel drive on this unit. They make a quick stop at the house of the retired former warden, Ackerly, who used to beat them. He had then grabbed the shovel to wait for the right moment to knock Pastor John out. When Emmett goes to ask the Ransoms to jump his car, Duchess takes the opportunity to talk to Billy. Towles' new novel ranges further geographically from Nebraska's farmland to New York's Adirondacks by way of some of New York City's iconic sites but its action-packed plot is compressed into just 10 days. This was a good review. I've just finished reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Emmett sees that Duchess has broken in through the back, used chairs to barricade the nuns inside their rooms and has stolen spoons to distribute the six jars of strawberry preserves to all the boys there. In the station, Emmett tries to approach one of the workmen at the station to try to get advice on the best way to hop a train, but hes dismissed. When the subject of their mother comes up, Woolly gets upset when they mention her second husband, Richard. Emmett is angry with Duchess but he thinks about how before they left, Billy had asked Emmett to promise that whenever you feel like hitting someone in anger, first youll count to ten. He drowns. Towles' intricately plotted tale is underpinned by young Billy's obsession with a big red alphabetical compendium of 26 heroes and adventurers both mythical and real from Achilles to Zorro, though the letter Y is left blank for You (the reader) to record your own intrepid quest. Upstairs, he checks the bedrooms. Emmett has carefully planned the trip so they can make it to Omaha to drop off Duchess and Woolly and then to San Francisco in four days flat. In present day, Emmett learns his father's farm is being foreclosed upon by the bank. The boat contains a hole and Emmett stacks stones in order to stop the boat from flooding. When he sees Emmett shove Duchess, Billy decides to interrupt to prevent Emmett from continuing to lash out. Dennis is furious to learn that Woolly is not at Salina. Billy has been reading an abridged version of from a big red book authored by someone named Professor Abacus Abernathe. Initially, the plan for Emmett to go after Duchess and Woolly alone, but Billy insists on going to New York, too. He initially doesnt to ask anyone for directions, but he thinks about how his father had been too proud to ask the other farmers nearby for advice (Self-reliance as folly, Emmett had thought). Emmett awakes to see Duchess take Billy inside and close slam the door. Mr. Ransoms daughter Sally soon shows up with Billy and a casserole for them in tow. Abacus asks to meet Ulysses, and the two become acquainted. However, Billy told Ulysses about Emmetts rule that he needed to have known someone for at least three days before considering them a friend, so Ulysses agreed to spend another day with them (in addition to today and yesterday) so that they could part as friends. He wants to start in media res (in the middle of the story), and he considers what the best starting point would be. Emmett and Duchess scuffle, and Emmett knocks Duchess out. The Lincoln Highway is a joyride. Emmett tells Duchess that hes taking him to the cops, and things start to get physical between the two of them, but hes interrupted by Billy showing up. With no money and no mode of transportation, Emmett and Billy hitch a ride on a train to go to New York to track down Duchess and Woolly. With that, Emmett grabs the gun away from Duchess. It turns out Woolly did leave each of the friends his money. As for the ending there are many layers to the final part of the book. I sent you a $5 tip. Over at the Ransom home, Sally thinks about a parable that Reverend Pike had read to the congregation where Jesus chides Marys sister Martha when she complains about doing all the housework while Mary sits at Jesuss feet. The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller Towles, Amor Published by Penguin, 2022 ISBN 10: 1529157641 ISBN 13: 9781529157642 Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom Contact seller Seller Rating: Book Used - Softcover Condition: Good US$ 1.60 Convert currency US$ 9.55 Shipping From United Kingdom to U.S.A. On Sunday June 20th, Duchess and Woolly slip out at the crack of dawn and head for Woollys great-grandfathers place.