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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s no doubt Towels can write. As my first entry into his works he’s interesting, literary and a compelling read. The asides, flourishes and depth add a great deal to the story and show a great talent at the top of his game. Despite that, I found The Lincoln Highway an okay but not great read. The story features a man freshly out of prison and his younger brother who following the death of their father plan to head to west to find a better life and maybe reconnect with their long lost mother but end up everywhere but. As protagonists, Emmett and Billy are compelling characters, though Billy may be a little too perfect as a child with a wealth of deus ex machina abilities. My problem lies in that while Emmett and Billy are mostly fleshed out, the cast of supporting characters feel more like comic asides. As the story progresses and the focus switches from one character to the next it feels like 2/3 of the novel is just an intermission for the main plot. I found myself just not caring and wishing they’d get back to the main two. It’s a good read but didn’t walk away with a new favorite.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had a heck of a time getting into this story.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Audible/pleasure
Amor Towles is one of the few authors who can write an almost-600-page book that leaves you wanting even more. After not loving his debut novel and being only medium on [b:A Gentleman in Moscow|34066798|A Gentleman in Moscow|Amor Towles|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551480896l/34066798._SY75_.jpg|45743836], I didn't have high expectations for The Lincoln Highway, but I fell in love with all of these characters and devoured this story with equal parts anxiety and utter enjoyment.
Towles is an absolute genius of both the written word and storytelling. And while I respected his ability to do both in A Gentleman in Moscow, this story was much more up my alley. I love how he leaves just enough ambiguity in some places to leave you wondering, but to know it was absolutely intentional on his part. And Billy! Sweet, precocious Billy. I basically hugged this book the second I finished it, sad for it to be over, but so much happier for having read it.
Towles is an absolute genius of both the written word and storytelling. And while I respected his ability to do both in A Gentleman in Moscow, this story was much more up my alley. I love how he leaves just enough ambiguity in some places to leave you wondering, but to know it was absolutely intentional on his part. And Billy! Sweet, precocious Billy. I basically hugged this book the second I finished it, sad for it to be over, but so much happier for having read it.
Towards the end of The Lincoln Highway, the character Duchess tells us a bit about vaudeville: “The members of the audience entered the theater with their own preferences, their own prejudices, their own sets of expectations. So, without the audience members realizing it, the performer needed to remove those and replace them with a new set of expectations that he was in a better position to anticipate, manipulate, and ultimately satisfy.” Towles presents us with a 576-page novel titled “The Lincoln Highway,” a map of the titular transcontinental road right at the beginning, and a set of characters who determine in the opening chapters to drive along that highway from Nebraska to San Francisco. But rather than the epic road trip the reader might reasonably expect, Towles delivers something else entirely: a nested set of stories about the detours life forces us to take, and the way unrealized expectations and ambitions can still satisfy.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5. A Gentleman in Moscow was a home run for me, but Rules of Civility was somewhat of a miss. So I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about Amor Towles' latest book. While not quite a home run, this was an excellent read. While there is a large cast of characters, none of them seem like secondary characters. All of them are vivid and have very human foibles that make them even more real and relatable. Woolly especially hit a soft spot in my heart, while I admired the maturity that teenage Emmett displayed. I also liked the nod to Rules of Civility that was linked through Woolly.
Overall, this is a journey story. Like the stories in Billy's book, each of the main characters are on his or her own journey. For some of the characters, it's a physical journey, while for others, it's a journey of emotional growth. The Lincoln Highway is just a pretext for the journeys that each of them take.
Overall, this is a journey story. Like the stories in Billy's book, each of the main characters are on his or her own journey. For some of the characters, it's a physical journey, while for others, it's a journey of emotional growth. The Lincoln Highway is just a pretext for the journeys that each of them take.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated