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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
well, this was a different experience from towles' previous effort. the lincoln highway is a book thats both big and (tries to be) bighearted, but the nearly-600 pgs puzzlingly fail to create any kind of emotional impact for me aside from the occasional urge to strangle some of the characters.
like, i get what it tries to do, but it doesnt rly end up working for me. the writing and narrative voices can be enjoyable - god knows how many times i chuckled or snorted from the periodically deadpanned narration and dialogue; the characters are fleshed out, making them understandable as ppl despite how ??? they can be, and billy's def my fav character for how endearing yet wise he is. at the same time, however, i find a few of them bland (esp emmett, befuddingly), and others simply rage-inducing (looking at u, the damn pastor and duchess). the book also often reads like a game of cat-and-mouse, just a long, winding trail chase that hops from one thing to another, one w/ an ending thats unfortunately a lil underwhelming at that.
my biggest issue w/ the novel is prolly its ability to evoke any emotions - the good ones anyway - from me, despite how long, adventurous, character filled it is, esp considering the amount of scenes that could be impactful, but ultimately fail to. overall, this unfortunately doesnt live up to my expectations despite its lofty potential.
like, i get what it tries to do, but it doesnt rly end up working for me. the writing and narrative voices can be enjoyable - god knows how many times i chuckled or snorted from the periodically deadpanned narration and dialogue; the characters are fleshed out, making them understandable as ppl despite how ??? they can be, and billy's def my fav character for how endearing yet wise he is. at the same time, however, i find a few of them bland (esp emmett, befuddingly), and others simply rage-inducing (looking at u, the damn pastor and duchess). the book also often reads like a game of cat-and-mouse, just a long, winding trail chase that hops from one thing to another, one w/ an ending thats unfortunately a lil underwhelming at that.
my biggest issue w/ the novel is prolly its ability to evoke any emotions - the good ones anyway - from me, despite how long, adventurous, character filled it is, esp considering the amount of scenes that could be impactful, but ultimately fail to. overall, this unfortunately doesnt live up to my expectations despite its lofty potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Racism
Moderate: War, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, and Sexism
kimveach's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
For every book that most people think is great, or in Amazon's opinion "the best book of the year", there has to be someone that didn't like it. I'm that person. I can understand why people enjoyed it. It's easy to read and parts of it are very entertaining. However, the undercurrent of violence that runs through it didn't work for me. For me, it felt more like a Quentin Tarantino ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") or Coen Brothers ("Fargo") movie. I can enjoy those sorts of movies since they are only a couple of hours, but this book took up too much of my time and left me unhappily unsettled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence
chasinash's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
The writing is magnificent. I gave it less stars because I’m tired of authors using the same old tropes to drive dialogue or plot. Please get more creative! These are over-used and unnecessary.
Glorifying manifest destiny, wagon trains, pioneers
Glorifying manifest destiny, wagon trains, pioneers
Disparaging comments on Jewish people
Magical negro trope, Jar of blackface
“Japs” / “Distinctly oriental ring / “Recent trip to the Orient”
Misogyny: “Unsuited to matrimony” and women who care for male characters without reciprocity
Misogyny: “Unsuited to matrimony” and women who care for male characters without reciprocity
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia
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