Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

41 reviews

justamy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The main character is very likable.
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cassidy's review against another edition

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adventurous sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The book was due :( so I’ll probably come back. Don’t necessarily love only male characters and one of the protagonists reminded me of Neal Cassady (this is not a good thing), tbd when it’s next available at the lib 

Edit after finishing:
I ended up liking this a lot. I love the way towles is able to create such full characters and gives us access to their inner monologues 
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nataliebootlah's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

After serving time in a juvenile detention center for involuntary manslaughter, Emmett is sent back home to Nebraska where his younger brother Billy awaits him. Eager to start afresh, Emmett’s plan is pack up the farm, pay off his father’s debts, and get the hell out of dodge. His plan goes sideways when two of his fellow detention center buddies show up after secretly hitching a ride in the warden’s trunk when Emmett was dropped off. 

And so the four boys — Emmett, Billy, Duchess, and Woolly — set off on a roadtrip across the country. Emmett is keen on dropping Duchess and Woolly off at the train station so they can head to NYC in search of Woolly’s inheritance while himself and Billy head to California. And of course everything that can go bad, does go bad for Emmett. 

Told from many different characters, The Lincoln Highway is the tale of four boys and the trouble they get into. While I didn’t connect with the story, the writing was still enjoyable and the ending was a surprise. 
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debimorton's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Emmett, Billy, Duchess, Woolly. Salina, KS boys prison. Mostly, NY. Ending not great. 
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mariah_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I honestly just thought this book was okay. The reviews are so good, but it took me 250 pages to get into it. People say the split narration and the interruptions and the detours are the point, but I just got annoyed that key kept changing focus from the plot I thought was interesting so things that were irrelevant. I’m also pretty foal focused, so maybe that also was my problem, they never got closer to the goal! Also, if some dude just gave away my car, I wouldn’t casually forgive him and trust him with my 8 year old brother. Also, Billy, get it together and stop being so trusting. You have too much life experience to be this naive. Also They are barely on this highway! Also, let’s make a sequel just about  Ulysses. 
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tctimlin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative slow-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

3.0

If this book had not been a book club choice it would be on my DNF list.  As it is, I am glad I finished it because the ending is satisfying and Amor Towles can definitely write.  But I have little tolerance for young white boys making stupid decisions, over and over again. A Bildungsroman set in post-WWII America, mostly I wanted to shake Emmett, the erstwhile hero, and as for Dutchess, no matter how hard the author tried to give him a backstory that would make him a sympathetic character, every one of his chapters made we want to throw the book.  Oh, and I don’t even know why Towles bothered to create Sally, the only female character.  The book would have been the same with or without her.
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emmahdonnelly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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keatynbergsten's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sarahyjackson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a slow burn for me that became completely engrossing. Not the road trip escapade belied but the title, but a journey of its own. The characters and their wonderings and motivations were so precisely imagined. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long while. 
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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Why I Chose to Read It: Although I disliked Rules of Civility, I thoroughly enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow, so I picked The Lincoln Highway for my October Book of the Month. 
 
Plot:
Since The Lincoln Highway constantly jumps between at least 6 points of view and various locations across the country, the plot is correspondingly erratic. Erratic seems an insufficient descriptor—more like dizzying. I had to put the book down several times just to remark how bonkers the plot was. Like a leisurely road trip, The Lincoln Highway takes whatever turns it pleases while at the same time moving towards its destination. However, the characters and writing are so fascinating that I could not be annoyed it. I decided to enjoy the ride, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of the seemingly pointless plot excursions reached toward a cohesive and impactful ending. It is brilliant.
 
Characters:
This story would not be half as compelling without its quirky, complicated, fascinating, and lovable characters. Just like the plot, the characters require a certain amount of suspended disbelief. Despite the large cast of characters, Towles is good at fleshing them all out and gives them all surprisingly in-depth backstories. Few if any are all good or all bad, but each exists on a spectrum between the two extremes. 
 
Setting:
Despite the book’s title, very little of the story takes place on the Lincoln highway. Most of the story takes place in a small town in Nebraska and New York City. Towles never spends too much time describing his settings, but he gives enough to service the story. 
 
Themes: 
The Lincoln Highway covers a wide range of themes, but mainly focuses on the themes of justice/retribution and morality. Most of the characters have backstories in which they wrong others and are wronged by others, and the story explores these backstories shape their motivations and actions. Its three main characters, Emmet, Woolly, and Duchess were each sent to a juvenile prison labor camp for crimes they did not intend to commit or crimes they did not commit. It is fascinating to see how each character deals with the fairness (or unfairness) of their situation and the ending provides a satisfying conclusion to the thematic questions the book raises.
 
Writing Style:
Towles’ writing is a breeze to read. He’s good at capturing individual character voice. Despite the unwieldy plot, it was never too difficult to figure out what was happening and why. 
 
Conclusion:
This book was not what I expected it to be, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. It requires patience and suspension of disbelief, but the journey and the destination are worth it. It is certainly better than Rules of Civility, and in my opinion, a step above A Gentleman in Moscow. Definitely worth the read.
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