Emmett wakes up to the smell of the breakfast that Sally had come over to cook for them. This is their chance to leave behind Nebraska and its bad memories and try out California. Duchess (nicknamed because he was born in Dutchess County) explains that they hid in the wardens trunk to hitch a ride here. Instead, Emmett works quickly to clear up and traces that theyd been there, and they deal with Duchess. After all this effort, all Duchess can do is laugh when he realizes that Woolly doesnt know the combination and that it genuinely didnt occur to Woolly that they needed a combination. Billy then pulls out his big red book to show him the story of Ulysses. It seems to indicate that his father knew Duchess would come looking for him and did not want to be there when that happened. He knows that population growth is crucial to his plan of ensuring the profits of possible rental properties. Duchess is 100% self-centered. Afterwards, Duchess goes snooping around the house. Duchess thinks about the teachings of Sister Agnes, a nun at St. Nicholass Home for Boys where his father had dropped him off. . Emmett reminds Billy that its not necessarily safe to take food from random strangers. I feel Emmett was truly concerned that Duchess would find him and Billy and continue to cause havoc so he had to delay Duchess. She feels that doing something unnecessary is about kindness. When they got married, he was working as a lineman at the phone company. At that moment, he had felt abandoned by God and by fate. Coan was a banker and prominent community member in Clinton, 5 and first person to be named state consul of the LHA in Iowa. Hed ended up the the room with the safe (while Emmett was upstairs with Woollys body and while Duchess was in the boathouse). He knows that Duchess cant swim and he did just enough to provide some safety but it was up to Duchess to ensure that he could get back to shore. Finally, just before 8 oclock, Emmett shows up at Sarahs door. The suggestion is that he got it off his father after hed had a probably brutal encounter with him, but why would his father have ended up with the watch his son was done for stealing? She thinks to herself that she does it because its time-consuming, old-fashioned, and unnecessary. "The Lincoln Highway is a road novel that celebrates the mythos of an era via a cross-country highway . When you encounter slick or muddy roads, you can engage the four wheel drive on it and drive with confidence. With Woolly in Sarah in the city, Duchess is in the house alone, surveying the various rooms. Finally, Sheriff Peterson shows up, telling Jake to stop, and his deputies disperse the crowd. He offers it to Billy, who initially declines it, saying that its too precious. 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. While the ending is shocking, there are hints of something more sinister going on earlier in the novelDuchess random act of violence against the taunting cowboy in Morgen and also to Ackerly, the former warren of the juvenile camp. In present day, Duchess considers how the Oreo incident was a credit in his account, but not enough to offset the entirety of what he owes to Townhouse for the Hondo incident. He sees that a bunch of bills ($50K) is stacked up on the opposite end of the boat. Expectations are repeatedly upended. After Ulysses was knocked out, he slowly regained his consciousness. Instead, Duchess marches up to the cowboy and confronts him. The Lincoln Highway is a joyride. Up until about the last 60 pages or so, the story is fairly straightforward coming-of-age tale with vivid imagery of the time period and lots of pondering about the past and whats next. Jake starts punching Emmett, and Emmett doesnt fight back. Dennis then yells at Woolly about how irresponsible he is. As a result, he was sentenced to 12 months in Salina. Then he thinks about it and forcefully knocks Duchess out. He shows him the registration and explains that he worked for two summers for Mr. Schulte doing roofing and carpentry work to pay for it. Description: Used 2020 . Odd choice. He then hands back the envelope of money. His favorite part of the store is the huge dollhouse. While we dont know the details of it yet, it seems clear that it somehow implicated Duchess. The highway itself acts as nothing more than a MacGuffin, or a device that motivates the plot but ends up being entirely irrelevant to the work. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. She thinks about how they say the Lord answers all prayers, its just that sometimes he answers no.. Emmett soon shows up at Townhouses place. Seriously! I did not appreciate the fate of Wooley. The last postcard she sent also talks about how the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Franciscos Lincoln Park has a huge firework show on July 4th each year. This is a spoiler-filled discussion about the ending to The Lincoln Highway. (Spoilers), Book Club Questions for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Emmett finds himself regarding the drunk man with some measure of disdain, while thinking about how Mr. Parker is probably someone who has always been able to get anything he wanted his whole life. 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. However, when they arrive, it turns out Woolly doesn't know the combination (and it never occurred to him there would be one). Anyway, still bit troubled by the ending just as I was with A Gentleman - did occur to me would make great ending for the film though. Maurice looks dejected. Book Club Questions for The Lincoln Highway Why do you think this book was titled The Lincoln Highway? A lot seemed to have enjoyed his other book, A Gentleman In Moscow . Of course, Towles is drawn to that one in a thousand. He later attended Harvard, married a woman he loved named Polly and had two children. Thanks. While Emmett thinks his brother's plan of tracking down their mother in California is crazy, he knows that California (due to its high population growth) is a good place for him to pursue his goal of achieving financial stability by renovating and selling houses. In New York, Woolly sees a man selling old newspapers. The old man says Duchesss father recently vacated the room and left something behind. Duchess tries to calm him down, saying that he needs time to get into the safe so that Emmett and Billy will have the money for their dream house. He finds Ackerly asleep in a BarcaLounger in the living room with a smile on his face. On some cars the distance between the rear edge of the roof and the tail end disrupts the airflow and increases drag. One night, Duchess had seen them sneak two boxes of Oreos from the pantry into Townhouses locker in order to get him in trouble. Also, he realizes that he never gave Emmett an address for Sarahs house. I'm not 100% sure of Duchess' fate. The chapters of six characters are told in a third person that reflects their point of view and tone, while the chapters of Duchess and Sally are in first person. Determined not to make the same mistakes, he asks people for directions and makes his way to the Statler Building. Whether riding boxcars or "borrowed" cars, Towles' characters are constantly diverted by one life-threatening adventure after another offering Billy plenty of material for a rousing Chapter Y, once he figures out where to begin. It resulted in Jimmy falling over and hitting his head on a cinder block. He directs him to the Unitarian church nearby. He talks about The Three Musketeers, and they talk about what he would do with $50,000. Duchess thinks about the times Ackerly had hit them as he as brings the skillet down on Ackerlys head. Duchess hits him on the head with a cast-iron skillet and leaves, noting that Ackerly's debt to him has been paid. Hed then spotted the encampment due to the campfire, and saw that Billy and Ulysses were there. After leaving the hotel, they met up with Miss Maples, the magicians assistant in their troupe. And with Emmett, while he did not kill the bully on purpose back in Morgen, it does sound like he has anger issues and only Billy can get him to calm down. When Duchess starts talking about going to San Francisco with Emmett, Emmett insists that Duchess needs to go back to Salina. It takes her 20 hours to get to New York. When Emmett declines, Duchess "borrows" Emmett's car, forcing Emmet and Billy to stowaway on a train to New York to find Duchess and Woolly and reclaim it. They show Emmett that they have his Studebaker, and Townhouse explains that Duchess left it there. After Emmett had failed to check in with her on Friday, Sally had reached out to Father Coleman at Episcopalian church the in New York, knowing that Woollys family is Episcopalian. I wasn't a fan of the ending (no spoilers), where Emmett's actions seemed out of character. It detracts from the content & at the risk of sounding like an assh*le, it makes me feel as if this blog isnt serious, or credible. Townhouse then directs Emmett to where Duchess will be that night, which turns out to be a raunchy circus show attached to a brothel. He wants to settle accounts with him, since Duchess owes Townhouse for having gotten Townhouse in trouble once. However, flour is much more dense than crackers, so on the way to New York, there is extra space (and empty train cars at the back) although it carries it same weight back and forth. In the endtime is a precious resource. Young Billy is an utter gem, with his love for books (one book in particular) and his genuine trust in humanity making him an immediate fan favorite. When Billy refuses to give it up, Pastor John hits Billy. (Duchess makes up a story about Woolly finding a knife and threatening to leave, violently if necessary, until he helped him find a peaceful way out.) Ma Belle tells him that Duchess drugged him, but asks him not to be angry with Duchess. It also shows us how Ulysses has a soft spot for Billy (perhaps out of some sadness having to do with being apart from his own child) so hes willing to break his own rules for him. Dennis says that they came back because Kaitlin told them people have been calling looking for Woolly. Emmett makes his way to the Wolcott house. They mentioned that former warden Ackerly was attacked and a blue Studebaker was spotted nearby. Sally sounds a bit whiny though she is devoted to Billy. However, they were soon interrupted by some officers because the owner of the Skylark had spotted them out driving. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles review - an all-American road trip Two teenagers pursue a stolen car in this folksy 50s-set novel from the author of A Gentleman in Moscow Carrie O'Grady Wed 17. Emmett claims he is interested in hiring Harrison Hewett, and Mr. McGinley directs him to Mr. Cohen, an agent at another agency (Mr. Morton had explained that they all work cooperatively and take commissions from each other for referrals). He says that they became friends. He hopes he might be able to become an officer or at least see more of the world. Now, after kicking Duchess, Billy hides in a space under the stairs that Woolly had previously described to him. We all need one of those. He quickly hangs up and hides the phone. 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.. The first one is because Emmett knows his father doesnt believe in defacing books, which he had clearly done in this instance. In 1952, Duchess had just turned 16 and was living with his father at the Sunshine Hotel. I think he drifts in and out of consciousness while on the boat and I surmise that only about ten bills are described as floating/flying away, leaving $49500 which is a lot of money in 1954why would he do anything to jeopardize losing that? Billy is determined to follow the Lincoln Highway west to San Francisco, where he hopes to find his mother, who abandoned her family when he was a baby and Emmett was 8. Duchess tells Townhouse that he figures he owes Townhouse about three punches (8 for the Hondo incident minus 5 for the Oreo incident), and he invites Townhouse the punch him, promising not to fight back. Kaitlin also told them that shed called Sarahs place and Woolly had answered, but hung up on her. 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. Welcome to the discussion about The Lincoln Highway! The postcards from right after she left were sent from cities all along the Lincoln Highway, which stretches to San Francisco. 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. Emmett thinks about how the difficulty of distinguishing between fact and fancy was what drove their father to end up bankrupt pursuing his dreams. The Lincoln Highway originated when Carl Fisher (who built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), saw a need for a transcontinental highway. That night, Duchess tells Woolly that if he had 50 grand, hed open up a place like Leonellos. The police soon pat Duchess down, and to Duchesss shock, they find it on him. So whether its a train schedule or a grandfather clock or Marcelines/Billy's/Wooley's watches time marches on. 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. Sarah is painting one of the rooms, and Emmett offers to help. In Emmetts fathers room, he finds Billy reading a big red book called Professor Abacus Abernathes Compendium of Heroes, Adventurers, and Other Intrepid Travelers. 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. Emmett confronts Duchess about taking the car, the money and the cops looking for him. In Chapters 6 and 5, they all make their way to New York. . It seems there was some incident involving the police where Duchesss father had told Fitzy to lie to the police. However, various cases had been lost or sold over the years. They also find Woolly's will, splitting up his $150K trust fund equally between Billy, Emmett and Duchess. Duchess had instead flagged a car to hitch a ride back, but the driver was a cop who had reported him to the warden. Next, Billy shows Emmett how he got the safe open (it was 1119, since the Gettysburg Address was November 19). He presents Duchess with a black leather case, which Duchess recognizes. 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. But Sally makes it clear that shes not interested in trying to get involved with him. Warden Williams drops Emmett Watson off at his house after being released from juvenile detention at Salina after completing his sentence. Mr. If you havent read the novel yet, wait to visit this post until after you finished it. Jacob is Jimmys brother. Marceline Maupassant was living there as well. Instead, Paco and Pico offer to repaint the car to make it less recognizable, saying they can do it by Monday morning. The day before, Duchess had gone to the hardware store to look for tools to help get the safe open. 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. In present day, Duchess takes the little brown bottle from Sarah, saying that These wont do you any good. He places them on the spice rack in the kitchen. While Billy hopes they can find their mother in San Fransisco (even though she abandoned the family), Emmett believes they can get a fresh start with fixing and then selling houses (the original house flippers). Bursting with life, charm, richly imagined settings and unforgettable characters, The Lincoln Highway is an extraordinary journey through 1950s America from the pen of a master storyteller. Current events make Woolly anxious, but Woolly likes now in old newspapers you can find out what happened. 18/26 City/Highway MPG White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat 2014 Lincoln MKX FWD 6-Speed Automatic with Select . He also thinks about how his mother had loved firework shows. Scrounging around, Pastor John locates the tin box containing the silver dollar collection. He says that the train will soon slow down and that Billy needs to get off then. Dennis talks about the three boarding schools that Woolly had gotten kicked out of and about how theyd lied about Woollys age to keep him from being sentenced as an adult. Duchess finds Fitzy FitzWilliams, an old friend of Harry. Your email address will not be published. As in his previous book, A Gentleman in Moscow, Mr. Towles sets up his plot points upfront and revisits them throughout. At the show (which features two women riding on horses and shooting each others clothes off), Billy spots Woolly. In Pennsylvania, much of the Lincoln Highway became Route 30. Many novels. The Lincoln Highway crossed Prairie Creek in southwestern Platte County, Nebraska on this bridge. After hearing this story, Billy suggests that Duchess doesnt know how to swim and didnt want to admit it, which is why he had refused to cross the river.). Maintaining a stable interior temperature in the Lincoln . The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway runs coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City west to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York . Sister Agnes then asks Emmett to stand by Duchesss side as a friend even though Duchess has taken liberties with his car. Then, six months ago like her father had met a woman, Alice Thompson, and hed broken his routine. Jimmy ended up in a coma for two months before finally succumbing to his injury. Remembering Woollys admiration for Lincoln, Duchess notices that one of the landmarks on the maps is a Lincoln statue. They all sit down to have dinner which Duchess and Billy had prepared. CONTAINS SPOILERS. His father was between jobs. The legal-drama follows Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Los Angles lawyer who inherits the practice from his colleague Jerry Vincent after the latter's murder. In town, Jake Snyder (brother of Jimmy Snyder) accosts Emmett, trying to goad him into a fight and then punching Emmett a few times, though Emmett doesn't fight back. Advance praise for The Lincoln Highway "Towles' third novel is even more entertaining than his much-acclaimed A Gentleman in Moscow. It would seem he would know the possible demise of Duchess - being left in a boat that could sink. Meanwhile, Woolly visits his sister Sarah who says that she has talked to Warden Williams, who is offering Woolly minimal consequences if he returns to juvie immediately. Spoiler warning: these summaries contains spoilers. Marceline had been one of the most famous clowns in Europe in the twenties. Afterwards, they open three bottles of Denniss wine to try the same trick suddenly, Dennis and Sarah walk in. 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 drowns. Read Full Review >>. He advises Emmett that the only type of person these receptionists are inclined to help are producers, since they hold the purse strings. Pastor John happens to be walking by when he spots the open hatch and Billy sitting alone in the boxcar, reading his big red book by his side. When questioned, Townhouse didnt squeal on Paco and Pico by saying that theyd rented him the car (in which case, he probably wouldve been let off with a stern warning). "Most of us shell our days like peanuts. The nest morning over breakfast, Woolly takes an interest in their paper place mats, depicting the state of Illinois, local landmarks and all the other HoJo locations. On the spare tire, he finds a letter from his father. Later, the doorbell rings, and Woolly hurries to get it. When Townhouse later returned, the guards were waiting, and Ackerly punished Townhouse severely. When he heads back, hes dismayed to see a police officer placing a parking ticket on Emmetts car. In Chapters 4 and 3, Emmett goes to visit Townhouse, who warns that the police recently came by looking for Duchess. It also becomes clear that Pastor John isnt really a pastor, but perhaps someone who uses the moniker to his benefit. Over in Hells Kitchen, Duchess heads to a dive bar called Anchor on W. 45th St. Bernie had tipped him off that Fitzy and his father had often met there at 8 pm each night.