It's June 12, 1954. Eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson returns to his family farm in Nebraska after serving time in a juvenile detention work camp. His father has passed away and the farm is being foreclosed by the bank. His eight-year-old brother Billy is anxious to head west to California in search of their mother who abandoned them years ago. All that they have are a series of postcards she sent from various stops along the Lincoln Highway as she traveled to San Francisco. But as soon as they set out for their new adventure, Emmett discovers that while he was driven home by the Warden, teenagers Duchess and Wooly hid in the trunk escaping the facility. And they have very different plans for the four of them. So instead of heading west, their destination is now Wooly’s family home located in New York’s Adirondacks where an inheritance awaits him. He offers to split $150,000, which is hidden in a safe. And Duchess has some scores to settle along the way.
And so the mayhem begins - including a road trip in a Studebaker, a journey as stowaways on freight railcars and more. And a glimpse of 1950s New York City in all its wonder and excitement. A wide range of characters the brothers meet along the way enhance this creative story, which is filled with both humor and pathos.
Author Amor Towles weaves quite a story, which takes place over a ten-day period. His books are so unlike anyone else’s. You’ll adore young Billy and want to savor Towle’s wonderful prose.
I wonder if while reading The Lincoln Highway, anyone else kept hearing in their head Simon & Garfunkel singing “I've gone to look for America.”
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Historical Fiction.
Publication Date: October 5, 2021.
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