I find that as a book reviewer, I really don’t excel. My reviews tend to slip into such terms as “really good” or “a real good read”. I also tend to shy away from bad reviews, favoring a simple “it was OK’ rather than delving into the reasons why I didn’t like it. No author wants to see how bad their book was. But that won’t be a problem with the book I just read!
I recently finished the book, “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles. I think this book deserves as much praise as I can ladle on to it!
“The Lincoln Highway” is a thick book which in itself is a bit off putting but once I had read the first chapter, I knew I’d be in it for the long haul!
Briefly, the story is about 18 year old Emmet who was just released from a work farm. His father had died, his mother had run off a few years before and he had a younger brother, Billy, that he had to take care of. The farm had been foreclosed and they decided to head to California to start anew. Hopefully they might find their mother there. The Lincoln Highway would take them straight to San Francisco.
Two men from the work camp show up and complicate the brother’s journey. Their trip takes many sidetracks as they go. The story takes place over 10 days in July of 1954, but the story encompasses so much more.
We read the tales of the people they meet, their aspirations and often their failures. We see comparisons to famous heroes and legendary characters as the story continues.
The author has a definite skill in storytelling! His previous book, “A Gentleman in Moscow” is another favorite of mine. When I was first told about it, I had no interest or desire to read it, but after starting it, I had trouble putting it down!
While reading "The Lincoln Highway", I came across a lot of quotable lines such as these;
“For what is kindness but the performance of an act that is both beneficial to another and un-required”
“A funny thing about a story is that it can be told in all sorts of lengths”
“If a story is worth reading again, it is worth reading word for word”
“Questions can be tricky, like forks in the road. You can be having such a nice conversation and someone will raise a question, and the next thing you know you’re heading off in a whole new direction. In all probability, this new road will lead you to places that are perfectly nice, but sometimes you just want to go in the direction you were already headed.”
“There are few things more beautiful to an author’s eye than a well read copy of one of his books!”
Amor wrote how many heroes’ stories are like a diamond lying on its side.
They start out at a point, a very specific place or time and it expands as the hero grows, as the story follows their lives, their battles, goals and accomplishments. Then, at some time unknown to the hero, and often the reader, the story lines take a bend, they start to converge, leading towards a final battle or confrontation, the fixed and inexorable point which defines their fate.
I believe that this is the way of most good novels also!
I won’t tell anything more about the story or any of the characters they meet on their quest since I don’t want to spoil the book for you. I would much rather that you experience it for yourself!
Like favorite recipes, favorite books aren’t necessarily good for everyone. There will always be some who just don’t care for the taste. That isn’t a problem; it is just the way the world works! Still, if someone enjoys the taste well enough to rave about it, I feel as if I should at least give it a try.
I found this book was delicious! Give it a taste, I really think you’ll stay for the whole meal!
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