Reading the story from Duchess first-person perspective caused the reader to try to sympathize with him but soon it became apparent that not only was he a liar but hes also a dangerous person. Emmett feels unsure about how to explain what theyre doing to Billy. They show Emmett that they have his Studebaker, and Townhouse explains that Duchess left it there. One thing smart Billy comes to realize: He belongs to a long tradition of sidekicks who come to save the day. Book Ending Promises A Major Twist. Dennis is furious to learn that Woolly is not at Salina. However, because he wasn't able to check in with Sally as he'd promised earlier, Sally ends up heading to New York (after attempting to call them) to check on Emmett and Billy. There is no way he could be sure Duchess would survive with a hole in the boat and knowing he could not swim. Back at Sarah's place, Emmett eventually shows up. Finally, as the train picks up speed, Emmett realizes he has no choice but to wait for the train to slow again before making his way back to Billy. The wind also causes some bills to fly away. The novel probes questions about how to structure a narrative and where to start; its chapters count down from Ten to One as they build to a knockout climax. Before Emmett leaves, Sally mentions that when they do finally hit the road, she plans to go to San Francisco as well. She thinks about how they say the Lord answers all prayers, its just that sometimes he answers no.. The police ended up tracking Woolly down, and he ended up in Salina. I was disappointed they never had an interaction and that really didnt go anywhere. 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? He says hell pay him back as soon as they get to Woollys grandfathers place in the Adirondacks. Now, as they go looking for Ulysses, they all end up at the abandoned railroad camp. The boat contains a hole and Emmett stacks stones in order to stop the boat from flooding. Billy hopes she might still be living there now. Someone needs to proofread the summery. Emmett is not pleased to see them, knowing they should just finish their sentences. (He tells Billy that For only when you have seen that you are truly forsaken will you embrace the fact that what happens next rests in your hands, and your hands alone.). The night, Sally looks up the number for Father Colmore. Emmett tries to pay for the food instead with some cash that Mr. Parker had tipped him (on the train), but pulls out the bill to find that its a 50-dollar bill and Ulysses sternly tells him to put it away. In present day, Billy tells Ulysses that according to the book, it took Homers Ulysses ten years to be reunited with his wife and child, so he thinks Ulysses will be reunited with his own family in less than two years. If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ($2, $3, or $5) or joining the Patreon! Duchess comments on how great the preserves are, while Emmett says they already have jam. I don't understand why when Emmett understood that Woolly did indeed want to leave them the money that he couldn't have given Duchess his share and said - good luck. Billy also asks if heroes can return, and he talks about Ulysses. Also, he realizes that he never gave Emmett an address for Sarahs house. When the subject of their mother comes up, Woolly gets upset when they mention her second husband, Richard. However, based on Woollys schooling background and family name, Ma Belle is able to deduce that Woolly must be from a very well-to-do family from the Upper East Side. The Quick Recap and Chapter-by-Chapter Summary for The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles are below. The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. As in his previous book, A Gentleman in Moscow, Mr. Towles sets up his plot points upfront and revisits them throughout. Ma Belle tells him that Duchess drugged him, but asks him not to be angry with Duchess. They also find Woolly's will, splitting up his $150K trust fund equally between Billy, Emmett and Duchess. He promises to be back soon and to give Emmett his share of the cash when they return. They arrive at an area near some abandoned tracks with a makeshift encampment. When Duchess inquires about his fathers whereabouts, the attendant Bernie says that the person to ask is Fitzy FitzWilliams. I'm not 100% sure of Duchess' fate. The Lincoln Highway for the most part steers away from the upper-class milieu of Rules of Civility, which tracks the ambitions of a winning young woman in 1930s New York City, and 2016's even . He knows that population growth is crucial to his plan of ensuring the profits of possible rental properties. There is a constant push and pull of wanting freedom and the things we owe to others. The first is a page torn out of Ralph Waldo Emersons Essays, describing the value of farming your own land. When Warden Williams later had them all take an accounting class about balancing your accounts, Duchess started to understand what Sister Agnes had been teaching them. Particularly, Emmett and Billy. Over dinner, Duchess further explains that Woolly has a trust fund, for which his brother-in-law, Dennis Whitney, is the trustee (the person who makes decisions on behalf of a minor). They explain that they stowed away in Warden Williams's trunk and have a proposition for Emmett. Afterwards, Emmett picks up Billy to head out, but Sally says her car isnt working and she needs a ride, too. Mostly confined to a single setting Moscow's luxurious Metropol Hotel it spanned 32 years under Stalin's grim rule. 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. The old man says Duchesss father recently vacated the room and left something behind. Every beautiful paragraph takes the reader a mile further into a world where our choices matter, where life surprises us, and where people are worth the trouble. Townhouse greets him warmly. So the brothers take their share of the money and plan to finally go to California. She says that Billy has spent a lot of time at the library reading stories since hes been gone. Enjoy the incredible handling with the rear wheel drive on this unit. (Basically, Abacus decides to go traveling with Ulysses via boxcar.). However, when they arrive, it turns out Woolly doesn't know the combination (and it never occurred to him there would be one). He also pours some water into a glass. As it gets late, Billy starts to worry since Emmett hasnt returned yet. If Emmett didnt stop Duchess, Emmett believes that Duchess would again get in the way of their plans. So, when Sally called Sarahs place, no one picked up and it kept ringing instead. Hed decided to walk the 40 miles to the nearest junction in Des Moines instead. Excellent writer. Ulysses instructs a man named Stew who was cooking some food to give some to Billy and Emmett, and Ulysses pays for their food. It would seem he would know the possible demise of Duchess - being left in a boat that could sink. From there, we follow Emmett and Billys journey to regain the car and they meet an interesting cast of characters along the way. He doesnt know the address, but Billy says Woolly marked a spot on his map. In the house, Woolly gives Duchess a tour. The character of Woolly will remain with me. He gently warns Emmett that while it might be understandable (given his situation) to never want to put up a fight again, people who let themselves be defeated often end up turning to alcohol. He later attended Harvard, married a woman he loved named Polly and had two children. Emmett and Duchess scuffle, and Emmett knocks Duchess out. Meanwhile, Woolly is a troubled rich kid. But he never does come into contact with his fatheralthough it seems like he does try. In Chapter 2, Woolly and Duchess sneak out early and make their way to Woolly's great-grandfather's house in the Adirondacks in order to take the $150K from the safe. Hed then spotted the encampment due to the campfire, and saw that Billy and Ulysses were there. He thinks about the promise he made to Billy about counting to 10 before hitting someone. She feels that doing something unnecessary is about kindness. The panhandler tells Emmett that the Sunset East is the best train to board discreetly at night. 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 unpacks his collection of stuff that hed shown Billy. In 1925, the Lincoln Highway was finally completed. . (Each individual county also had its own consul.) Woolly and Billy both have a desire for adventure. The dinner is delightful, and they ask Duchess to do a magic trick. Current events make Woolly anxious, but Woolly likes now in old newspapers you can find out what happened. However, by the next morning, she was already gone. Instead, Paco and Pico offer to repaint the car to make it less recognizable, saying they can do it by Monday morning. This is a spoiler-filled discussion about the ending to The Lincoln Highway. Nov. 19, 2021 Universally Accepted To the Editor: In his recent review of Amor Towles's wonderful "The Lincoln Highway" (Nov. 7), Chris Bachelder says, "The book lacks a prominent female. As he keeps hacking away, Emmett goes to call the police, but the phone is dead. While Duchess probably thought of himself as a hero, he was the villain, in the end. He had then grabbed the shovel to wait for the right moment to knock Pastor John out. He offers to drive them back in the morning, but Duchess says that Woolly is unhappy there after Warden Williams fired the nurse that used to supply Woolly with drugs. She was a 28-year-old-ish widow with no kids who worked as a teller at the bank. The novel begins on June 12, 1954 and ends on the same date, clearly not coincidentally, as A Gentleman in Moscow. As they drive, Sally says that the sheriff came by her place because the cowboy hat guy that had confronted Emmett (along with Jake Snyder) had been attacked. Instead, he would rather use Fitzys feelings of remorse to guilt him into telling him where his father is. He also adds, however, that the abridged version of the legend of Ulysses in the book left out the part where the Great Ulysses was told that he was destined to wander the seas until he had appeased the gods through an act of tribute. In response, Emmett had punched him. Emmett plans to move them to Texas, a plan he has carefully researched. However, he soon realizes a tornado is approaching. In the interim, a call had come in regarding a stable that was on fire. Emmett is momentarily upset that their father kept these postcards from them, but then thinks that perhaps it was the reasonable thing to do after shed abandoned them. Just about to start another Amor Towels. He assumes that Emmett wants to shield Billy from what he considers to be the intricacies of modern life. She's upset to learn from Duchess that Emmett plans on leaving. Elsewhere, Abacus thinks about his own life. "The Lincoln Highway" is a road-trip-buddy book with a myriad of mixed agendas and detours. Afterwards, Sarah wants to ask him a question, but he implies that hes rather she didnt. 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 it was reported on in the newspapers, anti-communist sentiment ensured that Fitzys career as a well-paid Santa was over. Duchess takes the opportunity to apologize for everything. I found there to be some inconsistencies in the narrative - my opinion is that much of the book seems like it have taken place in the late 1950s, when travel investments (e.g., Interstate Road System) would have enabled a 20 hour drive from Nebraska to New York City. She had taught them how the wrongs people do to one another become your chains by binding you with either indignation or guilt. Mr. (In another fun connection for Towles nerds, nave trust funder Wallace "Woolly" Wolcott Martin is the nephew of Wallace Wolcott from Rules of Civility.). However, in that moment, Billy says to himself I am truly forsaken (referencing what Ulysses has told him) and then proceeds to kick Pastor John in his injured knee and run off. Expectations are repeatedly upended. "How easily we forget we in the business of storytelling that life was the point all along," Towles' oldest character comments as he heads off on an unexpected adventure. The moving train makes it difficult to cross the gap between the cars. He presents Duchess with a black leather case, which Duchess recognizes. And Duchess sounds like a showman. 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. But Duchess made a mess of everything. Table of Contents Quick Plot Recap Chapter-by-Chapter Summary For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. by Richard F. Weingroff. And obviously the accounting class was about balancing your debits and credits, not about doling out vigilante justice. In it, it explains how Charlie had managed to squander his sizeable inheritance by moving here to become a famer. However, he feels certain Emmett did not owe a debt to the man in the cowboy hat (the cowboy). However, in April, hed come back from home on a Friday smelling like whiskey, and she sensed it was over. They mentioned that former warden Ackerly was attacked and a blue Studebaker was spotted nearby. Duchess and Woolly arrive at Sarahs place in Hastings-on-Hudson. I felt pleased that Emmett and Billy were on their way and on their own with the money but also felt sorrow for Duchess who did have some redeemable features, but alas in the end his greed killed him. We are located at 2044 nw hwy 19 crystal river, fl 34428. Meanwhile, Woolly mentions wanting to make a pit stop to see his sister Sarah Whitney when they get to New York. Instead, as he heads to another agency, a man name Mr. Morton (along with his African grey bird, Mr. Winslow, who is part of his act) stops him. At his great-grandfathers house, Woolly reminisces about the various parts of the house. After Emmett departs, Sally goes to check on Billy to see that he is gone. He leaves and takes the train to Hastings-on-Hudson. The battery is dead from being idle too long. He renamed himself Abacus. (The number 8 figures repeatedly, a reflection of the travelers' and life's roundabout, recursive route.) Two years later his father came to reclaim him, but Sister Agnes knows how damaging it mustve been for him to be abandoned out of convenience. Given what Duchess did to Ackerly, we can only imagine what Duchesss current relationship with his father is and what he might do when he does catch up with him. By Amor Towles Viking: 592 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent . He talks about The Three Musketeers, and they talk about what he would do with $50,000. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 4.3 (56) Hardcover $23.99 $30.00 Save 20% Signed Book $30.00 Hardcover $23.99 Paperback $16.34 eBook $14.99 Audiobook $0.00 Large Print $32.00 Audio CD $39.99 View All Available Formats & Editions Ship This Item Qualifies for Free Shipping Buy Online, Pick up in Store Check Availability at Nearby Stores Theyd had a delightful picnic. Woolly is someone who grew up wealthy on the Upper East Side, but was troubled and got himself expelled from various boarding schools. Back at the camp, Ulysses asks Billy to read him the story of Ulysses again. In the next chapter, we learn that the box is from Sally and contains 6 jars of her strawberry preserves. On the train, Billy nearly gets his silver coin collection stolen from him by a fake pastor, "Pastor" John, but Pastor John is stopped by Ulysses -- a black WWII vet who is also hitching a ride on the train. It the drives away. He recalls how his father pretended to be upper-class get himself into the presidential suite of the fanciest hotel. Warden Williams drops Emmett Watson off at his house after being released from juvenile detention at Salina after completing his sentence. Dennis is horrified to see that they emptied four bottles of his fancy wine (Chteau Margaux 28). . So he decides to put an unconscious Duchess on a boat with his own share of the money. In the city, Emmett tries to track down Duchesss father, and he struggles to navigate the busy city. One day, Duchess had gone to check on Marceline to find him hanging from the ceiling fan. Townhouse warns, however, that the police looking for Duchesss were asking about a blue Studebaker. He would have had to know how to read signs. He returned in time to see Emmett and Duchess arguing with each other. Eighteen-year-old Emmett is released . 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. (And the teachings of Jesus Christ can free you through atonement for guilt or forgiveness for others). Sure enough, Woolly is headed for the statue. A while ago, Emmetts father, Charles Charlie William Watson, took out a second mortgage on the farm. . West to 18th or 24th Street depending on year. At this point it becomes clear that Duchesss relationship with his father is is even worse that we previously realized, since his father felt the need to disappear when he learned Duchess was not at Salina. I dont feel he was misunderstoodI believe his actions were loud and clear. I just finished reading it last night and was so wound up by the ending I had to Google what other people thought - including Amor Towles. Towles' intricately plotted tale is underpinned by young Billy's obsession with a big red alphabetical compendium of 26 heroes and adventurers both mythical and real from Achilles to Zorro, though the letter Y is left blank for You (the reader) to record your own intrepid quest. Ulysses tells him about ending up in Iowa on foot when the boxcar hed been traveling in was stopped. Meanwhile, Duchess chats about Leonellos in East Harlem, where is father had been a matre d for sic months, describing the delights of having an Italian dinner there. Duchess held grudges but recognized when he'd treated others badly (as when he found Townsend and got him to settle the score from the work camp). As Dennis yells about needing to catch the 6:42 train each morning, Woolly had realized that his boarding schools had been designed to train them to become adults who had every-day days as well. 18/26 City/Highway MPG White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat 2014 Lincoln MKX FWD 6-Speed Automatic with Select . Sam would go with his father to travel to see various shipwrecks, and he felt his world expand and broaden. November 17, 2020. Emmett thinks about how the difficulty of distinguishing between fact and fancy was what drove their father to end up bankrupt pursuing his dreams. Afterwards, Emmett hears Duchess telling Billy the story of the Count of Monte Cristo and the characters escape from prison. The story about Townhouse comes into play later on in the book (in Chapter 5). We apparently see a flash before Duchess dies that shows the brothers in California, Woolly alive, Sally with a child and Sister Sarah. Woolly also happens to know that his great-grandfather has a wall safe at their house in upstate New York that contains around $150,000. Abacus notes that at some point his life had begun to shrink and move inwards. The standing man who identifies himself as Mr. Parker is very drunk, and Emmett lies and says that hes a brakeman. At the door, he asks to speak to Duchess in private. Townhouse then directs Emmett to where Duchess will be that night, which turns out to be a raunchy circus show attached to a brothel. I've just finished reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Description: Used 2020 . Duchess spent a few years in an orphanage, being raised by nuns, after his father abandoned him there for two years when he was 8. Early the next morning, Emmett, Billy, Duchess and Woolly head for the road. When Emmett was 15, he asked Mr. Schulte, the carpenter, to work for him in the summers. 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. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles does capture the excitement of travel, the sense of adventure, and the company of strangers along the way. 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. Odd choice. Particularly, Emmett and Billy. He decides to lunge for the money instead to try to save it. It resulted in Jimmy falling over and hitting his head on a cinder block. I love to read and review various genres with a focus on contemporary fiction, historical fiction with some mysteries/thrillers and also select nonfiction and memoirs. Amor Towles is the author of New York Times bestsellers RULES OF CIVILITY and A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. Seeing them, people start to gather. Ulysses is a seasoned boxcar traveler, who has been iterant ever since he returned from the war to learn that his wife left him. Clearly this doesnt represent the future since Woolly is alive but maybe that flash was simply Duchess wishes. Then he thinks about it and forcefully knocks Duchess out. The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller: Amazon.co.uk: Towles, Amor: 9781786332523: Books We learn that when Duchess was 16, he framed by Harry for a number of thefts in the hotel they were living in (which Harry had actually committed). He thinks about how his boarding schools had been like that, too. SUV Engine: 4 Cyl 2.0 L MPG City/Hwy: 21/28 . When the old man tells Duchess that his father only recently vacated the room on Monday, Duchess understands that his father mustve left after learning Duchess had escaped from Salina. Billy is just discovering his, but Woollys has long gotten him into trouble. 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. Meanwhile, the Studebaker wont be ready until tomorrow morning. In New York, Woolly sees a man selling old newspapers. I do love everything stopping still like in Marcellines stage act - thats usual Amor Towles elegance. Townhouse tells Emmett what transpired with Duchess, and Townhouse warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess. He then hoped to use the proceeds to buy two more run-down properties to renovate, one to sell and the other to rent out, and so forth. Emmets voice is quiet and mostly principled. Abacus asks to meet Ulysses, and the two become acquainted. Emmett sees that Duchess has broken in through the back, used chairs to barricade the nuns inside their rooms and has stolen spoons to distribute the six jars of strawberry preserves to all the boys there. However, Woolly says that its too precious just to keep, saying that its a watch that should be handed down to others. And back at that camp, Ulysses and Billy are attacked by Pastor John. Emmett immediately declines. Im not surewhat do you think about that scene? Later, it rings again, and he lets it keep ringing. Afterwards, Emmett thinks about how he had been free of debts and obligations that morning, but was now encumbered by two promises hed made that day. Duchess also takes an inventory of the expenses that are owed to Emmett. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jimmy had always been someone who liked to stir up trouble, trying to say anything he could to get under your skin. It would have made more sense if when leaving, he threw an oar in the boat or had a . First, was this Woollys plan all alongto commit suicide and leave his friends his inheritance? Emmett then considers that if he calls the cops, with Woolly dead in the house, it will quickly complicate his and Billys future. So, he plans to go there to ask about Harry Hewetts whereabouts and hopefully find Duchess in the process. Marceline Maupassant was living there as well. . (the first item on the list was to Remove firing pins from the guns so its likely the gun Duchess is holding cant actually shoot). Very disappointed by death of Duchess. On some cars the distance between the rear edge of the roof and the tail end disrupts the airflow and increases drag. Advance praise for The Lincoln Highway "Towles' third novel is even more entertaining than his much-acclaimed A Gentleman in Moscow. In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. Duchess plans to start a new life after all of this and wants to clear out any debts he owes or owed to him before he does. This 2023 Lincoln Navigator L has a V6, 3.5L high output engine. Dennis says that they came back because Kaitlin told them people have been calling looking for Woolly. Tom leaves without the cars registration. So again, while I dont think Emmett set out to murder Duchess, I also believe he didnt care what happened to himhe just didnt want to deal with his toxic behavior any longer. This Lincoln Aviator has a V6, 3.0L high output engine. The Lincoln Highway in New Jersey He starts using his hands to row towards the dock (which is a few hundred feet away), but the wind works against him and the water is cold. Pastor John initially sounds like someone who is approaching Billy over concern about his well-being, but it quickly becomes apparent that thats not the case and that hes more interested in what he can get from Billy. He wonders if perhaps he could open it somewhere in California, maybe Los Angeles. Before Tom leaves, he asks Emmett to hand over the keys and registration to a car outside, but Emmett resists, says that the car is his. Mr. Upstairs, he checks the bedrooms. Like his first two novels, The Lincoln Highway is elegantly constructed and compulsively readable. Elsewhere, Abacus thinks about how Billy has reawakened his desire for adventure.