THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towles ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’ll start by saying A Gentleman in Moscow is in my top five favorite books. Having read it just a year ago, I find myself thinking about it often. Amor Towles has a writing style that is one of the most transportive I’ve ever encountered. He tells realistic stories as if they were fairytales. Knowing this, my wife bought me The Lincoln Highway for Christmas and I didn’t waste any time riding his poetic prose again.

Another thing to note is that I grew up in Nebraska, my first move away coming at 26 to NYC. So this novel also speaks to me personally more than Towles’ other works, and maybe more than most novels in general. Leaving a Midwestern life behind on a cross country road trip is relatable to a lot more people than just me, the premise repeated in all forms of media, but I definitely still felt the excitement building the farther the boys travelled from their roots. That’s probably why I was so disappointed in the beginning third of the story.

Rural Nebraska in the '50s doesn’t exactly interest me, at least not as much as I might’ve thought it would. I figured this out after reading this book. The start felt fairly basic, not predictable per se, but an idea and world that at first I didn’t see much to look forward to. And couldn’t see much reason for outsiders (which to a state dead center of the USA means literally the rest of the world) to be intrigued by either. But once the boys began their escapade away from the farm and small town cliches, I was able to open the book and see what I found so enjoyable about Towles’ words.

I can appreciate how infused his stories are with the classics, literary and historical. Tying their importance to Billy and his fascination for past heroes is the crux of both the book and the gusto for carrying through to the end. Each character, much like us if we were to try, finds a part of themselves in the big red book of heroes and adventurers Billy carries once they get the chance to ponder it. Without this element, I’m not sure the book stands out. But then, it wouldn’t be the same book would it?

And as usual, it wouldn’t be the same without the powerful, thoughtful language that presents itself more in the second half. Remembering what makes him so special by the end, I can say my doubts were abated and I will stick with Amor Towles through whatever else he gives us. Even if the entire thing is set in an ordinary white house on the west end of North Platte, Nebraska.