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. Rear Spoiler . Ive reread it a couple times and I dont believe Emmett purposely killed Duchess. In present day, Emmett thinks that she cried during the fireworks because she was reminded of what joy could be, if only she were willing to leave her daily life behind. Hes distraught but when he sees Duchess, all Duchess cares about his trying to get Woollys inheritance that is locked away. After Emmett departs, Sally goes to check on Billy to see that he is gone. He then thinks about happy memories of their adventures. In 1919, during the height of his military career, future president Dwight Eisenhower described the Lincoln Highway in Nevada when he accompanied an Army caravan from the White House to the West Coast: "From Orr"s Ranch, Utah, to Carson City, Nevada, the road is one succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes. He then goes into the room that he had stayed at the longest. Towles' new novel ranges further geographically from Nebraska's farmland to New York's Adirondacks by way of some of New York City's iconic sites but its action-packed plot is compressed into just 10 days. Instead, they agree that they will go to tea at the Plaza, and then Woolly promises hes going back to Salina after his visit to New York. A year ago, Emmett killed another young man, Jimmy Snyder. Duchess can tell that Townhouse is their leader. He goes to Kaitlins first, who is not happy to see him there, asking why so many people are suddenly coming around looking for Woolly. Vehicle . Over at the Ransom home, Sally thinks about a parable that Reverend Pike had read to the congregation where Jesus chides Marys sister Martha when she complains about doing all the housework while Mary sits at Jesuss feet. The idea of debts. Also the additional explanations in grey alerted me to basic facts of the plot, whys, and hows. He would have had to know how to read signs. In the kitchen, Duchess looks for an appropriate weapon, settling on a black cast-iron skillet. Thanks again! 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. That afternoon, theyd found a perfect spot, and he listened to his mother laugh at his fathers stories, and it had seemed to Emmett that the three of them would be attending Sewards Fourth of July celebration for the rest of their lives. It was helpful because I had only read about half of the book and It was my book clubs discussion day. Rick Sebak travels across America's first transcontinental highway, checking out the changing landscape along the route from Times Square to San Francisco. It tells the story of two brothers with a plan to travel down the Lincoln Highway from Nebraska to San Francisco, though their plans quickly get derailed from the onset. In present day, Pastor John sees Ulysses slump over. Meanwhile, Emmett and Billy head for San Francisco. Afterwards, Emmett goes for a drive to clear his head. Chapters 10 and 9 open with Emmett Watson (18) returning home to Morgen, Nebraska (dropped off by Warden Williams) after having spent a year in juvenile detention for killing Jimmy Snyder. This is how I interpreted The Lincoln Highway ending. Emmett confronts Duchess and tries to get him to leave. Very sad and tragic. However, he soon realizes a tornado is approaching. He wants to start in media res (in the middle of the story), and he considers what the best starting point would be. The warden then leaves to make the 3-hour return trip back to Salinas. On that day, the youngest child over 16 would be tasked with reciting the Declaration of Independence, followed by the Gettysburg Address being recited by the youngest child over 10. Ulysses is a seasoned boxcar traveler, who has been iterant ever since he returned from the war to learn that his wife left him. Meanwhile, the Studebaker wont be ready until tomorrow morning. 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. Towles works in pieces of actual history into his story to give it a stronger sense of happening in the time that its set in. With Emmett busy at Ma Belles place, Woolly and Duchess have Billy in tow. . Emmett then returns to find the two of them there (theres a moment of confusion when he and Ulysses meet, but it gets sorted out). 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. Before she can explain further, theyre interrupted by Duchess announcing that dinner is served. 18/26 City/Highway MPG White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat 2014 Lincoln MKX FWD 6-Speed Automatic with Select . In present day, Emmett learns his father's farm is being foreclosed upon by the bank. In 1914, Coan was made honorary vice president of the national LHA. Shortly after the warden drives off, two fellow inmates turn up, stowaways from the warden's trunk trouble-maker Duchess and his hapless but sweet proteg, Woolly. 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. Finally, he tells Woolly that hes going back to Salina to finish his sentence, and afterwards Woolly is going to work for his friend at the stock exchange to teach Woolly some responsibility. Upon hearing this, Emmett flat-out rejects the plan, saying he wants no part in it and that hes going to drop them off at the greyhound station in Omaha on Monday. Upstairs, Woolly shows Billy his own collection of stuff. He says that the train will soon slow down and that Billy needs to get off then. He also mentions Duchess going to Harlem first (which Emmett seems to understand was likely for the purpose of visiting Townhouse). It is a good summary but full of typos, extra words and words left out. Woolly is excited to see the statues of Abraham Lincoln which Billy says have been placed along the road, since Woolly is a great admirer of Lincoln. They all sit down to have dinner which Duchess and Billy had prepared. It resulted in Jimmy falling over and hitting his head on a cinder block. Sheriff Peterson offers to drive Emmett back in his Studebaker and to let him clean up at his house before dropping him off. He met his wife Macie Dixon during the depression. When they pass by a large stone building, Duchess says he used to live there and asks to take a look for just a minute. Finally, he finds Woolly, but Woolly is already dead from overdosing. You could probably argue that Woollys longing for adventure mixed with his wealthy background which ensure a comfortable life which could lead to boredom (since he doesnt have the stress or worry about needing to get by or developing a drive to achieve certain things) might be why he ended up starting to get into trouble. 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. He points out an officers watch that had once belonged to his grandfather it has a black background and white numbers. This 2023 Lincoln Navigator L has a V6, 3.5L high output engine. 20 Reviews Write a Review. When the subject of their mother comes up, Woolly gets upset when they mention her second husband, Richard. Duchess thinks about the teachings of Sister Agnes, a nun at St. Nicholass Home for Boys where his father had dropped him off. Duchess then imagines where hed open up his Leonellos if he could. The character of Woolly will remain with me. They mentioned that former warden Ackerly was attacked and a blue Studebaker was spotted nearby. Afterwards, Duchess goes snooping around the house. I just finished the audiobook today. responsibilities and encumbrances runs throughout this book as well as the competing ideas of exploration, travel and imagination. He had just found an axe in the boathouse and had resumed trying to get into the safe just as Emmett had shown up. Woolly then muses that it would be magnificent to have a one-of-a-kind kind of day. 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. Instead, a nearby panhandler tells him that hes the one to ask since he worked on the rails for 25 years. A caravan of cars speeds by and a nearby farmer rushes his family into a shelter. (Previous chapters have referenced how Warden William had taken over from Ackerly and made reforms like trying to educate the kids and firing the nurse who was illicitly dispensing drugs. The boat contains a hole and Emmett stacks stones in order to stop the boat from flooding. Overall, the book just lacked the "delights on every page" feel of "Moscow." The writing is without a doubt excellent, and if you'd like a 1950s road trip filled with action and adventure, you may want to give "Lincoln Highway" a try. Woolly chimes in with ideas about an imaginative and huge house that delights Billy, and they sketch out a floor plan. He finally settles on beginning the story with Emmett being released from Salina. He understands why Sally is upset, knowing that there was once the possibility of something between them. "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. Duchesss father had lied about Duchess being his nephew and him being an army officer who was unable to care for him. He says that it seems to be about something more serious than Duchess skipping the fence at Salina. Like his first two novels, The Lincoln Highway is elegantly constructed and compulsively readable. However, Sally says that the sheriff came to see her. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. Emmetts father also got sick, and this year he passed away. 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. He takes the bat with him, and he takes some clothes from Denniss closet as well. We want to make you part of the Jenkins family with our huge selection of new and used cars and our competitive pricing. C.J. Now, after kicking Duchess, Billy hides in a space under the stairs that Woolly had previously described to him. 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 Then he thinks about it and forcefully knocks Duchess out. While it was a first offense, the value of the watch made it grand larceny. Duchess tells Billy that hes been to hundreds of cities because her father was a traveling actor. Townhouse tells Emmett what transpired with Duchess, and Townhouse warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess. Very disappointed by death of Duchess. However, hed found a stream to clean himself off and eventually made his way to some empty boxcars. Woolly ended up getting in, and he tried to drive around looking for the fire station. So in accepting the possibility that he could drown, he killed him. The night, Sally looks up the number for Father Colmore. However, once Duchess is awake and the money begins to blow away, Duchess shifts the boat to try and get itcausing it to sink and since Duchess cant swim, he drowns. Each of the main characters are at a crossroads of sorts and in a way, the Lincoln Highway serves as a getaway from their current, somewhat bleak situation. The standing man who identifies himself as Mr. Parker is very drunk, and Emmett lies and says that hes a brakeman. One in a thousand can look at the world with amazement," Towles wrote in his first novel. He thinks it's about something more serious than Duchess's escape from Salina. Odometer is 4078 miles below market average! "The Lincoln Highway is a road novel that celebrates the mythos of an era via a cross-country highway . He talks about The Three Musketeers, and they talk about what he would do with $50,000. In Chapter 1, Emmett arrives at Woolly's great-grandfather's house to find Woolly dead and Woolly still trying to get the safe open. Emmett asks the receptionist for Harrys information, but is firmly rebuffed. (At one point, Maurice walks in and is upset to see that Townhouse is giving the car back to Emmett, but Townhouse just tells Maurice off, who stalks off angrily.). Ma Belle tells him that Duchess drugged him, but asks him not to be angry with Duchess. Sarah is painting one of the rooms, and Emmett offers to help. When Townhouse later returned, the guards were waiting, and Ackerly punished Townhouse severely. It turns out Woolly did leave each of the friends his money. Billy soon launches into a story about his own travels. His is a collection of thing that people rarely use, but should be set aside safely anyway. Emmett works on cleaning up, and Sally joins him. He still feels guilt over the killing. (He doesn't kill Duchess because he had made a promise to Billy not to lash out again.) His much-loved second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow (2016), incorporated nods toward the great Russian writers and shades of Eloise at the Plaza and Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Duchess seems to have misinterpreted Sister Agness teachings (by ignoring the parts about atonement and forgiveness) and instead seems to be using her words as an excuse to justify retribution towards others. Next to it, he places his medicine as well as a little brown bottle that hed found in his sisters spice rack. The Lincoln Highway: About the Book Click the image to expand A #1 New York Times Best Seller In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter.