He directs him to the Unitarian church nearby. When hes done, Billy asks to hear a story about Ulysses own life. With no money to get back and being unknown in America, he ended up as a pantomime street performer living at the Sunshine Hotel. Duchess asks him where his father is, but Fitzy claims he doesnt know. I hope you enjoyed the book. They say a last good-bye to Woolly, and then get in the car to pick up Sally and leave. The Lincoln Highway begins with eighteen-year-old Emmett, recently returned from juvenile detention in 1954, reuniting with his little brother, Billy, on their foreclosed Nebraska farm. He takes the bat with him, and he takes some clothes from Denniss closet as well. Mr. Towles is one of the lucky few who can devote their full time to writing. I, too, found this helpful since I had read the book months ago, and now it is my book clubs choice, but shouldnt a literary website copyread its work?!?!?! Set in 1954, "The Lincoln Highway" is considered by many to be his best. Billy hopes she might still be living there now. It seems like the loud noise was probably Sallys car making some type of noise. In the summer of 1954, Emmett Watson is heading home from a stint at a juvenile work farm to a failing Nebraska farm to collect his younger brother Billy and retrace their mother's earlier journey on the Lincoln Highway to San Francisco. The Lincoln Highway, written by Amor Towles and published on October 5th, 2021, is a historical fiction novel chronicling 10 days in the summer of 1954.The Lincoln Highway is Towles's third historical fiction novel, and like his two previous titles, A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility, it is a #1 New York Times Bestseller.The Lincoln 3, Wyoming. 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. Duchess explains that it required some initiative (i.e. There, he causes a commotion and then drives off with Woolly in Emmett's car (and inadvertently with all of Emmett's money), headed to New York. She feels that doing something unnecessary is about kindness. Fitzy tells him that Harry is at the Olympic Hotel in Syracuse, and that he imagines Duchess will be headed there as well. This chapter also shows a little more about the types of things that interest Woolly and shows off his child-like fascination in certain things. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. that when after he of San Francisco normal childhood: this stunning road through the.. His new novel, the Lincoln Highway is not actually the focus of the four privileged Fire truck but thinking someone forgot it & amp ; Study . Sally first calls Kaitlin, who is unfriendly when she brings up Woolly. It involves getting a cork out of an empty wine bottle. That night at the fair, Jimmy had set his sights on Emmett, saying insulting things about Emmetts father. Woolly doesnt respond. He yanks out the corpse and gets inside . Woollys sister, Sarah, observes to Emmett: If you take a trait that by all appearances is a merita trait that is praised by pastors and poets, a trait that we have come to admire in our friends and hope to foster in our childrenand you give it to some poor soul in abundance, it will almost certainly prove an obstacle to their happiness. Do you think this is true? The nest morning over breakfast, Woolly takes an interest in their paper place mats, depicting the state of Illinois, local landmarks and all the other HoJo locations. He hopes he might be able to become an officer or at least see more of the world. 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. Ulysses shows them the way to get to a camp where they can stay for the night and offers to watch Billy while Emmett takes care of business. 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. She likes that it requires effort, that its a process passed down from her mother. Not sure what the society option of choice would have been then? In the next chapter, we learn that the box is from Sally and contains 6 jars of her strawberry preserves. What virtue do you think each of the main characters possesses in excess? Townhouse ended up crossing without him. Billy says that after their father died, he found a collection of post cards addressed to them from their mother, who left them 8 years ago. He also offers to tell the Snyders to leave Emmett alone. There's also a wall safe at his great-grandfather's house in upstate New York that contains roughly the same amount of money as his trust fund, $150,000. Townhouse didnt make a big deal about it, but Duchess knows he owes Townhouse. Duchess and Woolly are friends of Emmett's from the juvenile detention facility. Kindle. When it was reported on in the newspapers, anti-communist sentiment ensured that Fitzys career as a well-paid Santa was over. Required fields are marked *. What about this novel strikes you as particularly American? Instead, she asks how he ended up at Salina. Sarah finds Woolly looking at the dollhouse, and they reminisce about past holidays. Duchess also uses a pay phone to call Salina to ask for the address of the retired former warden, Warden Ackerly, by pretending to be his uncle. In present day, Duchess takes the little brown bottle from Sarah, saying that These wont do you any good. He places them on the spice rack in the kitchen. Kaitlin also told them that shed called Sarahs place and Woolly had answered, but hung up on her. Hed decided to walk the 40 miles to the nearest junction in Des Moines instead. However, Billy wants to move to California. Townhouse was also black, which meant his punishment was twice as harsh as Duchesss since Ackerly felt that Negro boys were only half as suited to learning as white boys, their lessons had to be twice as long. Ransom for watching over Billy while he was gone. This was a good review. Dennis says that they came back because Kaitlin told them people have been calling looking for Woolly. Ulysses instructs a man named Stew who was cooking some food to give some to Billy and Emmett, and Ulysses pays for their food. If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ($2, $3, or $5) or joining the Patreon! At the train station, Emmett decides theyll need to hitch a ride on a freight train since they dont have money for a train. Back downstairs, Duchess books rooms for him and Woolly for the night. He reminds Emmett that he has paid his debt to society and to make the most of your liberty. A while ago, Emmetts father, Charles Charlie William Watson, took out a second mortgage on the farm. The warden then leaves to make the 3-hour return trip back to Salinas. Billy gets to know Ulysses, and he tells Ulysses the legend of the Greek hero Ulysses. Ask the Author. In present day, Sarah eventually comes home to find Woolly there. Hed then dropped Duchess off at an old stone building, asking him to wait with the nun there for a moment. Theyre interrupted by a loud noise outside. However, the brothers soon discover that Duchess and Woolly, teens from the detention center, escaped and stowed away in the warden's car to the Watson farm. However, Townhouse is reluctant to hit Duchess at first, and he tells them to shut up. Back at Sarah's place, Emmett eventually shows up. Ulysses is a seasoned boxcar traveler, who has been iterant ever since he returned from the war to learn that his wife left him. Sally also confronts him about suggesting that Emmett leave. Initially, the plan for Emmett to go after Duchess and Woolly alone, but Billy insists on going to New York, too. Jacob is Jimmys brother. On Sunday June 20th, Duchess and Woolly slip out at the crack of dawn and head for Woollys great-grandfathers place. Almost immediately, the Lincoln Highway reinforced or reshaped a number of the book's themes and events. The Quick Recap and Chapter-by-Chapter Summary for The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles are below. I will definitely finish the book, as I like it, but your summary will help me bluff my way through book club. permeated with light, wit, youth . 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. After Ulysses was knocked out, he slowly regained his consciousness. 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. Emmett makes his way to the Wolcott house. 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. She is also unhappy to learn that her father was the one that suggested that perhaps Emmett have a fresh start elsewhere. Dennis then yells at Woolly about how irresponsible he is. Emmett is angry with Duchess but he thinks about how before they left, Billy had asked Emmett to promise that whenever you feel like hitting someone in anger, first youll count to ten. He met his wife Macie Dixon during the depression. 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. Emmetts thoughts turn to how to track down Duchess. He sees that a bunch of bills ($50K) is stacked up on the opposite end of the boat. One of the tables remind him of a table they used to have in the house. When the subject of their mother comes up, Woolly gets upset when they mention her second husband, Richard. (Later, well learn that Duchess was not born in Dutchess County, but instead got his nickname for a different reason.). Duchess wakes up on a row boat with no oar in the lake next to the Wolcott residence. However, Duchess had sneaked it out and put it into Tommys locker. Tom informs them that the bank has no choice but to foreclose on the house, meaning that Emmett and his brother have to move out. Duchess warns Emmett that hes willing to shoot him if hes left with no other choice. The hotel clerk (after asking for compensation) then directs Emmett to Anchor where Fitzy FitzWilliams can be found. Afterwards, Duchess goes snooping around the house. Billy tells Emmett not to worry. Theyd had a delightful picnic. 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. In Chapters 4 and 3, Emmett goes to visit Townhouse, who warns that the police recently came by looking for Duchess. In that moment, Pastor John whacks Ulysses on the head with a staff, breaking it in two. However, Duchess drugs Emmett, leaves him at the brothel and ducks out. He also realizes that by taking the car, Duchess and Wooly had also (inadvertently) taken all his money with them as well. He recalls how his father pretended to be upper-class get himself into the presidential suite of the fanciest hotel. In spring of 1953 his father had a flu he couldnt recover from. When the phone rings, its Woollys sister who sounds unhappy with him. The moving train makes it difficult to cross the gap between the cars. The Lincoln Highway Themes. That part makes no sense to me, why summarize from the end to the beginning? 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. The Greek hero Ulysses getting a cork out of an empty wine bottle no sense to me why. 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