The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles is historical fiction taking place in the 1950. This is a wonderful story about life and the many ways it can change either by standing up to change or being caught in the wave of it.The theme of the book is redemption, all the characters are trying to redeem themselves of either something they did or their family did. What I love is that all don’t succeed or have a very messed up view about redemption. I though this book was going to be a road book, where the characters get thrown off course to the California destination but eventually make it, but the opposite happens where the character by happenstance go backwards away form California. The narrative is the thing that really sticks out to me and what the writer Amor Towles is known for. The Narrative is told using 8-9 character perspectives, every character is unique and interesting, they do not just provide the narrative but a flashback to their own story and the redemption they seek. Other reviews have said that this story was slow but I was pretty hooked from the beginning and I felt a connection to the character immediately and wanted to know more about them. This book reminded me a lot The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah and the connection I had to it, it happened a round the same time period and had the same destination of California. The Lincoln Highway balances tragedy, humor, and joy evenly throughout. The ending was great and pretty perfect for where some of the characters were heading. This is going to be a book that I highly recommend. This book will be a great selection for a book club as there is a lot to explore.

Plot Summary: In the 1950’s Emmett, 18 is returning to his home after he is released early from an involuntary manslaughter, due to his father being dead. The bank forecloses on the house and the tractor but reluctantly lets him keep an old Studebaker the Emmett himself purchased before going to jail. His plan is to take his little brother Billy, 8 and start a new he was thinking Texas, but his brother finds old correspondence via postcards from his long abandoned mother from California. But before the plan starts they runs into Duchess and Wooley two inmates who stowed away and escaped when Emmett was released. They try to convince Emmett of a scheme to go to upstate New York and get Wooley’s trust fund and split it. Emmett declines and tells of his plans to go California, which they reluctantly agree. But when Duchess see’s an opportunity to borrow to car he takes it but it had a secret stash of money Emmett’s dad kept from the bank so he could start a new life.Emmett and Billy must now make it from Nebraska to New York on now money and get back the money and the car to start their destination.

What I Liked: The theme of redemption and how it was worked in. I love how the books and stories got worked in that all fit around the theme. The characters in this novel were great even the character’s I didn’t agree with, based on their life and background their choices made sense to them. I liked the little surprises in narrative how I thought things were going to go one way and flip another, like when Billy first meets Ulysses, and Billy and the author. I loved the character of Ulysses and how his narrative changed when he found out there was an epic poem called The Odyssey that featured a character Ulysses that mirrored points in his life. Duchess was my second favorite character even though his choice in life drive me crazy, he was a fun character to live through.

What I Disliked: I grew slightly frustrated of every time one character kept getting stranded, it was one time too many. I was bummed one character never go closure with their father, I feel like their could have been a draft where this happened, but might have been too long. In flashbacks we never really got the prison relationship of Wooley, Duchess and Emmett.

Recommendation: I highly recommend this excellent book, that pulled me in very deep. The writing really makes you feel what these characters are going through. This is a historical fiction based on the time but the theme is still very relevant. I rated The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles 5 out of 5 stars.