Cricket Muse asked:

Does anyone else feel disappointed that this wasn’t a road trip with two brothers? An actual trip on the Lincoln Highway—now that could have been a 500+ page novel of distinction. Maybe it will be the sequel.

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4 years ago
19 answers

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Chris I was disappointed that a Tale of Two Cities wasn't a travel guide for London and Paris.

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Janet Kirch Wenner Well, think of all the classical references in Billy's favorite book. The Iliad tells only part of the story of the Trojan War. And The Odyssey is the story of an attempt to get home. "Travels and adventures" often don't go as expected.
Lincoln is mentioned as the president who perfected the union; he's one of the heroes in the Compendium. There's a mythic status to the highway that carries his name.
On page 511 it becomes clear that the whole story is being brought to us by Billy, presumably years later, and it's all in media res.

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SusanTalksBooks I was! Very disappointed in the ending, too!! Does not align with what was portrayed as Emmett's life philosophy and left many things hanging that I felt were pretty integral to the book.

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kay turner I was not disappointed that this book took a much different path than I expected from the title. Instead of traveling the real Lincoln Highway, instead I thought the characters traveled on a road to self-discovery.

I thought this book was rich and deep in characters.

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Bernadette A traditional road trip with two brothers has been done; Towles has given the road journey a new twist. I agree a sequel is in order; Billy and Emmett have to complete the journey now to San Francisco. Can't wait.

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Liz
stay tuned for #2 in the series - that's my bet!

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Eileen I wasn't because it was so much more than that. The Lincoln Highway was a catalyst to the story and constantly a minor character. I think the characters were able to be flushed out so much more with their interactions with some people that Emmett had history with.

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Karen R. Dickson Absolutely! How long was anyone driving on the Lincoln Highway? I was also eager to find out if they would locate their mom. Too many shenanigans and really awful delays. I felt it was more anxiety-inducing than road trip satisfaction.

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Judith Too many inconsequential backstories & zany escapades/mishaps along the way...and too much in the vein of Oh Brother Where Art Thou

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Carl Dreyer

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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Beth It became pretty clear early in the book that this was going to be an escapade of mishaps and missed connections. If you want a travelogue of two brothers, there are other books out there.

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Megan

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)[I also wondered, why title the book about a highway that they never really actually drove on?
Lincoln's Highway=Lincoln's vision for America. It is the dream of equality. Lincoln--(as in the highway and the man) is a minor character throughout this book. He shows up as statues along the way. The date of the Gettysburg address is the combination of the safe.
The travelers start out midway on Lincoln's Highway in their journey. Then travel back to the beginning of of it. The boys need to go through a purifying process before they are worthy to travel on the Lincoln Highway. They also have to start it at the beginning in order to take it all the way.
Emmett and Duchess are archetypes for the two America's post WWII. Emmett's attitude is of prosperity through hard work and integrity. Duchess's attitude is of wanting to swindle, steal and cheat his way to prosperity. But Duchess secretly wishes that he could be more like the Emmett--wanting that integrity, wanting to right those wrongs (think Duchess asking Townhouse to hit him 3 times to settle the score after he'd seen Emmett taking blows for a similar reason).
The two black characters--Townhouse and Ulysses are also significant for the attitudes at that time period, post WWII towards blacks. Ulysses represents the legacy of the past--the negative effects that slavery has had on his people. Townhouse represents the future. He is trying to become something, but gets arrested and serves time in the juvenile detention facility for doing so. He can't get a break. However in the end, both men decide that they are going to work hard to make life happen for themselves, despite the odds stacked against them. They are significant characters to the Lincoln ideal.
I wonder whether there would be a #2 in the series, because this seems to be more of a book where the character's actions are determined by this time and attitude in history. Maybe when they find their mum, it will be set in the 60's and the characters will reflect the views of that time period? (hide spoiler)]

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Karen Boman I agree with you. I started the book thinking it would be an actual road trip on the Lincoln Highway, and felt disappointed when it wasn't.

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