Spoiler warning: these summaries contains spoilers. . How I take this is after Emmett murdered that bully, he really worked to contain his anger but Duchess behavior left him no choice. I think its left vague on purpose. The dinner is delightful, and they ask Duchess to do a magic trick. One night, Duchess had seen them sneak two boxes of Oreos from the pantry into Townhouses locker in order to get him in trouble. Woolly hated the thesaurus and the unnecessary amount of alternative words it offered. They arent home, so they enter though the (four-car) garage. When Billy additionally mentions Emmetts car, the other tramps start hassling Emmett, and Ulysses has to intimidate them into leaving. Pastor John initially strikes up a conversation in hopes that Billy will share any food he has with him. They want Emmett to go with them to help Woolly get the cash, and in exchange they'll split the money evenly among the three of them. It references an earlier conversation that Billy and Emmett had (in chapter 8) about how long you have to know someone to be their friend. The Lincoln Highway is an adventure story through and through. He says hell pay him back as soon as they get to Woollys grandfathers place in the Adirondacks. He knows that population growth is crucial to his plan of ensuring the profits of possible rental properties. However, Billy wants to move to California. Emmett removes the chairs barricading the doors and tells the nuns what happened. Quick (-ish) Recap The Lincoln Highway in New Jersey The ride there was wordless, but when the fireworks finally started, she reached out in order to squeeze her husbands hand, and gave him a tender smile as tears ran down her face. However, Sally says that the sheriff came to see her. Meanwhile, Duchess and Woolly have driven as far as Illinois by now. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This was very helpful to me, especially the careful chronological summary of the events. Then, Woolly hid the phone. He notes how Denniss office has all sorts of photos, but doesnt have a single photo of Sarah. Of course, Towles is drawn to that one in a thousand. Hes especially fascinated by a story about them doing a civil defense test that resulted in them shutting down all activity in 54 cities across America for ten minutes. $24.99. It took him six tries to get it open. He takes his medicine, and then he takes the pink pills from the little brown bottle. SUV Engine: 4 Cyl 2.0 L MPG City/Hwy: 21/28 . The two novels have collectively sold more than four million copies and have been translated into more than thirty languages. Duchess looks at Maurice, who still looks unhappy, and feels badly for him. Theyd had a delightful picnic. It didn't launch a catchy song, a television series . Fitzy tells him that Harry is at the Olympic Hotel in Syracuse, and that he imagines Duchess will be headed there as well. He hoped to eventually have four properties to maintain and rent out for income. Celebrating America's first cross-country roadway New York San Francisco Est. When Duchess goes to the bathroom, he strikes up a conversation with the traveling salesman. He then hoped to use the proceeds to buy two more run-down properties to renovate, one to sell and the other to rent out, and so forth. I feel Emmett was truly concerned that Duchess would find him and Billy and continue to cause havoc so he had to delay Duchess. Jacob is Jimmys brother. However, Billy told Ulysses about Emmetts rule that he needed to have known someone for at least three days before considering them a friend, so Ulysses agreed to spend another day with them (in addition to today and yesterday) so that they could part as friends. Wooleys voice is muffled, though there is a sweetness to him that comes through. In Illinois, Duchess had gotten to Woolly just before an officer was about to cuff him for driving without a license, among other things. Remember, this is spoilers, spoilers, spoilers from here on out! This morning, Emmett had recalled that the Statler building was where Duchess had said all the big agencies were housed. That night, Duchess sleeps in Emmetts room, and he notices how barren the walls are, as if Emmett had been preparing to walk out of his house with nothing but a kit bag for a long, long time. However, Woolly says that its too precious just to keep, saying that its a watch that should be handed down to others. This is their chance to leave behind Nebraska and its bad memories and try out California. Fitzy lied in a statement to corroborate Harry's lie. He wants to settle accounts with him, since Duchess owes Townhouse for having gotten Townhouse in trouble once. The Lincoln Highway is a fast paced and reflective adventure story centered on three young men from disparate backgrounds, whose incarceration together in a juvenile detention center brings them together on the outside where conflicting motives and moralities set them on a course for collision across the United States. Duchess notes now as they drive, Woolly listens intently to the commercials. As he got older, Polly passed away and his children grew up and moved on. Mostly confined to a single setting Moscow's luxurious Metropol Hotel it spanned 32 years under Stalin's grim rule. Finally, around Thanksgiving in 1943, with Macie a few months pregnant, Ulysses decided to enlist. He makes the point that while oftentimes nothing bad happened, in one instance Duchess got one of his friends in trouble because of it. 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. 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. Emmett confronts Duchess and tries to get him to leave. Duchess tries to calm him down, saying that he needs time to get into the safe so that Emmett and Billy will have the money for their dream house. However, Duchess drugs Emmett, leaves him at the brothel and ducks out. Emmett is shocked to see Daniel Duchess Hewett and Wallace Woolly Martin, two guys he knows from Salina, walking up to them. Emmett makes his way to the Wolcott house. He also realizes that by taking the car, Duchess and Wooly had also (inadvertently) taken all his money with them as well. When a hiss of steam indicates that the car is going to move again, Emmett rushes out. So again, while I dont think Emmett set out to murder Duchess, I also believe he didnt care what happened to himhe just didnt want to deal with his toxic behavior any longer. It's marked here as the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Eighteen-year-old Emmett is released . There were no firemen around, and he somehow became convinced that someone accidentally left it there. Macie had threatened that she wouldnt stay there waiting for him if he did it, but he proceeded anyway. Scared, Billy backs away, clutching his backpack and calling for Emmett. After Ulysses tells his story, Professor Abernathe considers it and says that the infiniteness of the universe means there must be duplicates (or even triplicates) of people and their experiences. He later attended Harvard, married a woman he loved named Polly and had two children. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Alan Minskoff discuss the exceptional performances from Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, and Dion Graham. Amor Towles ' new Great American Road Novel tails four boys three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory, plus a brainy 8-year-old as they set out. He has Billy with him and knows that bringing him was a mistake, since the area appears very rough. Many novels. Coan was a banker and prominent community member in Clinton, 5 and first person to be named state consul of the LHA in Iowa. He wants to start in media res (in the middle of the story), and he considers what the best starting point would be. There were also other reports of thefts at the hotel, and Fitzy swore a statement saying hed seen Duchess exiting rooms where he shouldnt have been. He finds Ackerly asleep in a BarcaLounger in the living room with a smile on his face. He instead changes to subject and starts reminiscing about their childhood. However, the last few years the harvests have been bad. His father was an insurance adjuster for damaged ships and his mother was a seamstress. . Woolly should have control over the money now that hes 18, but his brother in law had him declared temperamentally unfit in order to retain authority over it. Right after, Emmett had started formulating a plan to move him and Billy into a fixer-upper that he could renovate and sell. Afterwards, they both agree that they are square. He starts using his hands to row towards the dock (which is a few hundred feet away), but the wind works against him and the water is cold. Billy tells Emmett not to worry. If this summary was useful to you, please consider supporting this site by leaving a tip ($2, $3, or $5) or joining the Patreon! 1913 The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States, dedicated in 1913. Yesterday, Pastor John been pretending to be part of a Christian revival meeting, but hed attempted to romance a lovely young member of a Methodist choir, angering the girls father, and had to leave quickly. Mr. Reading the story from Duchess first-person perspective caused the reader to try to sympathize with him but soon it became apparent that not only was he a liar but hes also a dangerous person. Billy compares them to stowaways and seems to romanticize the whole thing, referencing Edmond Dants journey and how Duchess had stowed away in the wardens car. Feeling good about having squared things away with Townhouse, Duchess thinks about how good deeds can be habit forming, and he decides to give Maurice the keys to Emmetts Studebaker. Emmett apologizes for forgetting to call her, but he says that her coming here was unnecessary. She's upset to learn from Duchess that Emmett plans on leaving. That would have taken another day for sure. When Ackley investigated the missing food the next day, Tommy was punished, and the boys shared the other box of Oreos which Duchess had hidden. He reaches over to grab it, but realizes that because the boat is slightly damaged, moving towards the money causes water to seep into the boat. This line Emmett thinks before driving away is significant: Having come fifteen hundred miles in the wrong direction, on the verge of traveling three thousand more, Emmett believed that the power within him was new in nature, that no one but he could know what he was capable of, and he only has just begun to know it himself.. But hitch onto this delightful tour de force and you'll be pulled straight through to the end, helpless against the inventive exuberance of Towles' storytelling. Its worth noting that Woolly is described as being somewhat child-like, easily fascinated by things and also easily distracted by or led away by things that interest him. Billy hopes she might still be living there now. Big Sky. In 1914, Coan was made honorary vice president of the national LHA. He then goes into the room that he had stayed at the longest. The Lincoln Highway is a joyrideAmor Towles new Great American Road Novel tails four boys three 18-year-olds who met in a juvenile reformatory plus a brainy 8-year-old as they set out. With no money and no mode of transportation, Emmett and Billy hitch a ride on a train to go to New York to track down Duchess and Woolly. However, he feels certain Emmett did not owe a debt to the man in the cowboy hat (the cowboy). Emmett had brought down the picnic set to urge them to go, and his mother had reluctantly agreed. Woolly then muses that it would be magnificent to have a one-of-a-kind kind of day. Emmets voice is quiet and mostly principled. Billy also asks if heroes can return, and he talks about Ulysses. At the door, he asks to speak to Duchess in private. As for the ending there are many layers to the final part of the book. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); I've just finished The Lincoln Highway and found myself shedding a tear although I couldn't say why! Now, as they go looking for Ulysses, they all end up at the abandoned railroad camp. He presents Duchess with a black leather case, which Duchess recognizes. He then hands back the envelope of money. Traveling westward from the Douglas Street Bridge. His innocence, his love of people, love of belonging. Dennis is furious to learn that Woolly is not at Salina. Kaitlin also told them that shed called Sarahs place and Woolly had answered, but hung up on her. Emmett works on cleaning up, and Sally joins him. 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. Current events make Woolly anxious, but Woolly likes now in old newspapers you can find out what happened. The novel probes questions about how to structure a narrative and where to start; its chapters count down from Ten to One as they build to a knockout climax. By all means, I always love a good journey yarn. He also offers to tell the Snyders to leave Emmett alone. Upstairs, he checks the bedrooms. On some cars the distance between the rear edge of the roof and the tail end disrupts the airflow and increases drag. Its not clear what Sarah was going to ask Woolly, but it can probably be inferred that theres something he doesnt want to talk about or answer to based on his response. He sees that a bunch of bills ($50K) is stacked up on the opposite end of the boat. Emmett originally planned to take Route 34 to Omaha, but Billy wants to take the Lincoln Highway, which would extend their trip by 17.5 miles. The standing man who identifies himself as Mr. Parker is very drunk, and Emmett lies and says that hes a brakeman. Not long after, World War II had started. Sure enough, Woolly is headed for the statue. He also seems to have a soft spot for Woolly and seems to feels that hes been similarly screwed over by his family or been treated unfairly by life. The two promises Emmett has made are to help Duchess and to check in with Sally. 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.