The next morning, Emmett sees that Duchess and Woolly drove off in the Cadillac. Emmett soon shows up at Townhouses place. Right after, Emmett had started formulating a plan to move him and Billy into a fixer-upper that he could renovate and sell. They make their way to the study, and Duchess asks Woolly what the combination to the safe is. His mother had gone to the attic to fetch a perfectly packed wicker picnic set. However, hed found a stream to clean himself off and eventually made his way to some empty boxcars. Billy also asks if heroes can return, and he talks about Ulysses. The title of this latest book refers to America's first cross-country roadway for automobiles, which stretched from New York City to San Francisco. The Studebaker company, now known as a long-lasting and iconic automotive manufacturer, was founded in South Bend, Indiana in 1852. As he keeps hacking away, Emmett goes to call the police, but the phone is dead. . Meanwhile, Woolly mentions wanting to make a pit stop to see his sister Sarah Whitney when they get to New York. Here we get a little more information on why Duchesss father may have taken off when he heard that Duchess was free. Theyve promised to return by June 18. Pastor John happens to be walking by when he spots the open hatch and Billy sitting alone in the boxcar, reading his big red book by his side. Sheriff Peterson knew it wasnt Emmett, since they were together at the time. 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. In present day, Billy tells Ulysses that according to the book, it took Homers Ulysses ten years to be reunited with his wife and child, so he thinks Ulysses will be reunited with his own family in less than two years. Woolly doesnt respond. With some difficulty, Woolly is able to locate it. 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. 2020 LINCOLN CORSAIR RESERVE Vehicle Info. Emmett recognizes the numerous flaws in Billys plan if shes really there and whether she wants to see them but he agrees to think about it. When the phone rings, its Woollys sister who sounds unhappy with him. He also thinks about how his mother had loved firework shows. 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. Amor Towles is the author of New York Times bestsellers RULES OF CIVILITY and A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. Billy is just discovering his, but Woollys has long gotten him into trouble. Young Billy is an utter gem, with his love for books (one book in particular) and his genuine trust in humanity making him an immediate fan favorite. Hed found the $150,000. Billy gets to know Ulysses, and he tells Ulysses the legend of the Greek hero Ulysses. He then hands back the envelope of money. Rick Sebak travels across America's first transcontinental highway, checking out the changing landscape along the route from Times Square to San Francisco. In it, it explains how Charlie had managed to squander his sizeable inheritance by moving here to become a famer. The second is a stack of bills, approximately $3,000, which his father had set aside instead of paying to his creditors. 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. New Price!CARFAX One-Owner. Coan was a banker and prominent community member in Clinton, 5 and first person to be named state consul of the LHA in Iowa. Emmett plans to move them to Texas, a plan he has carefully researched. Knowing the Fitzy is an alcoholic, Duchess offers to buy him a drink in an attempt to loosen his tongue. When he heads back, hes dismayed to see a police officer placing a parking ticket on Emmetts car. He thinks about how Emmett is not reckless, but tends to lash out when angry. His father been part of a revue that was raising money for the war effort. Woolly ended up getting in, and he tried to drive around looking for the fire station. However, in that moment, Billy says to himself I am truly forsaken (referencing what Ulysses has told him) and then proceeds to kick Pastor John in his injured knee and run off. Ransom go inside to the kitchen to talk with Tom Obermeyer, a banker. The day after, the paper showed an image of New York city looking completely still. After all this effort, all Duchess can do is laugh when he realizes that Woolly doesnt know the combination and that it genuinely didnt occur to Woolly that they needed a combination. They reach a huge house next to a lake. They spent a nice afternoon together, but when Dennis, a VP-level banker at J.P. Morgan, at gets home he is furious that Woollys sister spent the afternoon chatting with Woolly instead of getting dinner ready. In spring of 1953 his father had a flu he couldnt recover from. Duchess sees wrongs as misdeeds essentially put someone in anothers debt, which can only be put right by finding a way to balance the accounts. Duchess plans to start a new life after all of this and wants to clear out any debts he owes or owed to him before he does. In 1952, Duchess had just turned 16 and was living with his father at the Sunshine Hotel. He is genuinely curious about the dilemmas the various actors describe and is relieved when a product is introduced to help solve it. Afterwards, Emmett thinks about how he had been free of debts and obligations that morning, but was now encumbered by two promises hed made that day. Dennis talks about the three boarding schools that Woolly had gotten kicked out of and about how theyd lied about Woollys age to keep him from being sentenced as an adult. This is how I interpreted The Lincoln Highway ending. That night, Duchess tells Woolly that if he had 50 grand, hed open up a place like Leonellos. 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. This was very helpful! They are aided by Sally, a family friend, and Ulysses, a black man they meet on the train. 18/26 City/Highway MPG White Platinum Metallic Tri-Coat 2014 Lincoln MKX FWD 6-Speed Automatic with Select . She asks him to try to help Duchess find his purpose. Sally muses that men seem to think that meals just make themselves. He drowns. Later, the doorbell rings, and Woolly hurries to get it. Your email address will not be published. Emmett is not pleased to see them, knowing they should just finish their sentences. Finally, around Thanksgiving in 1943, with Macie a few months pregnant, Ulysses decided to enlist. Before they part ways, Emmett asks what Townhouse plans to do next. She thinks about how they say the Lord answers all prayers, its just that sometimes he answers no.. The two promises Emmett has made are to help Duchess and to check in with Sally. (view spoiler) It was the son of the man who gave the . They make a quick stop at the house of the retired former warden, Ackerly, who used to beat them. Remember, this is spoilers, spoilers, spoilers from here on out! Potentially, Emmett laid the groundwork for Duchess to have to choose between the money or survival. Then, as Duchess tries to hack open the safe, Woolly takes a bunch of pills and kills himself. Buy The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller 01 by Towles, Amor (ISBN: 9781786332523) from Amazon's Book Store. It turns out Woolly did leave each of the friends his money. She has learned that he has purchased the Watson farm and all their land from the bank during the foreclosure. Woolly is someone who grew up wealthy on the Upper East Side, but was troubled and got himself expelled from various boarding schools. Quantity: 2 Vehicle . Billy explains how he loves his book, and the Professor asks Billy about himself. Elsewhere, Ulysses takes Billy and Emmett to a vagrant camp where they can stay for the night. He wants to settle accounts with him, since Duchess owes Townhouse for having gotten Townhouse in trouble once. Duchesss father abandoning him when he was 8, and him seeing his trickery helps to explain his manipulative personality and willingness to lie. Laying in deb, Duchess reminisces about traveling with his father in August of 1944 when he was 8. He knows that Duchess cant swim and he did just enough to provide some safety but it was up to Duchess to ensure that he could get back to shore. 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. Rear Spoiler . When you encounter slick or muddy roads, you can engage the four wheel drive on it and drive with confidence. Emmett finds himself regarding the drunk man with some measure of disdain, while thinking about how Mr. Parker is probably someone who has always been able to get anything he wanted his whole life. Pastor John is about to collect the coins and leave when he starts to wonder what else Billy has in his backpack. I did not understand the role of Sally. He thinks it might begin with an S. Duchesss next stop is room 42 at the Sunshine Motel, a room where his father, Harrison Harry Hewett, used to stay. While the ending is shocking, there are hints of something more sinister going on earlier in the novelDuchess random act of violence against the taunting cowboy in Morgen and also to Ackerly, the former warren of the juvenile camp. Emmett feels unsure about how to explain what theyre doing to Billy. His descriptions and perceptions are quite chewy, indeed. As Billy reads to him the story, Ulysses weeps, thinking about his own past. However, Duchess drugs Emmett, leaves him at the brothel and ducks out. However, the last few years the harvests have been bad. 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. Woolly has proposed that if Duchess and Emmett agree to help him claim what is rightfully his, then hell split the proceeds equally between them. He also realizes that by taking the car, Duchess and Wooly had also (inadvertently) taken all his money with them as well. The chapters of six characters are told in a third person that reflects their point of view and tone, while the chapters of Duchess and Sally are in first person. Elsewhere, Abacus thinks about how Billy has reawakened his desire for adventure. He asks them to make a pit stop at the orphanage he stayed in for a few years as a child (because his father abandoned him there temporarily). Duchess looks at Maurice, who still looks unhappy, and feels badly for him. By Amor Towles Viking: 592 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent . They all sit down to have dinner which Duchess and Billy had prepared. When the cowboy dismisses him, Duchess grabs a 2-by-4 from a trash can nearby and hits him with it, saying consider your debt repaid in full. Hed ended up the the room with the safe (while Emmett was upstairs with Woollys body and while Duchess was in the boathouse). 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. I just finished reading it last night and was so wound up by the ending I had to Google what other people thought - including Amor Towles. 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. He sees that Californias growth had exceeded Texass impressive growth over the years. Emmett tries to impress upon the consequences of Duchesss actions. Duchess tells Billy that hes been to hundreds of cities because her father was a traveling actor. Now, as they go looking for Ulysses, they all end up at the abandoned railroad camp. He starts telling Emmett the story of how Duchess ended up in Salina. When he comes back, he sees that Woolly has driven off with the car. By now, Ulysses, Emmett and Billy are settled in the boxcar together with Billy reading from his book the story of Jason and the Argonauts. He calls Ma Belle and it turns out the night went poorly, since Duchess had drugged Emmett with Woollys medicine and it was apparently too strong for him. The Lincoln Highway has little to do with an actual highway, aside from the fact that the main characters of the novel are on a journey. However, Woolly says that its too precious just to keep, saying that its a watch that should be handed down to others. A Ride Along The Lincoln Highway DVD. Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) President W.F. Over dinner, Duchess further explains that Woolly has a trust fund, for which his brother-in-law, Dennis Whitney, is the trustee (the person who makes decisions on behalf of a minor). Fitzy loved reciting Walt Whitman, but gained a reputation as the go-to Santa Claus around the holidays for the wealthy and fashionable New York crowd. On the way to Professor Abernathes, Woolly had thought about how there are certain places that one was supposed to see when traveling, and he knew to be diligent about visiting all those places when he traveled. As the reader will quickly realise, The Lincoln Highway is not the novel that it purports to be. Triumphantly, he gets ready to depart with the bag until he realizes the shovel is missing and . Meanwhile, Emmett and Billy head for San Francisco. I don't understand why when Emmett understood that Woolly did indeed want to leave them the money that he couldn't have given Duchess his share and said - good luck. He also claims that the cops were only concerned about the car because Woolly almost got a ticket. Every beautiful paragraph takes the reader a mile further into a world where our choices matter, where life surprises us, and where people are worth the trouble. 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. 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. 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. 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! The Lincoln Highway Summary. 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. Maintaining a stable interior temperature in the Lincoln . In present day, Ulysses asks him if hes still coming, and he follows Ulysses up to a boxcar that was destined to take them who knows where. At the door, he asks to speak to Duchess in private. That night at the fair, Jimmy had set his sights on Emmett, saying insulting things about Emmetts father. He says hell pay him back as soon as they get to Woollys grandfathers place in the Adirondacks. Theyre interrupted by a loud noise outside. Hes distraught but when he sees Duchess, all Duchess cares about his trying to get Woollys inheritance that is locked away. Meanwhile, Duchess sets Billy to work to distract him from Emmetts absence. He finally settles on beginning the story with Emmett being released from Salina. 20 Reviews Write a Review. Marcelines account in Paris was wiped out, too. It seems like the loud noise was probably Sallys car making some type of noise. He also pours some water into a glass. After Emmett departs, Sally goes to check on Billy to see that he is gone. Thanks. Emmett then sees Billy appear nearby. This road show incorporates American culture, history, food, family, traditions and the changing way . Then, in the kitchen hed found an envelope marked To Be Opened in the Event of My Absence in Woollys handwriting (which we soon learn is Woollys will). 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. On Sunday June 20th, Duchess and Woolly slip out at the crack of dawn and head for Woollys great-grandfathers place. They go to visit the offices and find a little old man who identifies himself as Professor Abernathe. The dinner is delightful, and they ask Duchess to do a magic trick. The first one is because Emmett knows his father doesnt believe in defacing books, which he had clearly done in this instance. Stranded, Emmett calls Sally to pick him and Billy up. Meanwhile, the Studebaker wont be ready until tomorrow morning. Hello and welcome to the second check in for The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.The first section had me hooked, and just so intrigued by all the characters already, but this section bought us new insight from some of the other players in the book, a deeper dive into the lives of the characters we already met and even a few emotional moments.. Duchess thinks about how Emmett clearly felt he owed a debt which is why allowed Jake to beat him up. Later, Emmett finds Sally, who is upset with him. He also returns Emmett's Studebaker to him, and his friends offer to repaint it since the police seem to have associated as blue Studebaker with whatever crime Duchess committed. Sally joins them (platonically) so she can start a new life out there as well. In case its not clear, her phone calls explain the calls Woolly received at the beginning of the chapter. The action (and there's a lot of it) unfolds over a 10-day period, starting in Nebraska and ending in. The second is because his father knew it technically belonged to his creditors. He then claims that hes going to take care of Pastor John by taking him to the police station. 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. So, maybe he didnt actually kill Woolly but he also didnt help to prevent the overdose. At nearly 600 pages, "The Lincoln Highway" is remarkably brisk, remarkably buoyant. In Chapters 8 and 7, they hit the road with the plan of dropping Woolly and Duchess off at the bus stop in Omaha before Emmett and Billy continue on to San Francisco. Emmett tries to pay for the food instead with some cash that Mr. Parker had tipped him (on the train), but pulls out the bill to find that its a 50-dollar bill and Ulysses sternly tells him to put it away. Scared, Billy backs away, clutching his backpack and calling for Emmett. When Sally implies that she wants to leave, too, Mr. Randsom comments angrily about how hes given Sally too much lee-way and that shes become too willful. Woolly is the beneficiary of a trust fund that should have come under his control now that he's 18. Required fields are marked *.