Fitzy explains that Delphine had always doted on Duchess and bought him fancy clothes, which is why Harry started jokingly referring to his son as Duchess. When he comes back, he sees that Woolly has driven off with the car. The Lincoln Highway for the most part steers away from the upper-class milieu of Rules of Civility, which tracks the ambitions of a winning young woman in 1930s New York City, and 2016's even . That part makes no sense to me, why summarize from the end to the beginning? Billy is determined to follow the Lincoln Highway west to San Francisco, where he hopes to find his mother, who abandoned her family when he was a baby and Emmett was 8. Maurice looks dejected. They reach a huge house next to a lake. One day during his junior year of school, he impulsively found a way to ditch school and take a taxi to visit his sister in Hastings-on-Hudson. When Sally asks him to check in, he initially balks, but she points out the he had no problem calling her when he wanted to demand her assistance. 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). 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). Two years later, when he returned from war, he learned that shed left two weeks after giving birth. In the 1920s, a monument in honor of Coan was erected . He also thinks about how his mother had loved firework shows. One takeaway is that a single wrong turn can set you off course for years though not necessarily irrevocably. However, various cases had been lost or sold over the years. In present day, Townhouse calls out for Paco and Pico. Wooleys voice is muffled, though there is a sweetness to him that comes through. After surveying Morgen, Nebraska, Duchess notes how small the town is, only four blocks in either direction. (At one point, Maurice walks in and is upset to see that Townhouse is giving the car back to Emmett, but Townhouse just tells Maurice off, who stalks off angrily.). At the risk of sounding condescending, (but that is not my intention), there are a couple of typos I would be happy to point out if youd like. He instead changes to subject and starts reminiscing about their childhood. Fitzy tells him that Harry is at the Olympic Hotel in Syracuse, and that he imagines Duchess will be headed there as well. His new novel, THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY, will be released on October 5, 2021. He gets Harry's former address from his agency. His father had started getting various illnesses two years ago, in 1952. 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. He says that she is accustomed to nursing her furies and speaking her mind which makes her unsuited to matrimony. . As they drive, Sally says that the sheriff came by her place because the cowboy hat guy that had confronted Emmett (along with Jake Snyder) had been attacked. 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. 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. Towles works in pieces of actual history into his story to give it a stronger sense of happening in the time that its set in. The standing man who identifies himself as Mr. Parker is very drunk, and Emmett lies and says that hes a brakeman. A lot seemed to have enjoyed his other book, A Gentleman In Moscow . It seems that Emmetts mother suffered from depression, which was exacerbated by post-partum depression, which is part of the reason why she left. Tom leaves without the cars registration. Over at the Ransom home, Sally thinks about a parable that Reverend Pike had read to the congregation where Jesus chides Marys sister Martha when she complains about doing all the housework while Mary sits at Jesuss feet. Duchess and Sally both presented themselves to me as first person narrators right from the start, and I trusted that. This is why his interactions with his sister seemed to have a farewell component to it. Mr. Hewett tends not to have a steady address, but he leaves word with the various booking agencies as to where he can be reached. I'm not 100% sure of Duchess' fate. 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. 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. Afterwards, Duchess goes snooping around the house. Four horses died in that fire because the firemen (who had been in a grocery store nearby) werent able to locate their truck. One night, Duchess had seen them sneak two boxes of Oreos from the pantry into Townhouses locker in order to get him in trouble. Back in 1933, Charlie had moved to Nebraska from Boston to be a farmer, but never had much luck with the weather nor skill at farming or business. It shouldnt be that hard to read over your work once to skim for these blatant mistakes. She likes that it requires effort, that its a process passed down from her mother. Meanwhile, Duchess and Woolly have driven as far as Illinois by now. So the brothers take their share of the money and plan to finally go to California. I found this summary very helpful.thank you. How else would he know where to drive to in New York City? His favorite part of the store is the huge dollhouse. Townhouses friends and his cousin Maurice goad him on. When he heads back, hes dismayed to see a police officer placing a parking ticket on Emmetts car. So Emmett will not get pushed around any longer and is willing to do whatever it takes to get him and Billy to safety. He says hell pay him back as soon as they get to Woollys grandfathers place in the Adirondacks. Knowing the Fitzy is an alcoholic, Duchess offers to buy him a drink in an attempt to loosen his tongue. They arent home, so they enter though the (four-car) garage. She thinks to herself that she does it because its time-consuming, old-fashioned, and unnecessary. His father was between jobs. Seriously! They all have a delightful dinner, but soon Dennis and Sarah come home. Emmett feels unsure about how to explain what theyre doing to Billy. Emmett ventures into Brooklyn to attend circus show that Townhouse had mentioned that Duchess and Woolly were going to. One day, he was asked to do a recitation of Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto at a large event, a gig he undertook with diligence. If youre new to Book Club Chat, I write spoiler-free reviews and spoiler-filled book club questions for each novel I read. He makes the point that while oftentimes nothing bad happened, in one instance Duchess got one of his friends in trouble because of it. 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. Secondly, the typos. Its now June 21st, and Emmett tells Billy they should be able to make it to San Francisco by July 4. Woolly ended up getting in, and he tried to drive around looking for the fire station. In present day, Duchess guilts Fitzy into giving him Harry's current address in Syracuse. Emmett sees that the book is from 1951, but Ma Belle tells him that with society people, the addresses never change. Again, one of the ideas Towles explores is how evil can be offset by decency and kindness on any rung of the socio-economic ladder. Sally sounds a bit whiny though she is devoted to Billy. Mr. 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. Finally, in April, he passed away. After Emmett departs, Sally goes to check on Billy to see that he is gone. Woolly also happens to know that his great-grandfather has a wall safe at their house in upstate New York that contains around $150,000. The two-paragraph version: Emmett (18) has just gotten out of juvie and is now planning to drive down the Lincoln Highway to move to San Francisco with his younger brother Billy (8). They all sit down to have dinner which Duchess and Billy had prepared. He met his wife Macie Dixon during the depression. Emmett thinks to himself that he fully intends to do so and to take good care of his younger brother, Billy. Pastor John grabs a shovel to steady himself so he can run after Billy, but instead another man approaches after hearing the commotion. She thinks about how they say the Lord answers all prayers, its just that sometimes he answers no.. When he returned, Woolly was dead. At that moment, he had felt abandoned by God and by fate. (He doesn't kill Duchess because he had made a promise to Billy not to lash out again.) . But Emmett is concerned that Duchess will try and find them. He initially doesnt to ask anyone for directions, but he thinks about how his father had been too proud to ask the other farmers nearby for advice (Self-reliance as folly, Emmett had thought). 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. The last postcard she sent also talks about how the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Franciscos Lincoln Park has a huge firework show on July 4th each year. Emmett tries to impress upon the consequences of Duchesss actions. The book features a number of great travelers and adventurers, both real and fictional. Back at Sarah's place, Emmett eventually shows up. He hoped to eventually have four properties to maintain and rent out for income. He decides to lunge for the money instead to try to save it. While Duchess probably thought of himself as a hero, he was the villain, in the end. Then, he took full advantage of it before finally sneaking out the back stairs when it was time to leave. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. While it was a first offense, the value of the watch made it grand larceny. Traveling westward from the Douglas Street Bridge. 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. Potentially, Emmett laid the groundwork for Duchess to have to choose between the money or survival. 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. 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. When the train starts to slow, Ulysses tells Billy he doesnt have to leave and invites him to stay. They show Emmett that they have his Studebaker, and Townhouse explains that Duchess left it there. Townhouse then directs Emmett to where Duchess will be that night, which turns out to be a raunchy circus show attached to a brothel. 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. He find Duchess in the hallway pointing a rifle at him. Upstairs, Woolly shows Billy his own collection of stuff. Particularly, Emmett and Billy. 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. In the station, Emmett tries to approach one of the workmen at the station to try to get advice on the best way to hop a train, but hes dismissed. He says that the train will soon slow down and that Billy needs to get off then. So, maybe he didnt actually kill Woolly but he also didnt help to prevent the overdose. 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. Today, hed be looking around the house for other tools. Scared, Billy backs away, clutching his backpack and calling for Emmett. The season follows the. Sarah is painting one of the rooms, and Emmett offers to help. He still feels guilt over the killing. The two get squared away, and before Duchess leaves, he impulsively gives Townhouse's cousin Maurice the keys to Emmett's Studebaker (he thinks of it as a good deed that he's doing). A year ago, Emmett killed another young man, Jimmy Snyder. In the endtime is a precious resource. The first one is because Emmett knows his father doesnt believe in defacing books, which he had clearly done in this instance. Emmett then asks to change the subject. Here we get a little more information on why Duchesss father may have taken off when he heard that Duchess was free. Big Sky. Anyway, still bit troubled by the ending just as I was with A Gentleman - did occur to me would make great ending for the film though. The Lincoln Highway. Theyre interrupted by a loud noise outside. Afterwards, Emmett goes for a drive to clear his head. Required fields are marked *. And Duchess sounds like a showman. Afterwards, Emmett picks up Billy to head out, but Sally says her car isnt working and she needs a ride, too. His innocence, his love of people, love of belonging. Flashing back to before, Pastor John had been pretty torn up after being forced off the train. As Billy reads, Emmett wonders why the book contains stories about real men like Galileo, da Vinci and Edison alongside stories about mythical heroes. Clearly this doesnt represent the future since Woolly is alive but maybe that flash was simply Duchess wishes. 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?!?!?! Townhouse tells Emmett what transpired with Duchess, and Townhouse warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess. Jimmy ended up in a coma for two months before finally succumbing to his injury. He leaves with a sense of moral satisfaction. They mentioned that former warden Ackerly was attacked and a blue Studebaker was spotted nearby. So, Billy decided to sneak into Emmetts car as he was talking to Sally, which is how he ended up at the Wolcott house. Before they leave, Sister Agnes gives Billy a medallion of Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. He hopes he might be able to become an officer or at least see more of the world. I needed to finish this for book club and ran out of time. Billy offers up his silver dollar collection to pay for passage, but Emmett declines. responsibilities and encumbrances runs throughout this book as well as the competing ideas of exploration, travel and imagination. As Duchess leaves, he thinks about how he considers Ackerlys debt to him to be repaid. Celebrating America's first cross-country roadway New York San Francisco Est. The police ended up tracking Woolly down, and he ended up in Salina. Amor Towles- The Lincoln Highway (Spoilers!) When Warden Williams later had them all take an accounting class about balancing your accounts, Duchess started to understand what Sister Agnes had been teaching them. I just finished the audiobook today. He sees that Californias growth had exceeded Texass impressive growth over the years. Of course, Towles is drawn to that one in a thousand. Also the additional explanations in grey alerted me to basic facts of the plot, whys, and hows. Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) President W.F. 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. Sally joins them (platonically) so she can start a new life out there as well. She was a singer who got sick and died. And back at that camp, Ulysses and Billy are attacked by Pastor John. Sam would go with his father to travel to see various shipwrecks, and he felt his world expand and broaden. 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. At this point it becomes clear that Duchesss relationship with his father is is even worse that we previously realized, since his father felt the need to disappear when he learned Duchess was not at Salina. November 17, 2020. Outside, Emmett smashes a windowpane to get back into the house. 62,175 miles Body Style: SUV Engine: 4 Cyl 2.0 L MPG City/Hwy: 21/26 . Sally had lied, saying he didnt. Duchess takes the opportunity to apologize for everything. Instead, she just wants a life of her own where she doesnt have to take care of her father. Buy The Lincoln Highway: A New York Times Number One Bestseller 01 by Towles, Amor (ISBN: 9781786332523) from Amazon's Book Store.