The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles

I was completely charmed with this one! Mr. Towles has a masterly touch; he manages the plot, characters, and settings without a flaw. It starts in media res--a phrase which is mentioned often, thanks to 8 year old Billy Watson, whose book about heroes is an important feature in the story (He has read it FORTY TWO TIMES).
Billy’s big brother Emmett Watson is being driven back to his home in Nebraska–and as we discover, not just him–by the warden of the juvenile detention center where he has spent many months. Hiding in the trunk of the car are two of his comrades, Willy and Duchess, both of whom we grow fond of during the course of the journeys that ensue. All three young men were committed for faults that were not heinous. Emmett’s crime had been committed by accident–but it was still a crime, and he did not forgive himself. Billy has a plan for them: to drive across the country on the Lincoln Highway–to California! A plan which keeps being about to happen but then other things intervene. Along the way, the four comrades meet many people and have many adventures–riding a freight car, visiting the Empire State building, bringing home-made preserves (made by Sallie, a brisk and competent girl, friend of the Watsons) to boys in an orphanage–as they drive through the country in Emmett’s powder blue Studebaker. Which at some point is painted hornet yellow by two Hispanic brothers in a Harlem garage.
It is a wonderful journey, though not everything goes as planned and the end took me by surprise.
I was enchanted by this book. The more I listened, the more impressed I was with the writing–and also, with the loving heart of the writer. He is a supreme storyteller!

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