Billy says that hed want a house in San Francisco. by Amor Towles. 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. Ulysses advises Billy not to tell Emmett what happened, at least for now, since Emmett has a lot on his mind. Now, as they go looking for Ulysses, they all end up at the abandoned railroad camp. Ransom, a neighbor and family friend who has known Emmett his whole life, meets them outside. However, Duchess claims that the money is safe and sound at Sarahs place, and he offers to give Emmett another car (Woollys 1941 Cadillac convertible). Back downstairs, Duchess books rooms for him and Woolly for the night. Elsewhere, he finds a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and marvels at its design. Chapters 10 and 9 open with Emmett Watson (18) returning home to Morgen, Nebraska (dropped off by Warden Williams) after having spent a year in juvenile detention for killing Jimmy Snyder. Next, Billy shows Emmett how he got the safe open (it was 1119, since the Gettysburg Address was November 19). Its likely part of the reason why he struggled so much with the routine in boarding school. He later attended Harvard, married a woman he loved named Polly and had two children. Throughout the novel, an array of stories are recalledstories drawn from Professor Abernathes. Sally drops them both off at the train station, and she asks him to promise to call and check in (on Friday at 2:30) when they get to New York. 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?!?!?! She likes that it requires effort, that its a process passed down from her mother. Emmett then returns to find the two of them there (theres a moment of confusion when he and Ulysses meet, but it gets sorted out). It is a 1954 coming of age spanning 10 days in the lives of 3 young men: Emmett, Dutchess, and Wooley, each with a past, each fueled by different influences, each with hopes for a future, each with different paths propelled by different truths. Woolly's sister, Sarah, observes to Emmett: "If you take a trait that by all appearances is a merita trait that is praised by pastors and poets, a trait that we have come to admire in our friends and hope to foster in our childrenand you give it to some poor soul in abundance, it will almost certainly prove an obstacle to their happiness." 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. However, when they arrive, it turns out Woolly doesn't know the combination (and it never occurred to him there would be one). She thinks about how they say the Lord answers all prayers, its just that sometimes he answers no.. Emmett asks the receptionist for Harrys information, but is firmly rebuffed. Duchess comments on how great the preserves are, while Emmett says they already have jam. As it gets late, Billy starts to worry since Emmett hasnt returned yet. Post author: Post published: Mayo 29, 2022 Post category: tulane homecoming 2022 Post comments: grand solar minimum 2021 nasa grand solar minimum 2021 nasa He is genuinely curious about the dilemmas the various actors describe and is relieved when a product is introduced to help solve it. 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). Tommy was friends with Bo Finlay, who shared his sentiments about race. Before she can explain further, theyre interrupted by Duchess announcing that dinner is served. He returned in time to see Emmett and Duchess arguing with each other. Instead, she asks how he ended up at Salina. or ask your favorite author a question with 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. Emmett then considers that if he calls the cops, with Woolly dead in the house, it will quickly complicate his and Billys future. Fitzy then starts to cry as he reminisces. 2021 Amor Towles. They go to visit the offices and find a little old man who identifies himself as Professor Abernathe. Woolly ended up getting in, and he tried to drive around looking for the fire station. Billy says they werent strangers since theyd spoken for a while. Instead, as he heads to another agency, a man name Mr. Morton (along with his African grey bird, Mr. Winslow, who is part of his act) stops him. He starts telling Emmett the story of how Duchess ended up in Salina. (Later, well learn that Duchess was not born in Dutchess County, but instead got his nickname for a different reason.). What virtue do you think each of the main characters possesses in excess? The wind also causes some bills to fly away. Afterwards, Duchess goes to visit Townhouse, who was released from Salina a while ago. Billy offers up his silver dollar collection to pay for passage, but Emmett declines. He didn't fit in with his high functioning, competitive family, so they just doped him up with laudanum. Billy has recently found some old postcards indicating their mother (who left them 8 years ago) once took the journey there down the Lincoln Highway. Before Emmett leaves, Townhouse tells him that Duchess had mentioned that he and Woolly were going to watch the Circus show in Red Hook at 6PM that night. However, Duchess derails the plan. However, various cases had been lost or sold over the years. Theyre interrupted by a loud noise outside. Initially, the plan for Emmett to go after Duchess and Woolly alone, but Billy insists on going to New York, too. Sarah would have needed Valium to cope with "Dennis"! . 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 unpacks his collection of stuff that hed shown Billy. Marceline had been one of the most famous clowns in Europe in the twenties. When Billy hesitates, Pastor John grabs it from him. At the offices of McGinley & Co., Emmett does as he was instructed, which gets him a meeting with Mr. McGinley. Billy quickly falls asleep. Then, six months ago like her father had met a woman, Alice Thompson, and hed broken his routine. In 1929, Marceline been offered a lucrative contract in to perform in New York for six months, but while he was on the ship there, the stock market had plunged, the U.S. had fallen into a depression and his contract was cancelled. First of all, if you have come to this Reader's Guide because you have read A Gentleman in Moscow, I owe you my heartfelt thanks. 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. He gently warns Emmett that while it might be understandable (given his situation) to never want to put up a fight again, people who let themselves be defeated often end up turning to alcohol. It shouldnt be that hard to read over your work once to skim for these blatant mistakes. However, Peterson had asked if Emmett had visitors from out of town. His mother had gone to the attic to fetch a perfectly packed wicker picnic set. The panhandler had explained to Emmett that the Sunset East transports metric tons of flour and crackers back and forth from Nabiscos processing facility in Manhattan. T he main themes in The Lincoln Highway are unintended consequences, alienation and longing, and self-reliance.. He disappears inside, and eventually Emmett goes looking for him. Emmett immediately declines. He decides he needs to go find Duchess in the Adirondacks. Emmett insists he has no intention of going there, but Duchess points out that hes stuck here until Monday anyway. Ask and answer questions about books! Before heading to Sarah's place, the group passes by the location described in Billy's big red book as the offices of Professor Abacus Abernathe. Emmett brings Sally and Billy to stay at a motel while he deals with the Duchess situation. Pastor John asks to see whats in there. They reach a huge house next to a lake. He recalls how his father pretended to be upper-class get himself into the presidential suite of the fanciest hotel. You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with He ends up in the churchs graveyard and trips over a gravestone. As Dennis yells about needing to catch the 6:42 train each morning, Woolly had realized that his boarding schools had been designed to train them to become adults who had every-day days as well. 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. He had just found an axe in the boathouse and had resumed trying to get into the safe just as Emmett had shown up. They make a quick stop at the house of the retired former warden, Ackerly, who used to beat them. 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. How does New York differ in the eyes of Emmett, Duchess, Woolly, and Billy? He recalls how Grandma Wolcott would take them to FAO Schwarz to buy Christmas presents, and then they would go to the Plaza for tea. (Duchess makes up a story about Woolly finding a knife and threatening to leave, violently if necessary, until he helped him find a peaceful way out.) Billy puts on the watch. For a non-spoiler version of the plot synopsis, see The Bibliofile's review of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. When the old man tells Duchess that his father only recently vacated the room on Monday, Duchess understands that his father mustve left after learning Duchess had escaped from Salina. Inside, are four objects: a goatee, a golden earring, a small jar of blackface, and a (retractable) dagger. The book features a number of great travelers and adventurers, both real and fictional. Flashing back to before, Pastor John had been pretty torn up after being forced off the train. He thinks it's about something more serious than Duchess's escape from Salina. That was eight years ago, and Ulysses had been aimlessly riding the train back and forth ever since. However, the last few years the harvests have been bad. Townhouse tells Emmett what transpired with Duchess, and Townhouse warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess. Summary Chapter 5 begins with a section titled "Woolly." At Woolly's sister's house, Duchess was surprised to learn that Woolly had inherited a Cadillac convertible from his father. Two brothers venture across 1950s America to New York in the absorbing new novel by the author of the bestselling A Gentleman in Moscow. Duchess had instead flagged a car to hitch a ride back, but the driver was a cop who had reported him to the warden. Each of the cases had contained accessories for that respective character. When they stop, they happen to find the envelope with the $3,000 that Emmetts father had given him, still stored in the car. This surprises Emmett since Duchess had always implied that Delphine had abandoned them. To say that it was not for everyone is quite the understatement. (He tells Billy that For only when you have seen that you are truly forsaken will you embrace the fact that what happens next rests in your hands, and your hands alone.). Given inflation, $50,000 in 1954 would be the equivalent of about $500,000 today. Duchess finds Fitzy FitzWilliams, an old friend of Harry. Finally, in April, he passed away. Billy gets to know Ulysses, and he tells Ulysses the legend of the Greek hero Ulysses. However, they often ended up needing help from others. Girls was a semi-popular HBO television production that aired from 2012-2017. Pastor John is about to collect the coins and leave when he starts to wonder what else Billy has in his backpack. As Ulysses attempts to run there, the winds and rough terrain fight against him. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This was very helpful to me, especially the careful chronological summary of the events. Mr. Woolly doesnt respond. Duchess warns Emmett that hes willing to shoot him if hes left with no other choice. Emmett and Billy are then visited by two people. Secondly, the typos. They make their way to the study, and Duchess asks Woolly what the combination to the safe is. Emmett thinks to himself that he fully intends to do so and to take good care of his younger brother, Billy. While it was a first offense, the value of the watch made it grand larceny. As he looks around the house for anyone, he sees a checklist entitled Closing the House, describing procedures to go through before leaving (like locking the doors and windows, etc.). In that moment, a black man named Ulysses who knows Pastor John enters the boxcar. 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. They arent home, so they enter though the (four-car) garage. When Sally called Kaitlin, Kaitlin ended up calling Sarahs place and was unhappy when it sounded like Woolly might be there. Duchess notes now as they drive, Woolly listens intently to the commercials. While Emmett thinks his brother's plan of tracking down their mother in California is crazy, he knows that California (due to its high population growth) is a good place for him to pursue his goal of achieving financial stability by renovating and selling houses. In present day, Emmett learns his father's farm is being foreclosed upon by the bank. 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. Ackerlys body jolts, slumps lower and his bladder releases. . Woollys sister, Sarah, observes to Emmett: If you take a trait that by all appearances is a merita trait that is praised by pastors and poets, a trait that we have come to admire in our friends and hope to foster in our childrenand you give it to some poor soul in abundance, it will almost certainly prove an obstacle to their happiness. Do you think this is true? In my opinion, Woolly suffered from arrested development (psychological development that is not complete) when he was around the age of 7 yrs old due to the tragic death of his Father which occurred at that time. Stew is surprised since Ulysses has always had a rule about not staying in the same place two nights in a row. 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. Back at Sarah's place, Emmett eventually shows up. The novel takes places in the mid-1950sa period of peace, prosperity, and upward mobility in the US; a period in which television was in its infancy, and which came just before the advents of rock & roll, the modern civil rights movement, and the sexual revolution. So, when Sally called Sarahs place, no one picked up and it kept ringing instead. After Emmett departs, Sally goes to check on Billy to see that he is gone. Just brings attention to the fact that this is amateur work rather than professional. For him, there are three main debts one he owes to someone else, and two debts that are owed to him. 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). Then, she calls Sarahs place, but it keeps ringing and no one picks up. Ma Belle tells him about how Duchesss father used to leave Duchess with them as he worked in the lounge downstairs. Wooly couldn't make it in school, or even recite the Gettysburg Address, so maybe he had an undiagnosed learning disability that led to extreme anxiety or a break with reality (ie. Billy is just discovering his, but Woollys has long gotten him into trouble. Duchess sees that the box is labelled with his name. The City of New York is a thousand cities rolled into one. 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. Towles is creating a nuanced, comic vision of America. You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author. They leave to escape angry townspeople who believe Emmett got off . As Duchess questions Fitzy, Fitzy apologizes for a statement he had written and signed for the po9lice. In present day, Duchess considers how the Oreo incident was a credit in his account, but not enough to offset the entirety of what he owes to Townhouse for the Hondo incident. He leaves with a sense of moral satisfaction. His favorite part of the store is the huge dollhouse. His father then proceeded to drive off with Miss Maples, leaving Duchess behind as he realized [hed] been had. 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. That night, situated in the trains empty car, Emmett and Billy open the cars hatch (with warning from the panhandler to shut it when they near the Chicago station mid-way). Afterwards, Emmett picks up Billy to head out, but Sally says her car isnt working and she needs a ride, too. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles is a coming-of-age story of four juvenile delinquents on a road trip, as well as the people they meet. 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. For those interested in learning more about the background of the book or my process, I encourage you to browse this site where I have placed a variety of supporting materials. Instead, a nearby panhandler tells him that hes the one to ask since he worked on the rails for 25 years. He wants to settle accounts with him, since Duchess owes Townhouse for having gotten Townhouse in trouble once. Macie had threatened that she wouldnt stay there waiting for him if he did it, but he proceeded anyway. Each character is expertly fleshed out and feels like a distinct person. Outside the library, Emmett is accosted by two guys he knows Jacob Jake Snyder and Eddie Anderson and one he doesnt wearing a cowboy hat. Woolly says that Duchess is nearby, and Emmett leaves Billy with Woolly to go look for Duchess. Emmett initially makes a first to punch Duchess, but then thinks better of it and doesnt. Characters possesses in excess like a distinct person arguing with each other why he struggled so much the. Warns that two cops showed up yesterday looking for Duchess listens intently to the attic to a..., so they just doped him up with laudanum up after being forced off train. 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