# books / The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles

At a recent talk at the London Literary Festival, Towles suggested that he has no defining, transcendent style or voice. His pride is in bringing the voices of his characters to life. He did this so brilliantly and vividly in the Gentleman of Moscow. It’s scary how different the two books felt, coming from the same author.

The Lincoln Highway is told from multiple perspectives, both third and first person, centred around the activities of several young men that have left a juvenile work camp, and wish to make new starts. The twisting of fait and fortune stunt the start of their trip, which never gets going. The book had a similar feel. As we switch quickly between the characters, it feels as if we aren’t given quite the time we need for the story to get much traction. Although plenty happens, pages are filled with verbose stories that then serve as contrived metaphors, and we never feel the characters are spreading their legs.

It has the feeling almost of a sitcom, where the same characters tell the same jokes in a different setting each chapter.

An enjoyable read, but doesn’t leave much of a mark. A little forgettable.