About a year ago, I was lucky to join a call hosted by Towles for his readers, where he spoke a bit about this novel, answered some questions, and concluded with an exercise on how he approaches writing his books. In the exercise, he took us through his process of crafting a scene out of thin air, and it was a delight to see his imagination run wild right before us, particularly because of the incredible level of detail he provided about the scenery and each character. So it’s no surprise that *The Lincoln Highway* left me in awe of Towles’ craft, once again.
As with his previous work, this book is filled with the Towles’ signature delectable prose, but what made the novel particularly special was the intertwining narratives of the characters throughout. Each character’s story arc is approached with great care and consideration, while every minuscule detail that initially seems trivial ends up having a worthwhile payoff. The switching narration style from 1st to 3rd person, particularly when recounting the same events from varying perspectives, allowed me to draw conclusions about each character and made me more engaged with the story than any other book this year.
I guess it also helps that I’m a sucker for coming-of-age adventure stories. What a wonderful way to end the year. Cheers, Amor
by andgor