Meet the author of "The Lincoln Highway" at Talking Volumes next Wednesday
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| The Thread's Must-Read |
“The Lincoln Highway“ by Amor Towles
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I would’ve bet you a plate of blini that a novel about a faded Russian aristocrat condemned by the Bolsheviks to live in a grand hotel would’ve sold a respectable few thousand copies when it came out in 2016.
But “A Gentleman in Moscow," published in 2016 and having now sold more than 1.5 million copies, has defied all predictions. In 2017, no novel spent more time on the hardcover bestselling list. And if you look back to the press coverage of the novel, you see headlines like: “What keeps A Gentleman in Moscow” on the bestseller list?”
Well, it turns out that whether Amor Towles is writing about imprisoned aristocratic counts or young women reinventing themselves in the elegant, prewar seasons of New York, it’s his skill in immersing the reader in place and time with lush, cinematic detail and indelible characters.
And that’s what compels Towles’ very different new novel, “The Lincoln Highway.”
It’s the summer of 1954 and two brothers, 18-year-old Emmet and 8-year-old Billy, are headed west to find their mother who has left a trail of clues that lead to San Francisco.
But before they go west, they find themselves headed east, in the company of two likable scoundrels who have escaped a prison work farm.
Adventure ensues, particularly after one of the scoundrels makes off with Emmet’s car and he and Billy have to pursue him to New York.
And that’s where the novel really catches its stride, as Billy – open-hearted and wide-eyed, and in possession of a treasured book about intrepid travelers – takes delight in each new stage of their journey and each new heroic character they encounter.
Towles, who spent his first years in New York as a researcher for an investment firm, lets an idea that intrigues him propel the novel and then he goes back to research the historical detail.
“At any point,” he told The Oxford Exchange, “I’ve got nine novels I’d like to write.”
And that’s just catnip to a reader who loves Towles’ work the way many of us do!
Next Wednesday, join me for my Talking Volumes conversation with author Towles . It’s going to be a great show and we have a few tickets left.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News |
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| | You are what you cook | | "Crying In H Mart" by Michelle Zauner |
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In her memoir, author and musician Michelle Zauner explores how cooking helped her understand her identity as a Korean American after her mother's death. | |
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