The Lincoln Highway

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Amor Towles is the author of several best-selling historical fiction books, including A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility. If you have read either of these novels, how does this one compare with Towles’s other work? If you have not, does this book make you interested in reading them?
• How does this book compare to other novels that feature formerly incarcerated juveniles, such as Lockdown, Dear Justyce, We Were Here, or Punching the Air? 

2. Personal Reflection and Connection 

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• As Emmett tries to fulfill the promise to his brother, he often finds himself in an internal battle between what is right and wrong. What factors go into your determination of what is right and wrong in your own life? Do these factors hold up when you imagine yourself in a situation like Emmett’s?
• The novel juxtaposes ordinary people with classical heroes, and Professor Abernathe’s POV chapter reveals why. Do you believe that anyone can be a hero, or are some destined for support roles, as Abernathe seems to believe?
• Which narrators do you feel closest to? For instance, Duchess and Sally are the only two characters who receive first-person POV sections. What would the effect be of a first-person POV from say, Woolly, who has a rich inner life but struggles to express himself, and who eventually dies by suicide. How would that type of perspective change your experience of reading the novel?
• Emmett’s control of his anger and his decisions—thus his moral and ethical frameworks—are influenced positively by Billy, his much younger brother. Is there someone in your life who holds you accountable in a helpful way? What do you think your life would be like without them?

3. Societal and Cultural Context 

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• How do racial and economic factors affect the systems of imprisonment and the depictions of prison life in the novel? For instance, Duchess wants to get revenge on Warden Ackerly, the former Salina superintendent who was motivated by racism and capital punishment. What is the relationship between incarceration and race in the United States today? Has much changed?
• How does the novel shape ideas about guilt and innocence with nuance? For instance, Duchess is framed. Woolly—who is neurodivergent—returned a fire truck he thought was abandoned but wasn’t and is thus morally “innocent” but technically “guilty.” Emmett punches someone in retaliation, and the boy hits his head in the fall, later dying from the injury. To what degree are these teens “guilty”? What commentary does this gray area make on the novel’s system of incarceration? Why are these themes important to keep in mind today?
• How is neurodivergence depicted in this novel? Is this a stigmatizing or a well-rounded and compassionate depiction? How does Woolly’s neurodivergence interact with his incarceration? Consider bringing in outside research on how neurodivergent people were treated by the criminal justice system in the 1950s and how they are treated today. Why is this depiction important for the reader to fully understand? What lessons from this era can be applied to today’s world?

4. Literary Analysis 

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• This novel integrates a type of intertext as it entwines the stories about heroes in Professor Abernathe’s Compendium with the events of the novel. Is this structure effective? How does it contribute to the novel’s tone?
• How do the temporal setting of the novel—1954—and the various geographical settings affect the story? How would the story change if either of these settings changed?
• How do the alternating points of view affect the way you perceive the characters? How do these POVs affect the relatability of the characters?
• What is the larger effect of the novel unfolding over a mere 10 days? How does this constrained time period affect the narrative’s tone, pacing, and action?
• How do heroic trajectories in seminal works of classic Greek and Roman literature—for instance, the story of Ulysses—inform and affect the trajectories of these more contemporary characters? Why are tried-and-true narrative strategies like the hero’s journey used in this novel?
• What is the role of fathers in this story? What behaviors do fathers model for their sons? How do the actions of fathers directly and indirectly influence the plot and characters?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• This novel’s 10 parts follow 10 consecutive days. Write a continuation of the novel imagining what happens on the eleventh day.
• In large part, this novel is a road trip story. People often make playlists for road trips. What playlist would Emmett make for their trip? What about Billy? Would their playlists be different?

Need more inspiration for your next meeting? Browse all of our Book Club Resources.