The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
In defence of Duchess
The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
The Lincoln Highway has little to do with an actual highway, aside from the fact that the main characters of the novel are on a journey.
This book is heavy, both literally and figuratively. It touches on some dark topics and is 600 pages long.
The story centres on four main characters:
Emmet, the big brother. Quiet, serious, and driven. He seems to want to take care of his little brother and stay out of trouble.
Billy, Emmet’s little brother. Billy is an extremely bright and quirky 8 year old boy (likely 2e, just like my son).
Duchess, Emmet’s trouble-making friend who is always playing an angle. It’s hard to know what he really wants because he always seems to be manipulating or sweet-talking someone.
Woolly, the seemingly “slow-witted” but big-hearted character who stumbles his way through life, always surprised when he finds himself in trouble yet again.
These four end up on an adventure together, yet are on extremely different paths, and heading in opposite directions.
Billy and Emmet want to head out West for a fresh start after their father dies, but Duchess has plans for settling scores out East. Duchess has a penchant for holding grudges and getting the rest of the gang caught up in his schemes.
Complexity
It’s not that simple, though. Along the road, Towles dives deep into each of his players, developing nuanced and multi-dimensional characters.
The reason I chose to write this review, my very first book review, is because the complexity and nuance seem to have been lost on some. After I finished the book and looked at reviews online, I found many comments from readers indicating they hated Duchess.
If you look at him as a one-dimensional “bad guy”, then sure, he’s easy to hate. But Towles gave us so much more than that with Duchess.
Literary Themes
Firstly, Duchess’ father — one of the people with whom he is looking to get even— was a Shakespearean actor, and it’s clear the apple did not fall far from the tree.
Duchess exudes a charming confidence, can convince almost anyone to see things his way, and is hilariously theatric when waxing dramatic (which is often).
In fact, Duchess quotes Macbeth early on in the story,
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.”
Like Shakespeare’s Macbeth, greed, ambition, and power are what drive Duchess. These characters are both willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want and won’t let anyone stand in their way.
“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other.”
— Macbeth
Throughout their journey, Billy consults a book he carries with him everywhere. This book contains a mixture of real-life and mythical heroes who had grand adventures.
One of the characters in Billy’s book is Odysseus, who in greek mythology, was known for being an eloquent speaker and a cunning trickster. Both of these characteristics also very accurately describe Duchess.
“Her gifts were mixed with good and evil both.”
— Homer, in Odyssey
The next part refers to the ending of the book, so please stop here if you haven’t finished reading it yet.
The Ending
I absolutely love how Towles brought Duchess back to his father’s act, with everyone standing still for a moment, just until the clock chimed. As an actor, Duchess took his final bows and bid farewell to his audience.
Although he never formally worked as an actor, Duchess made his way in the world much like his father had, acting his way through life.
“The rest is silence.”
— Hamlet
Review written by Jillian Enright
