The Lincoln Highway burnt my Sunday lasagna. It kept me awake at night and then called out to me to pick it up again at 05.30, when even the sparrows were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes, because this is a heck of a story.
It's a big book at 576 pages but I don't think I have ever read that much book in such a short space of time. As you know, I'm a slow reader. The voice in my head reads at the same speed as me reading a book out loud, and I would never want to skim-read a book as good as this because there is much joy to be found in the use of the language. Having binge read my way through almost all of it, I then slowed down even more as I didn't want it to end, and I saved the final two chapters until my husband was safely out of the house to ensure I could read the conclusion without interruption. It's that kind of book.
It's an all-American story, but mercifully without the baseball. Set in the early 1950s, it's a tried and trusted 'epic quest' formula but, my goodness it's a page turner! You get all the hallmarks of the era from the classic Studebaker to the Empire State Building and all the characters are loveable - even those who are keeping one eye open for the police.
Nearly eight years have passed since Emmett and Billy's mother tucked them both into bed, kissed them goodnight, and walked out the door. Emmett was 10, and Billy still a baby, and they hadn't heard a word from her since. Or at least they thought the hadn't. After their father died, and the farm was being prepared for sale, Billy found a little stack of postcards sent from towns along her route - she obviously meant them to find her some day. The boys need to find a way to make a fresh start but will this be enough information to lead them to their Mom? San Francisco is a long way from Nebraska!
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