Fiona Debling

Amor Towles seems a versatile novelist. This book and 'A Gentleman in Moscow' novels both have enjoyably whimsical elements in common. They feel more 'meaty'; more like novels that could have been written in the past. In addition to plenty of adventures and a reasonably wide cast of memorable characters, both tell tales that you feel you can get your teeth into. In 'The Lincoln Highway', Towles is great at shining a sympathetic light on unusual characters' thinking and how much a single wrong turn, or a betrayal can cascade into a series of life-altering events. It's good at portraying some scenes from different perspectives. Really good.