An age-old question: Can there be too much of a good thing? I’m facing that dilemma, as it seems every other day I’m receiving an email from Denver Public Library informing me that one — or more — of my holds is in.
I tend to review the Sunday newspaper for new books, and I also keep a running list of authors who publish with regularity. Every so often I’ll check to see if they have a new book.
These books and authors tend to be popular and typically I wind up in the 100s or 200s on the hold list. I figure, it’ll come when it’ll come.
Usually they dribble in and it works out perfectly. But in the past three weeks, I’ve been inundated. Perhaps it’s coincidence, or maybe they all had similar publication dates, but I’ve found myself in a situation where I need to power through these tomes to keep up with due dates and the incoming load.
The one I’m in the middle of — this was a rare instance where I got in so early I was fourth on the list! — is Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway.
Although I’m a big reader, I admit to gaps in my literary collection. Aside from Of Mice And Men, which was on my high school reading list, the only other Steinbeck I’ve read is East of Eden, and that was largely influenced by James Dean’s appearance in the film adaptation. But Steinbeck is who I keep thinking of as I read Towles’ latest novel.
Set in the early 1950s, it’s a multi-narrative story of mostly young men on a journey, though there is one female voice. Juvenile offenders, failed farmers, hobos, WW II veterans and freight train hoppers are just some of the characters in this very American book. At the heart is the desire for a greater destination, the ambition for a life bigger than what may be pre-ordained. Adventure permeates the story — as do tales of failed adventurers, people who either took risks that cost them dearly, or simply made foolish decisions that didn’t pay off.
I would love to savor the journey, and bask in the evocative atmosphere Towles creates, but alas, three books await on my shelf at home — and two more on the library’s hold shelf.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at [email protected]
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