Mile Marker 139

The premise of Mile Marker 139 really caught my eye when I was offered a review copy of this book and I am glad I took the chance of reading it. I previously liked Cynthia Hilston's historical fiction work, A Laughing Matter Of Pain, and think I enjoyed this new novel even more. The isolated rest stop setiing together with the four central characters and the conversation-driven narrative made me feel that Mile Marker 139 would also work very well as a stage play. I wonder if Hilston has considered this?

I loved the authenticity of the character portrayals throughout this story. Each of the four poeple is hurting in a different way, but their combined experiences show just how easy it is for people to slip through societal cracks into isolation and, for Shelley, homelessness. I appreciated the honesty of each story and especially how their intertwining never felt forced or overly convenient. Hilston obviously has a profound understanding of each of these people which enabled me to empathise with their situations and decisions.

I did wonder early on if Mile Marker 139 would be too long for itself, but actually found as the story progressed that this was not the case. I became more and more engrossed in the lives I was witnessing and almost felt, at times, like a fifth character at the picnic table. That Mile Marker 139 is a novel exploring very ordinary everyday lives belies its power because Shelley, Mike, Sarah and Russ are often the people we choose not to see or, at least, not to acknowledge. Indeed at one point, barista Sarah is described as simply being an anonymous smiling uniform in a transaction where a cup of coffee is the real focus. Hilston reminds us of the importance of human connections, of just taking a single moment out of our lives could make a huge difference to someone else who needed that contact. In an era where people are becoming ever more estranged from each other, I think Mile Marker is a timely reminder of where our lack of real life friendships could lead.