17 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-91709012-4 (PB)
The Six Mile Store is old and grubby and positioned in the middle of nowhere. It provides basics for the local residents, but also its gas pumps are in a perfect position for those travelling long distances to Minnesota or North Carolina, so travellers pause there to refuel. As a small child Honey had been fascinated by the store and its contents, now as a teenager she works at the store at weekends during term-time and more frequently during the holidays.
The story opens in July when Honey is working at the store to help out the owner who is ill, she works alongside another young woman, Sammy Legs, and they are both surprised when the owner employs, Lisa, a middle-aged acquaintance to work alongside them. Soon Honey is confiding in Lisa, whom she admires because of her dedication to her daughter. She also feels slightly envious of the effort that Lisa puts into facilitating opportunities for her little girl. Honey’s parents have never bothered about her, independence was forced on her at a young age, and her relationship with them has broken down. Sometimes Honey regrets this and wishes that her mother would show some interest in her achievements and plans for the future, but she knows there is no way to break through their habitual indifference and has given up even trying to phone them when she has important news.
At the start of the book, Honey has just got a place to do a Masters degree in English Literature at a nearby Baptist college, and she is excited because, instead of having to pay, she can study for free and will be given a room on campus, and will even be paid a small amount if she takes some classes and does some tutoring.
The regular local customers at the Six Mile Store are a mixture of quietly desperate people, just scraping a living, and most of their lives are confused and out of control. It is a community riddled with drug use and loneliness. Despite her desire to get academic qualifications to secure her future and move on, Honey is also confused and there is the continual threat that she will lose control of her life, and it will spiral into free fall. There are many people who are making Honey’s life difficult, especially the predatory cop who keeps turning up at the store, and her hypocritical college supervisor who keeps finding fault. The best thing in Honey’s life is her relationship with her Turkish boyfriend, Karim, but she knows that he is due to return to Turkey in September. In the community that surrounds the Six Mile Store there is a hardly recognised tension and the ever-present fear that the underlying violence will break through.
The
Six Mile Store
is a novella that describes the realities of life in an isolated American
community. Most of the book is narrated in the First Person by Honey, who is an
engaging protagonist, young and naïve but basically kind, as she struggles to
improve her life despite poverty and family indifference. However, part of the
narrative is in a different viewpoint, which takes the story in a different and
unexpected direction. This is a fast-moving short read, which will be enjoyed
by readers who like hard hitting stories that mirror the grim realities of life
for people living on the edge of survival.
------
Reviewer:
Carol Westron
No comments:
Post a Comment