A father leaves New York City for home with his two young daughters. His wife is staying behind for a few days with her parents to visit. He drives along the interstate, listening to the radio, talking with his daughters and thinking about his life. Suddenly, a car approaches. Two men are in the car and they start to make motions towards him. He drops back, and they do also. He speeds up and again they match him. Finally, they tire of teasing him and drive away.

But they aren't through. After a time, they show up again. This time, the passenger who has been the most aggressive, pulls out a gun and fires at the man's car. He is able to get to the shoulder and stop but his youngest daughter has been hit and dies.

This is the premise of Stephen Dixon's Interstate. He retells this story eight different times, each time changing it a bit or focusing on different aspects such as the time at the hospital trying to save his daughter, calling his wife to tell her of the tragedy, or remembering his life with his daughters and various outings they have had.

This is not an easy book to read. Not only is the premise upsetting, but the entire book is written in a stream of consciousness mode, taking the reader inside the man's head on the worst day of his life. We relive the horrible moments time and time as he is now condemned to do for the rest of his life. The text is challenging with no breaks but the novel will be one that those who finish it remember for years. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

I get nervous anytime I see a literary award embossed on a book cover. I've so rarely enjoyed the award-winning books I've read that I've come to the personal feeling that literary awards are given for a book's form more than for their stories. I continue to feel that way with Stephen Dixon's Interstate.
The very basic story: a man is driving along a highway with his two young daughters in the vehicle and another car pulls up showing signs of aggressive road rage. How does the man respond? The passenger in the other car waves a gun. How does the father respond? The man fires the gun and the father notices that one of his daughters has been hit with a bullet. How does the father respond?
Dixon explores this story over and over in a series of stream-of-consciousness alternatives (with paragraphs running two or three pages long).
The initial story was engrossing and horrific. If there is one story you DON'T want to relive, it's the shooting of your child and of course that's what Dixon gives us.
Although Dixon's writing is fluid and engaging and, as a father, I felt the father's anger, fear, and absolute helplessness.
But do I need to?
There are reasons people go on thrill rides or watch scary movies - I understand that. And there are reasons people would probably put themselves through a story like this. But it's awfully specific and this is definitely not a story that I enjoyed in any way.
The stream of consciousness writing has never appealed to me. I find it to be self-indulgent author manipulation and, as I mentioned earlier, a strong case of form over story.
Looking for a good book? Unless you are interested in alternative fiction or really enjoy depressing stories delivered in an oblique manner, you might best avoid Interstate by Stephen Dixon.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.