Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Madeline Hill (Mad) and her mom have a farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. When a man pulls up to their farm stand one day, Mad assumes he’s just a last minute customer hoping for some produce. But no, Reuben Hill (Rube) tells her that he believes they are half siblings, and that their serial monogamist father may have left a trail of other children across the country from Massachusetts to California. And, oh yeah, would she like to drive across the country with him in a rented PT Cruiser to find the others?

The elder Mr. Hill left Rube’s mother thirty years ago, and Mad’s mother twenty years ago, so it appears that he had a habit of reinventing himself. Was he a writer, a farmer, a soccer coach, or something else entirely? Like a chameleon, he appeared to change professions, wives/partners, and geography whenever he felt the need.

Mad and Rube begin a journey of self-exploration that does much more than take them across state lines. In an attempt to find the answers they seek, they discover more family while uncovering a family history they never knew.

Author Kevin Wilson is the master of crazy happenings; two of his previous characters burst into flames with strong emotions in Nothing to See Here. His humor and wit are biting as well as entertaining. I also enjoyed Now Is Not the Time to Panic where a homemade poster causes ripples of paranoia across the country.

If you’re looking for more road trip fiction, I suggest He Started It by Samantha Downing, The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, or Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler. (Okay, I admit I’m just about to read that last one, but it certainly sounds good. If you get to it before me, let me know!)