In Highway 13, Fiona McFarlane has written a series of linked short stories, all of which are captivating. The stories all refer in some way to a well-known serial killer in Australia who is named in this book as Paul Biga. He picked up hitchhikers south of Sydney and killed them. Many of the victims were European backpackers.
Don’t be put off by this horror at the core of Highway 13. The stories are more a celebration of the lives of the large number of people affected than any retelling of the murders. Each story bursts with other aspects of the characters’ lives.
Apart from the common thread, the stories could not be more different from each other. One difference is the time of the story. Each chapter is given a title and a date. Some take place decades before the murders, others closer to the time and one is set in the future. The characters are also quite different in each story. They include a police officer who was part of the manhunt, a girl who would go on to become the killer’s wife, neighbours who witness the demolition of the killer’s house, podcast presenters who speak of the murders as part of their vacuous exchange, a nun supervising girls on a school trip to Rome and a local politician cooking sausages on election day.
Every story is a gem. McFarlane builds a whole world and a web of relationships around every main character and constructs each story in a style to suit the character. The story about the politician, for example, is written in one long sentence. The podcasters’ story is in the form of a transcript. All are clearly written and easy to follow.
Every so often, a book like Highway 13 takes my breath away with the inventiveness of its narrative and the seemingly effortless perfection of its style. If you like to read short stories to learn about lives beyond your own or relish good writing, look no further for your next read than Fiona McFarlane’s Highway 13.
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