The night before Evelyn Justice is supposed to graduate from high school, her world turns upside down. Instead of celebrating her achievement with family and friends, she and her sister Margaret end up fleeing their home in the prosperous Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vanessa Miller’s historical novel The Filling Station begins with a glimpse into the horrific events of 1921’s Tulsa Race Massacre. The story continues to tell the very different reactions to the evening’s unspeakable occurrences, from the points of view of both sisters. It includes romance, family stories, social and political upheaval, and friendship.
The setting for most of the novel is not actually Greenwood but instead the Threatt family’s filling station, which becomes a safe haven for these sisters, as well as others needing groceries, gasoline, or some hope along the highway in Jim Crow America. This setting and the family who owned it provided inspiration for the true parts of this fictional tale. Most chapters of The Filling Station begin with a related quote from the Red Cross relief report, which I found to be interesting.
A very sad story, this novel also provides some hope and healing as the sisters and their beloved neighbors rise from the destruction to rebuild their community. Overall, I found parts of the narrative a bit repetitive and the pacing of the story to be uneven. Much of the story was predictable, but it still provides good narrative insight into an often-overlooked part of American history.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
