Reviews

• Great author

• Where to even begin? Elizabeth Hay's eloquence and utter humanity has nearly struck me dumb. I loved this book, LATE NIGHTS ON AIR, so much that I didn't want it to end. Canadian writers have fascinated me for years, maybe because I'm always so amazed that many great and well-known authors in Canada are all but UNknown here in the U.S. I remember discovering the funny and oh-so-human Smith and Other Events: Tales of the Chilcotin by Paul St Pierre many years ago. And of course there is always Farley Mowat, who is pretty well-known down here in the 48, probably mostly for his memoir, Never Cry Wolf : Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves . But his other two memoirs, Born Naked: The Early Adventures of the Author of Never Cry Wolf and And No Birds Sang (The Farley Mowat Series) are equally good, and they are all but invisible here in this country. And there is Linden MacIntyre, the award-winning CBC journalist, with his Cape Breton novel trilogy and his lovely memoir of that region Causeway: A Passage from Innocence . I simply can't understand how those books have not caught on here. But now here is Elizabeth Hay, who has obviously been around for quite a while now and won some prestigious literary awards, and I am just now discovering her. Or thought I was, until I remembered I had read A Student of Weather some years back, a book I found, sadly, in a remainder bin. (Where I often find some of the very best books.) LATE NIGHTS ON AIR is a literary gem, written from an omniscient point-of-view with love and care for its several main characters, who have all been turned and polished so that all of their facets and flaws are revealed under the light of careful and appreciative reading. And I did appreciate these fictional folks, make no mistake, all of whom worked at a small Northern Services radio station in Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, an historical settlement on the shore of Great Slave Lake. First there is Harry, a embittered veteran of radio who peaked early, tried TV and failed, and is now, in his mid-forties, back where he started twenty years before. The story unfolds in the mid-70s and begins with Harry hearing a voice on his own radio station, a late night radio voice that he hasn't heard before. The voice belongs to Dido Paris, a new hire, a beautiful young woman with a past and indeterminate sexual preferences, who leaves her lasting mark on Harry, as well as on all the other people whose lives she touches. There is Eleanor Dew, the station's receptionist, who has her own unusual story which includes a brief unconsummated marriage. And Ralph, the station's book reviewer and nature photographer. And Eddie, a Vietnam vet and the station technician, and Harry's rival for Dido's affections. But the novel's central character is Gwen, young and - mostly - innocent, still groping for her proper place in life, looking for a start in radio. Under Harry's guidance and Eleanor's friendship she gradually grows from a frightened young broadcaster into a confident and inventive late night radio personality with her own persona, 'Stella Round.' Also key to the novel's forward impetus is the story of the Canadian explorer of the Barrens, John Hornby. Harry, Eleanor, Gwen and Ralph are all so fascinated by this man's legend and tragic end that they embark on a summer canoe trip retracing Hornby's last journey. (Both Hornby's trip and the retracing of it by this novel's characters made me remember Jon Krakauer's bestseller, Into the Wild .) And there is also the subtheme of an ongoing study by a federally appointed judge of the effects a planned pipeline would have on the fragile arctic ecosystem. LATE NIGHTS ON AIR makes use of both of the most common themes in fiction: 'a new person comes to town' and 'someone goes on a journey.' And they are used and interwoven in a masterful manner. The book is filled with wonderful details that evoked so many memories and associations. The mention of Miles Davis' seminal album, Kind of Blue , made me remember my own introduction to that jazz masterpiece, at a remote army base in northern Turkey. The book's very title, and its theme, evoked memories of other more obscure but favorite albums like Katy Moffatt's Midnight Radio and Earl Klugh's Late Night Guitar . And the description of the travelers' encounter with a massive herd of migrating caribou brought to mind Mowat's own similar experience in the aforementioned NEVER CRY WOLF. There is nothing forced or contrived in LATE NIGHTS ON AIR. It has elements of tragedy, humor, and pathos. But what shines through the strongest is its utter humanity. As I said earlier, I wanted the story to go on and on. But its ending, while certainly not a happily-ever-after conventional sort of ending, is richly, deeply, and profoundly satisfying. I loved this book and recommend it highly. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

• I read this book in anticipation of traveling to Yellowknife, NWT. It was such a fine introduction to a distant place. The pacing of the book, which many online reviews criticize, was just about perfect, reminiscent of Jane Austen. It gives you time to enjoy the characters, the concepts, and the scenery. The second part of the book--out of Yellowknife and up to the Barren Lands--was a significant transition. I missed some of the characters who'd been in the first half of the book, and was jarred that a seeming minor character from the first half was now a major character. Nonetheless, the description of that beautiful wilderness beckoned me. I would definitely recommend this book, particularly to someone who plans to visit Yellowknife.

• I have family in Canada and was hoping that this would be about the most recent enquiries into environmental loss when you send a pipeline through apparent wilderness. However it covers 1970s work. No matter. The lives of those who have an opinion on the outcomes are well covered here. Ut works well as a novel.

• This was the title of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry in 1975-1977. The title takes into consideration the diverse perspective of the different groups of people living in the Canadian North and those coming there for work or business purposes. Elizabeth Hay starts her novel in 1975 and uses the inquiry under its chairman, Justice Thomas Berger, as a kind of backdrop to her award-winning novel. Her focus, however, is a group of radio journalists, some 'old hand', some new arrivals, some local, others from the South, all working with the Northern Service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Hay's central characters and a few hangers-on are all highly individualistic - some deeply attracted to the open spaces of the North, others with a more urban mentality, finding climate and changing seasons an ongoing challenge. In all, we are exposed to an intriguing set of people. As can be easily imagined, the inter-personal relationships are not simple in a close-knit work environment of a small radio station with solidarities and allegiances shifting as quickly as animosities and jealousies. Among the changing perspectives, reflecting the emotional state of the individuals at the centre of the story, three have stronger voices than the others. Harry, the personally troubled acting station manager, an experienced radio personality, is in less than comfortable position and his days may be numbered. Gwen, the newest arrival with enthusiasm and dedication to learn that might, she hopes, balance off her lack of experience. Eleanor, the administrator, represents the calm and responsible voice of reason. One of the groups challenges is Dido, a young woman from the Netherlands with a "natural" radio voice and a mysterious and seductive personality. While the characters are all interesting, I didn't feel strongly engaged with any of them for a long time; they remained vague and lacked a level of depth. Like the meandering Mackenzie some of them, very slowly, gain in strength and focus. For two thirds of the novel the reader is invited into the hearts and lives of this small group and a few secondary characters we meet along the way. Dramas happen but mainly on a small scale. Hay has exquisite one liners in her depiction of the characters and their views of each other, such as " I have a great face for radio." One intriguing and recurrent theme is the memory of lost ones, especially fathers who had exercised very strong influences on their daughters. "The past had never gone away, had not intention of going away." While considered in a different context (the pipeline)it applies just as well to the characters in the novel. For each of them the past is very much present. It emerges over time, that several of the group feel drawn to explore the Northern Wilderness more closely by following in the footsteps of an explorer team several decades previously. The author brilliantly evokes the landscape of the "Barrens", also depicting the challenges any group would face trying to navigate the frozen lakes in the Mackenzie River Delta. The author's sense of awe at the beauty of the scenery, the summer lights in the Artic and of the vastness and potential loneliness and danger is captures in lyrical and intimate language. This segment is by far the strongest part of the novel. Not only for its descriptive power but, especially, also for suggesting new connections between those who went on this journey. Last not least, Hay exquisitely explores the connections between natural environment and human beings - whether they live traditionally in close harmony with the land or are visitors moving through, but still forever altered. [Friederike Knabe]

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