CLJ Reviews Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
What We Read
Late Nights on Air is the story of a small town radio station in Whitehorse, Yukon in 1975 and the people who work there – both on and off air. You’re slowly introduced to each character and eventually you learn why each of them arrived in Northern Canada and whether they were running toward a fresh future or from a destructive past. The story builds until it reaches its climax, a group canoe trip among four main characters up through the Northern Tundra and back home during the summer season. Late Nights on Air, fairly accurately, chronicles the story of the controversial Mackenzie valley gas pipeline and how citizen-led engagement and the leadership of one out-spoken politician succeeded in shutting it down. Elizabeth Hay, a Canadian writer was also a former broadcaster and worked for the CBC in, surprise, surprise, Whitehorse in the early 1970′s. Late Night’s on Air won the Giller Prize in 2005 for Best Non-Fiction in Canada.
What We Did (And How We Did It)
As host of this particular book club, I prepared a radio show (lucky me, I worked at a radio station and had access to all of the necessary equipment) that featured each member of the CLJ as well as the book itself. I modeled the intro after Masterpiece Theatre and used it as the hook into the first question of the evening: who is the main character of this story? You see, it’s not entirely obvious for most of the book who the story was built around. It’s not until the end of the book that we discover the strong story arc this particular character has taken. You need all of the pieces to fall into place to make that discovery and that’s one of Late Night’s on Air’s strengths. For a quiet book with quiet Canadian happenings, manners and patience, it still manages to surprise you in the end.
What We Thought
I think the group struggled with this book more than others. Some might find the first half very slow. And it is. Not a lot happens, plot wise. We’re quietly introduced to each character and learn about their struggles, weaknesses and passions. The second half of the book covers mostly the canoe trip. However, Hay is able to seamlessly weave Canada’s Northern culture, politics and tundra landscape into the storyline. She’s also very good at coming up with original “turns-of-phrase” or sound bites. This is one of my favourites, Hay on voices on the radio: “Despite the red glow of the on-air light, he then pushed through the studio door, only to be met by one of the great mysteries of life. We look so very different from the way we sound. It’s a shock, similar to hearing your own voice for the first time, when you’re force to wonder how the rest of you comes across if you sound nothing like the way you think you sound.” It was a valuable read.
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