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Late Nights on Air
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
21 posts | 22 read | 17 to read
The eagerly anticipated novel from the bestselling author of A Student of Weather and Garbo Laughs. Harry Boyd, a hard-bitten refugee from failure in Toronto television, has returned to a small radio station in the Canadian North. There, in Yellowknife, in the summer of 1975, he falls in love with a voice on air, though the real woman, Dido Paris, is both a surprise and even more than he imagined. Dido and Harry are part of the cast of eccentric, utterly loveable characters, all transplants from elsewhere, who form an unlikely group at the station. Their loves and longings, their rivalries and entanglements, the stories of their pasts and what brought each of them to the North, form the centre. One summer, on a canoe trip four of them make into the Arctic wilderness (following in the steps of the legendary Englishman John Hornby, who, along with his small party, starved to death in the barrens in 1927), they find the balance of love shifting, much as the balance of power in the North is being changed by the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline, which threatens to displace Native people from their land. Elizabeth Hay has been compared to Annie Proulx, Alice Hoffman, and Isabel Allende, yet she is uniquely herself. With unforgettable characters, vividly evoked settings, in this new novel, Hay brings to bear her skewering intelligence into the frailties of the human heart and her ability to tell a spellbinding story. Written in gorgeous prose, laced with dark humour, Late Nights on Air is Hays most seductive and accomplished novel yet. On the shortest night of the year, a golden evening without end, Dido climbed the wooden steps to Pilots Monument on top of the great Rock that formed the heart of old Yellowknife. In the Netherlands the light was long and gradual too, but more meadowy, more watery, or else hazier, depending on where you were. . . . Here, it was subarctic desert, virtually unpopulated, and the light was uniformly clear. On the road below, a small man in a black beret was bending over his tripod just as her father used to bend over his tape recorder. Her fathers voice had become the wallpaper inside her skull, hed made a home for himself there as improvised and unexpected as these little houses on the side of the Rock houses with histories of instability, of changing from gambling den to barber shop to sheet metal shop to private home, and of being moved from one part of town to another since they had no foundations. From Late Nights On Air From the Hardcover edition.
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review
Kazzie
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
Pickpick

Very good. The narrative in the north is so real and stunning. I wish it had ended there. The canoe trip is epic. Will maybe read again in 10 years

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LibraryCin
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Panpan

This was boring. There were a couple of mildly interesting things that happened. But, overall, pretty slow and boring. And I didn‘t see one likable thing about Dido, who seemed to just go back and forth between the men. In fact, I don‘t think I really liked very many of the characters… maybe Gwen, but then I skimmed so much of the book in the end, so hard to say if she really was likable

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candority
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Mehso-so

There is some really beautiful writing in this book and I grew quite fond of a couple of the characters, but the story moved at such a glacial pace that I struggled to pick it up or stay engaged. 3⭐️

This was my #BookSpin pick for January and my #NorthwestTerritories read for #ReadCanada!

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
MsMelissa I bailed on this one, mainly because it was so slow. It obviously wasn‘t memorable for me as I can‘t remember a thing about it otherwise 😂 3y
candority @Book_Fiend_Melissa I was tempted to bail so many times, but I kept hoping for something to change. Honestly, you made the right decision 😂 I have another one of her books on my list for #ReadCanada. Hopefully it‘s better! 🤞 3y
85 likes3 comments
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candority
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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My #BookSpinBingo board is ready to go! The tagged book is my #BookSpin pick, while Me Talk Pretty One Day is my #DoubleSpin pick (and a #NewYearWhoDis read)!

Kathleenkelly Love your perfect penmanship. 3y
candority Thank you @Kathleenkelly! 🥰 3y
AlaMich David Sedaris does the audio of his books and they‘re definitely worth listening to, if audiobooks are a thing you do. 3y
See All 7 Comments
candority @AlaMich Yes! I‘ve listened to a couple of his before. I am on hold for this one at the moment, but I also have the physical book, so we‘ll see what I end up reading 😊 3y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Looks fabulous!! 3y
BarbaraBB Your handwriting is gorgeous 😍 3y
candority @BarbaraBB Thank you! 3y
73 likes7 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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GreenGrl87 Tell the Wolves I‘m Home 😍 love that book! 3y
OriginalCyn620 💚💚💚 3y
69 likes3 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Eggs Beautiful 💚💚💚 4y
72 likes1 comment
quote
TheKidUpstairs
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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"The studio was connected by a picture window to master control, which was connected in the same way to the announce booth and the editing booth beyond that. She could see the length of the little station and into the hallway, too. And thus she was inducted into the visibility and invisibility of radio, the intimacy and the isolation."

#SpiritoftheRadio #TheSpiritofRadio #TimbitTunes
@Cinfhen

Suet624 Perfect. 5y
Cinfhen Excellent 5y
95 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
ReadingEnvy
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Pickpick

This 2007 winner of the Giller Prize is set in the mid 1970s in Yellowknife (in the Northwest Territories of Canada.) It details the lives of the people working in the local radio station and then follows four of them as they go on a canoe trip to trace the route of John Hornby in The Barrens. I'm glad I came across this book, enjoyed reading it, but will have to knock one star off my eventual rating for atrocious overuse of foreshadowing.

Ruthiella “Atrocious overuse of foreshadowing” ! 😠Also a pet peeve of mine! (edited) 5y
ReadingEnvy @Ruthiella so bad that I was groaning out loud and ranting to my husband every time it happened 5y
Reggie Is it like Stephen King where at the end of the first chapter in a book he‘ll say by the time this story is done only 32 of the town‘s 1567 residents will survive? And I‘m simultaneously deflated and set on edge. Lol 5y
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ReadingEnvy @Reggie yeah I think if you must do it, do it once. I felt like the author was doing it because she didn't trust you'd keep reading without it. But she didn't need it! And yes, deflate is a good word for it. It ends up taking the excitement out of the drama once it comes. 5y
Lindy I‘m glad you enjoyed this. I couldn‘t get past the first chapter. I find her style overwrought plus I wasn‘t in the mood for the attraction between a young woman and an old man with a cauliflower ear. 5y
ReadingEnvy @Lindy I think the foreshadowing is part of the overwrought writing you describe, and that kept it from five stars. The cauliflower ear was strange, perhaps just to p 5y
ReadingEnvy @Lindy just to point out he is unattractive or has a past? But in the end the characters within the place won me over. Then again I have a penchant for radio people. ;) 5y
Lindy @ReadingEnvy It‘s rare for me to take such a strong dislike for an author‘s style (Markus Sedgwick is another) but I remember almost shuddering in distaste when I heard Hay at a festival reading from 5y
ReadingEnvy @Lindy for every book her reader, vice versa, etc. 5y
62 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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writerlibrarian
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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This has been in my #tbr list for a few years now. Yukon. Northern Canada. Infinite sky. A voice on the air.
#winterwonderland #walkingintheair
@TrishB @Cinfhen

TrishB Stacked - sounds great 👍🏻 5y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Pickpick

Hay has an incredible way of writing wholly realistic characters and situations. The work and personal dynamics between the characters in this book were awe-inspiring to read about. So realistic.

As always, the Canadian place/locale is just as much of a character as the people. Great ending!

39 likes2 stack adds
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Now presents the dilemma, "What Do I Read Next?" ??

These are three #CanLit titles I've narrowed it down to - could use them for my #20BooksofSummer but also the #ReadingWomen challenge (translation, set in Russia for two of them)

Which would you choose?

xicanti I've got Vi out from the library right now and it looks great. Plus, short. 6y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @xicanti yes!! I was actually thinking of going with Vi! 1) it's short - after reading the epic 600 pager I could go with something shorter! 2) great for my translation box in the reading women challenge and 3) it's a beautifully printed book plus Thuy is a lovely writer. I expect this one would be on the Giller longlist maybe? 6y
candority Vi was good, although perhaps not as strong as Thuy‘s other books. Nonetheless, it was as beautiful and lovely as you would expect from her! 6y
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders @candority I'm about half way through now - yes, she's a beautiful writer. Nothing extra in it at all! 6y
candority I‘m looking forward to hearing your final thoughts! 6y
31 likes6 comments
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Magpiegem
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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When you should really go to sleep but you only have an hour left of your audiobook...

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TheKidUpstairs
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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#riotgrams Day 24 #rainbowbookstack
With thanks to my preschooler for reminding me of the correct colour progression (who says tv can't teach you anything?!)

13 likes1 comment
review
Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
Pickpick

Well written character driven story. Very slow paced (glacial even), but with enough foreshadowing, hints and innuendos to keep you on your toes. Beautiful and harsh like the North. Savour with a hot beverage on a cold, clear winter day, or in May.

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Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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(Excuse my poor photo editing skills.)

"Ralph, a man of books and pockets, and pockets stretched out of shape with books".
.
I like Ralph. Even with his yellowed fingers from many years of smoking.

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Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay

"They came down Franklin Avenue, named for the man who ate his boots, the explorer who managed to lose the lives of all one hundred and twenty-nine of his men in one of those foolhardy attempts to find the Northwest Passage. Proof to Harry that if your disaster was on a large enough scale, your incompetence would be forgiven."

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Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay

"The enmity of newsmen is no small thing."

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Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay

"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 forced to wonder how the rest of you comes across if you sound nothing like the way you think you sound. You feel dislodged from the old shoe of yourself."

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Leniverse
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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#PhotoADayNov16 is challenging! I have books set in hamlets and villages, big cities, wilderness, multiple locations, at sea, domes on Mars. But small towns? I'm about to start this book, which as far as I can tell fits the description. #SetInaSmallTown

TrishB Love that cover 😀 7y
Leniverse @TrishB Magnificent, isn't it? Canadian Northwest Territories. 7y
TrishB @Leniverse fab 😊 7y
20 likes1 stack add3 comments
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mllemay
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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#FunFridayPhoto - A book set in a cold climate This is one of my favorite books ever, full stop. It centers around the people working at a small radio station in the Northwest Territories, Canada. There is nothing I can say that will do justice to the feelings I have for this story and these characters ❤️

brendanmleonard Sounds so, so amazing! 8y
mllemay @brendanmleonard it is! It was the book that made me realize I prefer reading character-driven stories. 8y
29 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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mllemay
Late Nights on Air | Elizabeth Hay
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Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadian Litsyers! 🇨🇦🍁🇨🇦 I thought I would showcase my personal favorite Canadian author: Elizabeth Hay. She is, and forever will be, an auto-buy for me 👍🏻

mllemay Just saw Liberty's Fun Friday Photo theme 😍😊 So for good measure, I'll also recommend Ann-Marie MacDonald, Margaret Atwood (duh!) and Margaret Laurence. But there are so many more!!! 8y
mllemay And Alice Munro! 8y
19 likes2 comments