{"id":1065,"date":"2012-08-12T08:47:28","date_gmt":"2012-08-12T15:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1065"},"modified":"2019-04-27T09:46:55","modified_gmt":"2019-04-27T16:46:55","slug":"a-literary-smorgasbord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/uncategorized\/a-literary-smorgasbord\/","title":{"rendered":"A Literary Smorgasbord"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smorgasbord is \u201ca wide range of something\u201d, a \"\"<\/a>something author Elizabeth Hay<\/a> delivers with panache in her Giller<\/a> award winning novel, Late Nights On Air. She\u2019s given me much food for thought.<\/p>\n

At first, I was taken aback by her style. In telling the story of a group of characters working in a radio station in Yellowknife, circa 1970s\u2014all struggling with their lot in life\u2014Elizabeth Hay uses an omniscient narrator<\/a>. Though I consider myself fairly well read, I had not come upon this way of telling a story very often. But I got used to it rather quickly. Thank God, because if I had aborted my reading of this excellent novel, I would have been poorer for it. I liken getting used to it like the way I acquired a taste for olives. Once my buds were stimulated, there was no going back.<\/p>\n

What is remarkable about Late Nights On Air, is Elizabeth Hay\u2019s ability to show a multitude of characters with such vibrancy and humanity. You can\u2019t help falling in love with them, and wishing them all a pleasant journey. A few have little redeeming qualities, but you know there is much below the surface, and Hay is good at teasing that out. As well, she keeps us turning the page, which is a feat in itself for a literary novel. It\u2019s as if she weaves her characters\u2019 stories together with invisible threads. Her work is seamless. But it\u2019s not an entirely pleasant ride, which makes the story that much richer. As in real life, she shows there is no easy path to love or success.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Northern Lights at Yellowknife, Wikipedia Commons image<\/p><\/div>\n

And this whole literary smorgasbord is delivered with humor and on occasion, that poetic turn of phrase that is so delicious. The kind that helps you savor the author\u2019s take on life and relish in the discovery. Though much of the story takes place in a young Yellowknife, there is a canoe trip to the Barrens in northern Canada that is quite remarkable in both what it reveals about the players and also about the landscape. Here, Hay uses her words like painters use a brush.<\/p>\n

Underlining the work of the radio people in their \u201clate nights on air\u201d is the drama of what is to become of the land and the people of Yellowknife, once the McKenzie Pipeline goes in. Here, Hay mixes fact with fiction. She uses the real life story of Justice Thomas Berger,<\/a>\u00a0 who is sent by the government to address the concerns of the natives and other locals in that region. Berger made a name for himself during this period, largely because he listened to the natives\u2019 claims and their fears of losing their livelihood. His legacy lives on through Hay\u2019s pages and otherwise.<\/p>\n

What I find so topical of the book, is how its recurring theme is being replayed right now with the whole Enbridge Pipeline controversy that has enveloped my nation and also the USA. If only we had a Berger now to guide us through this quagmire. But I digress. Late Nights on Air is a book that’s more than the sum of its parts. It’s a true literary smorgasbord.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smorgasbord is \u201ca wide range of something\u201d, a something author Elizabeth Hay delivers with panache in her Giller award winning novel, Late Nights On Air. She\u2019s given me much food… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,1],"tags":[372,78,369,374,19,373,370,375,9,376,7,5,371],"class_list":["post-1065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-uncategorized","tag-berger","tag-diana-stevan","tag-elizabeth-hay","tag-enbridge-pipeline","tag-fiction","tag-giller","tag-late-nights-on-air","tag-literary","tag-novel","tag-omniscient","tag-story","tag-writing-2","tag-yellowknife"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-hb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3532,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/writing\/looking-for-a-book-cover-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":0},"title":"Looking for a Book Cover Design","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"24 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This January, I finished revising my third novel, a historical one, as different in feel from the first two I've written, as the second was from the first. It's about a Ukrainian peasant farmwife, who shortly after her husband joins the Tsar\u2019s army has to escape with their six children,\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"book cover design","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Oleksander-Murashko-Peasant-Family-1914.jpg?fit=498%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2366,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/life\/a-priest-is-just-a-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":1},"title":"A Priest is Just a Man","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"10 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I just finished reading The Bishop's Man\u00a0by Linden MacIntyre, a great read following Pope Francis's recent visit to America and his acknowledgement of the past sins of some Catholic priests. The book underlined the fact that a priest is just a man. This novel touches on the sexual abuse scandal\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a priest is just a man","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/41M4rNvT7PL._SX322_BO1204203200_-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3613,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2018\/writing\/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-writing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":2},"title":"The Agony and Ecstasy of Writing","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"8 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"What writer hasn\u2019t experienced both agony and ecstasy in their writing? Following your passion means subjecting yourself to those highs and lows. Self-doubts of All Writers This post, however, isn't so much about my agony and ecstasy in writing, it's about what all writers go through when they write their\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0889227411&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=dianastevan08-20","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3966,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/writing\/author-finds-inspiration-in-a-door\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":3},"title":"An Author Finds Inspiration in a Door","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"4 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"An author looks for inspiration everywhere. I found it in a door. Alexander Graham Bell said, \" When\u00a0one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the\u00a0closed door\u00a0that we do not see the\u00a0one\u00a0which has opened for us. \" In other words, we can get\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"author","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/collage-2.png?fit=1023%2C479&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/collage-2.png?fit=1023%2C479&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/collage-2.png?fit=1023%2C479&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/collage-2.png?fit=1023%2C479&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":544,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/scrapping-the-prologue\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":4},"title":"Scrapping The Prologue","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"7 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"While travelling down to L.A., I fussed about my novel, A CALL FROM THE DEEP, which I'm hoping to get published in the near future. It's completed\u00a0but it has this lengthy prologue, an apparent no-no when it comes to\u00a0agents and other in-the-know literary types. My prologue tells the story of\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1090495-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2062,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/putting-spice-in-your-brand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":5},"title":"Putting Spice In Your Brand","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"17 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What kind of writer are you? Do you have a series with a protagonist that shows up in every book you write? Do you write in the same genre? Do you think about your brand when you\u2019re writing? What spice are you putting in your brand? When I look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Putting Spice In Your Brand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AegyptischerBasar-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AegyptischerBasar-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AegyptischerBasar-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AegyptischerBasar-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AegyptischerBasar-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}