Review of Flying Time by Suzanne North

Flying Time

In Flying Time, Saskatoon author Suzanne North has written her first stand alone novel, following her successful Phoebe Fairfax mysteries.

Set in Calgary, the novel takes place in the years leading up to World War 2 and features a young woman, Kay, who is plucked from a typing pool (“temporarily” according to her supervisor) to work for a Japanese businessman. He is English-educated and loves everything British and Canadian. Nothing much seems to happen in his business which is a Canadian branch of his family’s very successful company in Japan and it is suggested that he has been sent to Canada as a remittance man, the black sheep of a prominent family. Mr Miyashita and Kay learn much from each other, he about life in Canada and she about Japanese arts and culture. She invites him and his wife to visit her home and her mother and Mrs Miyashita become good friends. Just before the attack on Pearl Harbour, Kay is asked to make a flying trip to Hong Kong to collect some valuable prints and is all but caught up in warfare and barely makes it back to Calgary. Mr and Mrs Miyashita go from living in a large house in Mount Royal and status to living and perishing in an internment camp in New Denver, B. C.

Kay is remembering this through the lens of old age when she and a friend take part in a memoir writing session at her assisted living quarters. The story jumps back and forth between then and now and each chapter is headed by the assignment for the day. During this time, she assesses her life and the events which shaped her future.

As it takes place in Calgary, the novel is full of familiar landmarks and I enjoyed the constant references to downtown spots, Inglewood, Mount Royal and more. The author who grew up in Calgary has obviously done her homework and it shows. I also learned about crossing the Pacific in a flying boat – definitely a more civilized and enjoyable way to travel than today’s airlines.

The author’s trademark sense of humour is well evident. Most particularly is her description of Kay’s elderly friend and her battle with her eyelashes which had me laughing out loud.

I did wonder how realistic the premise of a friendship between an elderly Japanese businessman and a naive young Canadian girl really was. However, I decided to suspend belief and just enjoy the story and the humour found in it.

I think this book would be of particular interest to Calgarians and would work well if the author could be paired with other authors who write about a sense of place. Possibly authors such as Gail Bowen (Regina), Garry Ryan (Calgary), David Poulsen (new book is set in Calgary), Anthony Bidulka (Saskatoon) and so on. It would be interesting to know how they conducted their research about their locations.

Reviewed by Hilary Munro

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