Nights Below Station Street

by David Adams Richards

David Adams Richards’ Governor General’s Award-winning novel is a powerful tale of resignation and struggle, fierce loyalties and compassion. This book is the first in Richards’ acclaimed Miramichi trilogy. Set in a small mill town in northern New Brunswick, it draws us into the lives of a community of people who live there, including: Joe Walsh, isolated and strong in the face of a drinking problem; his wife, Rita, willing to believe the best about people; and their teenage daughter Adele, whose nature is rebellious and wise, and whose love for her father wars with her desire for independence. Richards’ unforgettable characters are linked together in conflict, and in articulate love and understanding. Their plight as human beings is one we share.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Canadian Literature, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Novels

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, screenwriter and poet.

Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Richards left St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, one course shy of completing a B.A. Richards has been a writer-in-residence at various universities and colleges across Canada, including the University of New Brunswick.

Richards has received numerous awards including 2 Gemini Awards for scriptwriting for Small Gifts and "For Those Who Hunt The Wounded Down", the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the Canadian Authors Association Award for his novel Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace. Richards is one of only three writers to have won in both the fiction and non-fiction categories of the Governor General's Award. He won the 1988 fiction award for Nights Below Station Street and the 1998 non-fiction award for Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi. He was also a co-winner of the 2000 Giller Prize for Mercy Among the Children.

In 1971, he married the former Peggy MacIntyre. They have two sons, John Thomas and Anton Richards, and currently reside in Toronto.

John Thomas was born in 1989 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The Writers' Federation of New Brunswick administers an annual David Adams Richards Award for Fiction.

Richards' papers are currently housed at the University of New Brunswick.

Reviews

[Maciek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nights Below Station Street is my introduction to the work of David Adams Richards - and it's certainly not a bad choice, as it won the author the prestigious Governor's General Award for Fiction when it was first published in 1988.

Nights... is a short, quiet book set in a small mill town in the Miramichi region of Northern New Brunswick, and draws us into the lives of its people who struggle with poverty and all the harshness and difficulties of ordinary existence. The novel focuses on the Welsh family - Joe, a good, trustful but troubled man, who struggles with insecurity and alcoholism; his wife, Rita, who does what she can to make the best of their marriage, and the rebellious daughter, Adele, whose bouts of anger often serve as a curtain to hide real feelings for her family. Richards has been often categorized as a regional, "Maritime" writer - which is not a drawback, and is one of the reasons I come to read his work in the first place - but experiences of his characters defy regional boundaries and categorizations; there exists an universal language of human emotion, and essence along with character of the region only add to it, instead of defining it. I believe that there also exists a universal language of human poverty - but this one is most often heard in fictional works on blue collar workers in the poor and depressed communities of the developed and undeveloped world, such as this book. In this case, as in the words of Truman Capote, "fiction is the truth inside the lie".

This isn't a perfect book - the storyline is fragmented and there isn't really a plot to speak of - but I do not regret reading it, and I intend to read the following novels which are set in the same region, and more of Richards in general.

[Troy Parfitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for an introduction to David Adams Richards, Nights Below Station Street ought to do. It's a compelling, prettily written little tale that clocks in at 226 pages. Set in the Miramachi in New Brunswick, Canada, it deals with the lives of Joe and Rita Walsh, their daughters Adele and Milly, and their friends, acquaintances, neighbours, and enemies. Richards shows us the universal through the particular, rural New Brunswick supplying a stage that is just as authentic as Stratford Upon Avon. The characters mightn't be eloquent knights or nobles, but their words, deeds, concerns, and situations resonate as powerfully. This is a stirring little yarn waiting to teleport you to another time and place - and it's got an interesting ending. Nights Below Station Street is part one of what has become known as the Mirimachi Trilogy. Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace and For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down make for volumes two and three of that trilogy. Nights Below Station Street is a nice read.

[drywallbreather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read, it was slower in pace but I got hooked on the character dynamics of small town life. Really wanted to root for Joe - and made me reaffirm that yes alcohol can really be a bummer long term slowly

[Carlos Gazo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Governor General’s award winner David Adams Richard’s writes a spectacular book that takes place in small mill town in northern New Brunswick, it focuses on a family that has problems just like everyone else. Joe Walsh, the man of the house, is isolated and is very much facing a drinking problem, His wife Rita is very kept to herself and tries to keep the family together even though she has a rebellious daughter. Adele, full of rage is often hiding her feelings from her family. As much as Adele is stubborn and wants to get rid of her parents at times, all their lives rely on having each other and staying strong to live in their community. This family always believes and proves that they have the strength to work together and face whatever comes their way.
Joe Walsh being the man of the house is a big alcoholic. Problems tend to find Walsh wherever he goes. Walsh's family knows he needs help and that he has a problem that only he can change if he really wants it. I personally recommend this book to students around the age of 17 and older for it can make younger readers uncomfortable. Readers will also start to understand more about poverty and struggles in a town that faces lots of issues. I really loved this book because I felt that I related to more than one issue in this book which made it easier to understand the feelings and thoughts the characters had in the novel.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

david adams richards always breaks my heart

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

All details, no plot
Make a book
It does not

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nights Below Station Street by David Adams Richards is the first book in Canadian author Richards' Miramichi trilogy. For those who don't know, the Miramichi is a river in New Brunswick Canada that flows into the Miramichi Bay and thence into the Gulf of St Lawrence. From a personal perspective, I lived there for seven years of my youth while my father was stationed at the RCAF Base at Chatham, near the mouth of the river. So there you've got that picture in your mind now. :0))
The story tells of Joe, Rita and their children, Adele and Molly and also of their friends and acquaintances. I won't say the story is necessarily a happy one; Joe is an alcoholic with feelings of deep insecurity; Rita married Joe as a sort of last chance when she gets pregnant by another man; Adele is a teenager who loves / hates her family and friends, tries to fit in but doesn't know how; Molly is a hyper-active child. Their friends also deal with their own issues; Myhrra, trying to raise a boy; I think loves Joe but marries Vye. The old doctor, Hennessy, who can't tell his true feelings and is a curmudgeon. Ralphie, in love with Adele, but subject of her anger and trying to live up to his mother's wishes and also to be accepted by his sister.
The story is a series of vignettes, lovingly crafted, with a clear picture of the people and the actions. My main problem with the story was that I found it difficult to warm to these people, but that was probably because my life experience was very different. As the story progressed, I did find myself being drawn into their lives and wanting things to work out and for them to come together. Unfortunately, the story does leave you hanging somewhat, but with maybe hope for their future. It did make me want to find the next book in the trilogy; Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace. (3 stars)

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The more I think about it, the more I like it. It didn't take me 2 months to read this book! It was a very quick read actually; it's just that Christmas got "in the way." Anyway, I very much enjoy David Adams Richards' style of writing.

It's so descriptively quirky:

"The largeness of her face, and the bigness of her feet, and the self-important strides she made whenever she walked, filled the doctor, who wore his red bow-tie, with compassion.

And wry:

"Nevin hadn't read anything but because he grew a beard everyone assumed he had."

And wise:

"The only thing was, that in everyone who presumed because of drink that they had suddenly become authentic, Joe saw himself."

I've heard Richards described as Canada's own Thomas Hardy and I can see why some have said that but he embraces humour in a way that Hardy doesn't. There's a moose hunting scene that had me chuckling out loud in the doctor's office.

I've also heard it said that Richard's is "overrated" and I have to disagree. In my opinion, no one else writes quite this way. I'm keen to read the other books on my shelf, particularly the one that picks up some threads of Nights Below Station Street--although it's not actually a sequel--Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace.

[Corinne Wasilewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is classic David Adams Richards with a cast of characters struggling to survive in a harsh, uncaring world with little money, work, and zero joy. DAR books always tear at my guts. I swing between anger, compassion, and despair. I cringe at his characters' helplessness and their easy acceptance that this is the way life has to be. I wanted to give Joe just one encouraging word. I wanted to say, "Hey, big guy! Hang in there. You're doing great!" I wanted to give Rita a pair of pants with a zipper that works. I wanted to kidnap Adele and get her out of that hellhole before it swallowed her whole. I wanted to kick each and every character's backside and tell him/her to grow up and get a life.
This isn't my favourite DAR book -- it's very dark with only glimmers of light, but, definitely worth the read.

[Lance Kinzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

"An object falls, it has no idea where it will land, but at every moment of its descent it is exactly where it is supposed to be." This line toward the end of the book encapsulates the main theme of this interesting work. Adams begins with a too forced staccato style that so many writers over the last 50 years seem to favor. A style that perhaps once seemed fresh and honest, but has grown stale and contrived. Adams is at his best when he forgets this affectation (which he often does); only then does the story really take off. And an interesting story it is. A story about isolation and loss and insecurity, and misunderstanding and being misunderstood. And yet with an unmistakable note of redemption that is not forced in any way, but grows naturally from a compelling narrative.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangely, I find this novel -- one of David Adams Richards' earliest -- to be one of his most depressing. Everyone seems to be trapped in a personal hell of their own making, and even the final redemption/gleam of hope at least one character usually finds by the end of a Richards' novel seems tiny compared to his later works. Very bleak, and very despondent...but I can't deny the power of the prose, which keeps one reading in spite of the bleakness, determined to make it to the conclusion, hoping against hope that a single ray of positive sunshine will envelop at least one of the characters. Compelling, but terribly (almost beautifully) sad.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read the Miramichi Trilogy novels because of all the reviews and other commentary suggesting they were rather bleak. When I finally got around to them in the last year I was awed by the quality of the writing and not at all depressed by the stories. Richards invests the characters with dignity even when they are deeply flawed or endlessly frustrated by fate. Their stories make up a record of unnoticed lives, and offer hope even in failure or tragedy. Nights Below Station Street makes a great start. It's more than worth one's time to keep going through Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace, and For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down.

[Jeff Arbeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every Maritimer (and non-Maritimer) during the winter months. This novel is powerful, subtle, and intuitively familiar in its presentation of poverty, alcoholism, and the families that build our rural communities.

This is my second reading of Nights Below Station Street, and I am sure I will return to its pages again some day while lost in the cold, dark wood. Richards has found a way to locate parts of our lives and present them to us in characters who persist and survive. Excellent.

[Phil Della · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. This novel jumped from character to character throughout, confusing me for the first quarter until I knew enough about each to just roll with it and not want to flip back to remember who was who. It has that Maritime quirkiness, that way of doing things that is bent but makes for an amusing story. But mostly it's touching. The dysfunction that never mends itself but still manages to rise above. I'm so glad I have the two other books in the trilogy.

[Donovan Lessard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first DAR novel. WOW. This is so well written, so moving without being cheesy, and so well developed without overstaying its welcome that I cannot recommend it enough. Having grown up in a small town on the border with Canada, it really captured what that means and feels like well. I completely loved this book.

[Kyle Steeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richards' novel perfectly captures the struggles of working class New Brunswickers.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful characterization!

[Ron Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent characterization and setting description. Don't expect a lot of action - it isn't that kind of book. Nice to read quality writing that doesn't rely on ADHD action every other page.

[Jen from Quebec :0) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually inspired to write poetry during the reading of this book. I love his way with words.

[Nada Elfeituri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those calmly paced, quiet books that don't have an immediate big impact but stays with you for a while. I picked it up because I was working on a project in Miramichi and wanted to get a better sense of the place, the people and, to a certain extent, its history. Miramichi is one of those interesting places that feels like it has been caught in all the tumultuous phases of history, not quite stuck in the past but not quite present either. Nights Below Station Street sheds more light on this in-between-ness, how the ties of community and the legacy of the region shift through the years.

The novel itself has no plot in the traditional sense. It flows in and out of the interconnected lives of community members at a rhythmic pace. I realized while reading through it that Richards leaves a lot between the lines, implying more than what's on the surface, which I guess is a great reflection of how life can feel inside small rural communities. Towards the end I began losing some interest, but the final few pages jolted my attention. Not sure I would widely recommend this, but for working in New Brunswick I think it's an insightful microcosm into the province.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid storytelling. The character of Joe is well-drawn and a sensitive portrait of an alcoholic who, to paraphrase Neil Young, tries to do his best, but cannot. The complexity of family relationships where enmity and deep loyalty walk hand in glove is also portrayed nicely. The final scene with Joe and Vye is deeply moving. The character of the doctor is almost unbearable and the narration lingers on him and his negativity a bit too long for my druthers. Not a family epic of the level of an Angle of Repose or Sometimes A Great Notion, but a good saga. Perhaps if and when I read the rest of the trilogy I will revise that assessment.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was winner of the governor general's award. It is the story of Joe Walsh, drunk whom can think of not much more than drinking, his optimistic wife Rita whom believes the best about people, Adele their teenage daughter whom at times is more grown up than the both of them put together as well as other residents and the struggles, loyalty and the realization that some things will be, of small town in northern New Brunswick. You will laugh, you will cry, your heart will be moved.

[Victor Saville · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trials and tribulations of life. We are born, we inherit a family, a neighborhood, and a world. It's all laid out as we take our first steps and complete our first sentence. This place and these people don't always meld into our nuanced existence. The first few pages of our story tell us this. But when the going gets rough, our inheritance is what we rely on the most. So lesson learned, life isn't always just about us.

[Erin Gerhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Mercy Among the Children, I’ll admit that my expectations from Richards are high, but this wasn’t even close. While the depth he wanted to convey was technically present, the characters were not well developed and his syntax was simple. I’m still going to read the sequel mind you, but I thoroughly expected more from this novel.

[Elizabeth Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt transported back in time a few decades, a very accurate depiction of life nearing the finale of industrialization in the Maritime Provinces. The connections with nature, the brashness of both men and women dealing with the economic downfall and the potential higher education might provide... it was a great time capsule and I look forward to reading more of David Adams Richards.

[Terri London Mabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard’s writing style isn’t entirely to my taste, and sometimes I didn’t exactly know what was happening. Which wasn’t much since this is more like a short story collection with the same town of characters. But i really liked them—I really cared about Joe and his weird kids, and Ralphie, and the doctor. Adele is a fantastic creation.

[carpe diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snapshots of life in Fredericton area, NB in the '70s.

An astonishing introspective power into the mind of a teenage girl, caught between own mood swings, peers' mood swings, and her father's battle w/ alcohol.

Things are tough for the entire family, with the father struggling with back pain and in a perpetual state of "in-between-jobs"(mostly out of any), and the mother stepping into the main provider's role in an era when this was not usual for a woman. Friendships are sometimes being tested due to the spoken word, but most of the time - the unspoken things. That misty innuendo that floats in the air of mixed emotions, scattered looks into the wrong direction and with messages that were not meant to be revealed. Yet, life continues in an implacable rhythm, just like the flowing river.

Originally inclined towards a 3-star rating but the scene where someone misses an important hockey goal because they were caught in absorbing a nature scene through the window definitely deserves the 4th star.

[Francis-Adrien Morneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Richards's writing and his depiction of small-town characters. I`m also from New Brunswick, and I am highly inspired by his books and devotion to writing, starting from scratch and building his name as a writer. Bravo!

[Erin Cooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a book with no plot.

[Jilly Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a while back, and really should read it again. I remember liking it, and the female protagonist. Plus, it's New Brunswick, so it's home.