Rating: 
Summary: Satisfyingly good
Review: Readers looking for a lively heoroine and a romance with a happy ending will be disappointed, but readers willing to let the story unfold will be rewarded. Yes, the man in question is a thorough-going dog, but the real story here is how Norma (the younger, troubled, unbeautiful sister), rescues her life from a disastrous childhood and adolescence. The settings (Depression era Canada, post-war New York) are rich in atmosphere, and Norma's gradual discovery of her artistic abilities held me all the way.
Rating: 
Summary: The story of an enduring conflict between two sisters
Review: A Student Of Weather is the story of an enduring conflict between two sisters and the man who walked into their lives when they were young. Spanning more than three decades, A Student Of Weather begins in the Prairie dust bowl of the 1930s, and in the decades following World War II, moves back and forth between Ottawa and New York City. As a novelist, Elizabeth Hay has the ability to evoke characters and scenarios that are both eccentric and familiar, surprising, richly textured, and totally engaging. Her debut novel, Elizabeth Hay is a writer of substantial ability. Also very highly recommended is Small Change (1997), her earlier collection of short stories.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite!
Review: As both a lover of fine literary fiction and a creative writing student, I read not only for enjoyment, but also to learn the craft of writing. Elizabeth Hay's novel is a truly fine and fulfilling example of both.
Spanning four decades, and alternating between Canada and New York, A STUDENT OF WEATHER explores the relationship between Ernest Hardy, his favored and beautiful daughter Lucinda, her younger sister Norma Joyce, and of Maurice Dove, the young man whom Lucinda and Norma Joyce both love, and who ultimately comes between them.
Unrequited love, sibling rivalry, betrayal and redemption are some of the themes that this novel explores. Rich in metaphor and written in lovely prose that reads almost poetically, A STUDENT OF WEATHER is an exceptional and unforgettable novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment...Why Did I Keep Reading?
Review: I listened to this book on CBC radio's, Between The Covers. I followed it for 3 weeks, and it was terrible!! It's about this girl who's obsessed with her sister's beau (it starts in the 1930s). She's a very selfish little girl, she steals her sister's letters from Maurice, her beau and pretends they are hers. The book jumps from one decade to the other way too fast. She's nine at the start, then 17, then 30, 40, 50... it just goes too fast.
Listen, Honey, if you want to read a long and boring book about an arrogant and conceited guy who knocked up an odd and naive little girl who spends the rest of her boring and miserable life stalking him, then go for it. But I don't recommend it. Minus 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great Writing; okay story
Review: I picked up this book after having it for a year on my shelf because my online book club chose it for a monthy pick. While I am glad I read it, I cannot say it is because it was a riveting, exciting novel.What carried this book for me, and what caused me to stick with it even when the story line lagged was the writing. Ms. Hay is an amazingly talented writer who's talent for prose, particularly through the use of metaphore, is incredible. Ordinarily if a story doesn't captivate me, I put the book down, but not this time. The main theme through out this book is unrequited love. For the main character of this book, Norma Joyce, that love is multi-faceted. It is familial love, romantic love, and self-love. All of which she chases through out the story. This book left me unfulfilled as far as the story went. Though well developed, none of the characters were appealing. The relationships amongst people, the lack of loyalty and devotion revolted me. But perhaps the authors intent, it is the writing itself that carried the book for me. A great book club book as it lends itself to a great deal of discussion.
Rating:
Summary: Seasons of discontent
Review: It's an interesting experience to encounter a book in which none of the major figures is likeable. Yet that very circumstance is a tribute to Elizabeth Hay's eloquent portrayal of two sisters in drought-ridden central Canada. Her people are deep and complex, intensely drawn and immensely real. Even the peripheral characters ring true, without the blemish of contrivance. Hay's descriptive ability in both urban and rural settings gives this book further enhancement. She vividly depicts the impact of environment on her chief protagonist, providing a framework for change of mood throughout the narrative. Hay, too, is clearly a student of weather. And a keen observer of people. Norma Joyce Hardy initiates a life-long adoration of Maurice Dove with a touch on his cheek. That she's but a child is of little moment. That she's overshadowed by her sister's beauty becomes even less so. Even at nine years of age, she's driven by determination to find the means to supplant Lucinda. Resentful of her sister's looks, industry, and favoured place with their father, she becomes secretive, duplicitous, devious. Lucinda, having replaced their dead mother, is vulnerable, and Norma Joyce takes advantage of that exposure. Maurice becomes the tool for expressing Norma's envy, but she becomes the victim of her own machinations. Maurice, unsurprisingly, is following his own agenda, and Norma's place in it is problematic. In pursuit of Maurice, Norma Joyce's life orbits like an erratic comet. From the most rural to the most urban environments in North America and back again, her loci remain vague. Only Maurice is a fixed point, but that seeming stability actually is the cause of her displacements. She is torn between seeking and avoiding him, particularly when the attainment of her goal leads to the inevitable result. Hay brings the Hardy family out of dry Saskatchewan to "golden" Ontario. Ottawa, however pleasant and green, fails to bring rest, and Norma pursues Maurice to New York City. A greater contrast to Prairie Canada can hardly be imagined, but Hay guides us through Norma's transition flawlessly. New York, however, doesn't resolve her situation with Maurice, which grows ever more complicated. Nor is the relationship of the sisters granted an easy path. Who carries the burden of Lucinda's fate will be the topic of endless debate. Hay's account is admirable in its prowess in compelling attention to people and places. The factual nature of her characters, their failure to fulfill simple expectations is a credit to her skills. A love story of sorts, this is hardly a "romantic novel." It is a richly rewarding story, worthy of your attention. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: Seasons of discontent,
Review: It's an interesting experience to encounter a book in which none of the major figures is likeable. Yet that very circumstance is a tribute to Elizabeth Hay's eloquent portrayal of two sisters in drought-ridden central Canada. Her people are deep and complex, intensely drawn and immensely real. Even the peripheral characters ring true, without the blemish of contrivance. Hay's descriptive ability in both urban and rural settings gives this book further enhancement. She vividly depicts the impact of environment on her chief protagonist, providing a framework for change of mood throughout the narrative. Hay, too, is clearly a student of weather. And a keen observer of people. Norma Joyce Hardy initiates a life-long adoration of Maurice Dove with a touch on his cheek. That she's but a child is of little moment. That she's overshadowed by her sister's beauty becomes even less so. Even at nine years of age, she's driven by determination to find the means to supplant Lucinda. Resentful of her sister's looks, industry, and favoured place with their father, she becomes secretive, duplicitous, devious. Lucinda, having replaced their dead mother, is vulnerable, and Norma Joyce takes advantage of that exposure. Maurice becomes the tool for expressing Norma's envy, but she becomes the victim of her own machinations. Maurice, unsurprisingly, is following his own agenda, and Norma's place in it is problematic. In pursuit of Maurice, Norma Joyce's life orbits like an erratic comet. From the most rural to the most urban environments in North America and back again, her loci remain vague. Only Maurice is a fixed point, but that seeming stability actually is the cause of her displacements. She is torn between seeking and avoiding him, particularly when the attainment of her goal leads to the inevitable result. Hay brings the Hardy family out of dry Saskatchewan to "golden" Ontario. Ottawa, however pleasant and green, fails to bring rest, and Norma pursues Maurice to New York City. A greater contrast to Prairie Canada can hardly be imagined, but Hay guides us through Norma's transition flawlessly. New York, however, doesn't resolve her situation with Maurice, which grows ever more complicated. Nor is the relationship of the sisters granted an easy path. Who carries the burden of Lucinda's fate will be the topic of endless debate. Hay's account is admirable in its prowess in compelling attention to people and places. The factual nature of her characters, their failure to fulfill simple expectations is a credit to her skills. A love story of sorts, this is hardly a "romantic novel." It is a richly rewarding story, worthy of your attention. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: A Master of Art
Review: The criticism of most of the other reviewers seems to amount to this: Fine writing, talented author, beautiful descriptions, but no moral to the bleak story. The characters don't "learn" anything. What, one might well ask, is the "moral" of Hamlet? What does he learn? What is the "morality" of Wuthering Heights? What does Heathcliff learn? How about Joyce's Ulysses? Moral anyone? - Reading the reviews, one begins to suspect that a group of frustrated Sunday school teachers got together to compose them. The fact that there is no "moral" to the novel is another of its attributes. Has anyone else caught on to the fact that Norma Joyce's surname might be significant? Or how about the Hardy family? - It should be apparent to anyone reading this novel with the slightest knowledge of English literature that Hay's greatest literary influence, along with her character Norma Joyce's, is Thomas Hardy, who is mentioned in the work several times as Norma's favourite author. The book resembles nothing so much as Hardy's Jude the Obscure - A feminine version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage is another apt comparison. - The wonderfully told narrative maintains its artistic strength through its mirroring of reality. I can put it no better than Hay in her description of Maurice's falling in temporary love/lust with Norma: "Probably it happens fairly often, falling in love in a dream. You wake up with an appetite for someone you might not even like. But in the dream there was sex, and upon waking, the idea of sex, and from then on that person is on your mind in an entirely new way." In other words, life, like a dream, just rather happens to one, for good or ill----And how accurately Hay describes it! Let's hope that the moralists out there don't discourage Hay from writing another novel, as they did Thomas Hardy after he penned Jude the Obscure. Four stars because the book doesn't quite measure up to the masterpiece of which I feel certain Hay is capable of giving us.
Rating:
Summary: A Master of Art
Review: The criticism of most of the other reviewers seems to amount to this: Fine writing, talented author, beautiful descriptions, but no moral to the bleak story. The characters don't "learn" anything. What, one might well ask, is the "moral" of Hamlet? What does he learn? What is the "morality" of Wuthering Heights? What does Heathcliff learn? How about Joyce's Ulysses? Moral anyone? - Reading the reviews, one begins to suspect that a group of frustrated Sunday school teachers got together to compose them. The fact that there is no "moral" to the novel is another of its attributes. Has anyone else caught on to the fact that Norma Joyce's surname might be significant? Or how about the Hardy family? - It should be apparent to anyone reading this novel with the slightest knowledge of English literature that Hay's greatest literary influence, along with her character Norma Joyce's, is Thomas Hardy, who is mentioned in the work several times as Norma's favourite author. The book resembles nothing so much as Hardy's Jude the Obscure - A feminine version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage is another apt comparison. - The wonderfully told narrative maintains its artistic strength through its mirroring of reality. I can put it no better than Hay in her description of Maurice's falling in temporary love/lust with Norma: "Probably it happens fairly often, falling in love in a dream. You wake up with an appetite for someone you might not even like. But in the dream there was sex, and upon waking, the idea of sex, and from then on that person is on your mind in an entirely new way." In other words, life, like a dream, just rather happens to one, for good or ill----And how accurately Hay describes it! Let's hope that the moralists out there don't discourage Hay from writing another novel, as they did Thomas Hardy after he penned Jude the Obscure. Four stars because the book doesn't quite measure up to the masterpiece of which I feel certain Hay is capable of giving us.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, emotionally gripping story
Review: This little story was truly a wonderful surprise. I expected a cozy little family saga, but got much more. This quiet unassuming novel about ordinary people builds slowly into a gripping tale that once it gets going is impossible to put down. It begins in 1938 on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada with two lonely motherless sisters, nine years apart in age and worlds apart in looks and personality. Norma Joyce is small, dark, wiry, homely, inquisitive, provocative, and restless, while older sister Lucinda is a ravishing redhead, quiet, serene, the hard working homemaker for father and younger sister. Although Norma is just a kid, when Maurice Dove, a 'student of weather' visits the farm, both sisters, each in their own way, fall desperately in love with him, a love to last a lifetime, but with tragic consequences. The presence of Maurice will be the wedge that drives the sisters apart and alters the family fate, although the personality of each character will also determine the outcome of the story, which later shifts to Ottawa and then alternates between Ottawa and New York City. What makes this novel stand out from the crowd aside from its careful plotting and lovely descriptive passages about foliage, flora, and of course weather, are the ways in which the author makes brilliant use of small details of personality and psychology to drive what would otherwise be an ordinary story into high gear and to create unforgettable complex characters. She gets it right on target, too, so much so, that the reader feels that he/she is a witness to real peoples' lives. This book is one of my top picks of the year!
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