Emily Breitkopf
MATT CAHILL, RADIOLAND.
HAMILTON: WOLSAK & WYNN, 2022. $22.00.
Radioland by Matt Cahill is a captivating literary thriller that perfectly blends authentic characters, thought-provoking narrative, magic, and a unique style of prose that grips you from page one. Set in Toronto where rumors of murders are beginning to spread, Radioland follows Kris—a musician troubled by his past and the life collapsing around him—and Jill, a sensitive with the ability to wield magic. Their paths cross through a mysterious advertisement on a hydro pole, and Kris and Jill find themselves opening up about their past, present, and future.
Through the entirety of this novel, Matt Cahill kept me on my toes as I wondered how the pieces would fall into place and what exactly was going on in Kris and Jill’s lives. Both of these characters' perspectives were equally balanced and going back and forth between both voices was so fluid it felt like I was reading one story rather than two side by side. One thing I loved was although this story switches mainly between Kris and Jill’s points of view, there is a third perspective that is not given a name. Trying to figure out who the third perspective was through the eerie atmosphere this narrator gave off was incredibly captivating. There were many lines in this third perspective that left a chill down my spine (“we’re all speeding through space to our deaths as a result, with nothing but the voices of screaming gods in our heads”). Then, when the shocking identity is finally revealed at the end it was someone I never could have guessed or saw coming, making it all the more thrilling.
When Jill and Kris begin texting each other I could easily sense how much each character had their guard up. As their lives begin to fall apart even further, they slowly open up to each other through their text messages and begin to care for the complete stranger on the other end of the phone. What I enjoyed so much about Kris and Jill’s interactions is they never felt like friends nor enemies, just two people seeking truth and comfort in each other. It was such an odd dynamic, but it worked incredibly well to capture the kind of people these characters are. Kris did not want to open up and be honest with those around him, like his bandmates and girlfriend, but found himself sharing with Jill because she was a stranger. Yet Jill is seeking a friend or just someone who knows she exists, and she can talk to.
Outside of these interactions with each other, Jill and Kris go about their daily lives in the only way they know how. Kris is trying to deal with his childhood trauma of sexual assault, and it is written so well that I could feel him struggling in a way that tore at my heart. Cahill represents Kris’s trauma and anxiety in a unique but realistic way by using avoidance and sometimes alcohol as a coping mechanism. What is so brilliantly done about this is Kris also avoids the reader. He doesn’t tell the reader the full story about his past and the things going on until he tells Jill and the reader at the same time. By doing this Cahill was able to keep me guessing but at the same time be patient with Kris as it really felt like I was waiting for him to tell me when he was ready.
Jill is a sensitive, meaning she can feel and cleanse the energy of people and spaces. While incredibly self-aware, she is struggling to figure out what the darkness clawing inside of her is. Her character definitely brought the thriller plot line as the magic slowly takes a darker and darker turn as she gets closer and closer to understanding her true ability. She, unlike Kris, is incredibly open about her life and what she is feeling which leads to very interesting and deep conversations between her and the characters she’s surrounded by. One of my favourite lines Jill delivers is, “part of me thinks about how life is really just a series of figuring out how to balance the poisons.” It was conversations like this that made Jill my favourite point of view to follow and her storyline the most interesting to discover.
The world of Radioland is vivid, and its character driven story makes you want to learn all there is to know about Kris and Jill, and all the interesting side characters that go along with them. Radioland lets you reap the rewards with an explosive ending as these characters finally face their demons head on. It has magic. It has murder. It has music. It has everything I was looking for and it is a literary thriller you are definitely not going to want to miss.
Emily Breitkopf
is the publishing and web intern for The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing and a 4th-year student in the Creative Writing & Publishing program at Sheridan College. She lives and writes in Scotland, Ontario.