National Network for Equitable Library Service

Marta Elzinga has been searching for a sign. When she spots an elusive mink on the shoreline of the Toronto Island Airport, she thinks it is her sign. The pigeon that boards the subway at Bathurst Station is the second sign. But how to read these dispatches?Plagued with indecision and prone to magical thinking, Marta needs direction. A floundering guidance counsellor, she struggles to meet the needs of her charming but unstable husband as well as those of the students for whom she is responsible. During an annual architectural event in Toronto, Marta visits an abandoned subway station and runs into a former student. He invites her to join him in some urban exploration. And so, in the late evenings, Marta comes to traverse the dangerous geography beneath the city’s streets. Through these journeys, Marta confronts the coils in her own thinking about providence, chance, and personal responsibility.A complex and inspiring novel, The Dove in Bathurst Station is about finding hope and reconciliation.