Booklife Review

Off the farthest Northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula, an infant floating on the Pacific in an empty petroleum barrel is discovered by a lone lumberjack and given the fitting name Petr. So begins Dunn’s multi-voiced, magic-touched, folklore-minded novel celebrating the peninsula and its people. Petr grows up considering every sound of the forest “a conversation with the animals, the plants, and even the stones,” developing a deep feeling for nature and Native American culture while also discovering the human world through a transistor radio. After his adoptive father dies with ax in hand, Petr travels, finding himself working at a shake mill, and going to college at Black Hills Technical School, walking the line between dream and reality. His grand project: his pirate radio broadcasts of his conversations with the people (and frog choruses) of the Peninsula.

Radio Free Olympia blends local history, nature writing, indigenous storytelling, disquisitions on topics like free will, and a love for tall tales into a richly woven narrative filled with (mis)adventures and surprising observations from a variety of voices, such as Raven, a follower of Petr with little respect for the fourth wall, or arresting bursts of freeform poetry from Baie detailing the creation of “...a wayward / women’s roadhouse, / a monastery for / wildsisters.” When Petr’s nomadic soul meets Baie’s need for home, Dunn leaves it to readers to wonder whether it’s fate, coincidence, or shared revelation.

The novel’s blending of the ordinary and the extraordinary, the mundane and magical, is ambitious, playful, and at times challenging, as in the final chapter, when all speakers converge instead of enjoying their own individual chapters. Despite this, though, whether it’s “I, Raven, in the air or White Otter in the water or Petr in the pulse or Baie in the spirit..." all the roads taken by Dunn and his people lead together to a common point, one that feels, for all the novel’s audacity and the threat of natural disaster, like life itself.

Takeaway: Four unique souls’ beautifully penned adventures in Olympic Peninsula.
Comparable Titles: Donald Harington, Richard Brautigan.
Production grades:
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
(source)

Readers Favorite Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
Radio Free Olympia is a work of fiction penned in a literary style that explores the cultural, social, and ecological subgenres. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience. Penned by author Jeffrey Dunn, this novel follows a small cast of characters from the same place, exploring and celebrating the wild splendor of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. As a missing infant rallies a roadhouse full of displaced women into action, a pirate radio station broadcasts from deep in the mountain rainforest. What results is a beautiful snapshot of a place seemingly frozen in time, but one that will come under threat from the modern world if those who love it don’t stand up to protect it.

Author Jeffrey Dunn has crafted a novel unlike anything else that I’ve read this year, and I found myself absolutely falling in love with the Peninsula and its wild, untamed beauty as I devoured this multisensory feast of a story. The craftsmanship in the wordplay and scene setting is second to none, offering not only a cinematic vision of this little microcosm of paradise but a real sense of how the ecology, culture, and attitude of the place come together to form their own personality. This is imbued into each of the central characters and adds a new layer of spirit to their personal quests for freedom, belonging, and justice, making you all the more inclined to root for the success of the community as a whole.
Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend Radio Free Olympia to fans of highly original and beautifully penned literary fiction.

Radio Free Olympia blends local history, nature writing, indigenous storytelling, disquisitions on topics like free will, and a love for tall tales into a richly woven narrative filled with (mis)adventures and surprising observations from a variety of voices, such as Raven, a follower of Petr with little respect for the fourth wall, or arresting bursts of freeform poetry from Baie detailing the creation of “...a wayward / women’s roadhouse, / a monastery for / wildsisters.” When Petr’s nomadic soul meets Baie’s need for home, Dunn leaves it to readers to wonder whether it’s fate, coincidence, or shared revelation.

The novel’s blending of the ordinary and the extraordinary, the mundane and magical, is ambitious, playful, and at times challenging, as in the final chapter, when all speakers converge instead of enjoying their own individual chapters. Despite this, though, whether it’s “I, Raven, in the air or White Otter in the water or Petr in the pulse or Baie in the spirit..." all the roads taken by Dunn and his people lead together to a common point, one that feels, for all the novel’s audacity and the threat of natural disaster, like life itself.

Midewest Book Review

Come, see the world through my eyes . . .

In 1993, Washington State's Olympic Peninsula called my name, and I answered. Throwing caution to the wind, I packed myself and my family and whisked them away into the untamed wilderness of Elma, Washington. I didn't look back as I was leaving the safety and security of the industrial world of Pittsburg, PA.

I had a dream to make my mark on this land, which involved introducing a Pirate radio station. I wanted the voices from the Olympic mountains to come alive and become adopted into the world.

Will my dreams be turned into a reality? Or will I fail to give society a glimpse of my world?

Radio Free Olympia provides a different method of reading a book. Four primary characters relate life in their particular tone and personality. Each one offers a unique breath of air that keeps the book moving forward at an enjoyable pace.

Jeffrey Dunn has created a book like no other I've ever experienced. Having four solid characters and seeing the world through their eyes was a unique and unexpected surprise. I liked how he used different ways to present their story. One moment you read it in a first-person stance, and the next, you find yourself immersed in poetry. To say this book provides a wealth of variety is an understatement.