Books ice topic of hockey
23.05.12
Hockey from different points of view - the novelist and the biographers, the active players and the middle-aged has-beens, not to mention the young ones starting out - all these are sketched in this week's column.
Blended together, they make a satisfactory composite picture of Canada's national sport - some would say Canada's national religion.
The Goon by Jerrod Edson (Oberon Press, Ottawa, no price given) is the young novelist's third book, and, we think, his best so far.
It's the tale of Jack, a 58-year-old ex-NHL enforcer and a big old drunk. Jack works part-time on the toll bridge in Saint John (where Edson grew up) and spends the rest of the time chasing women, shooting pop cans in the woods behind his house, reminiscing and boasting and, of course, drinking.
He knows lots of people, but probably his only real friend is his old cat, Junior. With him in the story are his neighbour Roy, who's still grieving the death of his lover, Ken, five years ago, and his son, Cam. Cam is 17 and a really good hockey player, but afraid of everything.
Source: The Guardian Charlottetown