Tyler Hellard, like the main character grew up in small town, Maritimes (Summerside, PEI) and as a young adult moved, ending up in Calgary where he became a copy writer. He tells us that much of the book was written in a bar, but since publication has given up drinking. He likes clutter and wrestling. He also is a blogger.
A good book needs someone to boost it. Steve Glynn, known also as Steve Dangle is a hockey analyst who after working for Sports Net has his own You Tube show. Growing up his parents perked his interest in reading through sports. A Toronto Maple Leaf fan, he nonetheless is very articulate. Steve has written two books himself. He led "Searching for Terry Punchout" to the runner up position.
This fictional story might attract hockey fans, but that is just a frame that allows the author to deal with family relationships. A boy in a small Maritime town has a father playing the role of goon hockey player in the the NHL. He gets traded from Toronto to New York to Los Angles accumulating a record number of penalty minutes. In the meantime he and his wife become estranged. His wife dies. After he retires he doesn't know what to do and ends up going back to his home town and eventually ends up doing maintenance in the arena named after him and driving the Zamboni to clear the ice.
The book is really concerned about the son, Adam who had since left town to work in Calgary, but not very successful and as a sort of last chance sold his idea of doing a magazine article on his once famous father who he had not seen in a decade. The job at the arena (named in his honour) provides Terry's accommodation, but seems a dead end. He at first resists his son's questions, but over time does co-operate and we learn about his life in hockey and how his marriage deteriorated.
Adam hasn't seen his teenage friends in several years. In some cases there was rivalry and jealousy. He had had a very embarrassing incident with an old girl friend who went on to have a baby out of wedlock with a rival. She had the child, but the boyfriend had abandoned her. Adam attempts to renew their relationship and she is somewhat willing, but more mature than Adam. As he wraps up his efforts, there are a few developments and maybe Adam matures a bit.
My verdict: It is worth reading, even if you are not a hockey fan which I am not.
Last year I read all five books, but this year that seems unlikely. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/03/canada-reads.html
The cover photo at the top is by Megan Fildes.
No comments:
Post a Comment