Canadian Hockey Literature
Jason Blake
Hockey occupies a prominent place in the Canadian cultural lexicon, as evidenced by the wealth of hockey-centred stories and novels published within Canada. In this exciting new work, Jason Blake takes readers on a thematic journey through Canadian hockey literature, examining five common themes - nationhood, the hockey dream, violence, national identity, and family - as they appear in hockey fiction.
Blake examines the work of such authors as Mordecai Richler, David Adams Richards, Paul Quarrington, and Richard B. Wright, arguing that a study of contemporary hockey fiction exposes a troubled relationship with the national sport. Rather than the storybook happy ending common in sports literature of previous generations, Blake finds that today's fiction portrays hockey as an often-glorified sport that in fact leads to broken lives and ironic outlooks. The first book to focus exclusively on hockey in print, Canadian Hockey Literature is an accessible work that challenges popular perceptions of a much-beloved national pastime.
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About Jason Blake
Reviews for Canadian Hockey Literature
Benoît Melançon, Département des littératures de langue française, Université de Montréal and author of The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard 'With a breathtaking knowledge of Canadian literature and an equally commanding knowledge of hockey, Jason Blake explores and illuminates the many ways our literary artists—from Morley Callaghan and Hugh MacLennan to Wayne Johnston and Lynn Coady—mirror, and comment on, our ceaseless fascination with Canada's national sport.'
David Staines, Department of English, University of Ottawa Canadian Hockey is a pioneering and fascinating addition to the field There is much to admire in this book and much to think about as well. It will serve as the basis of much future research into the literary representations of national sport and deserves a wide audience inside and outside Canada.
Daryl Leeworthy; British Journal of Canadian Studies: vol 24:01:2011 ‘Blake has written a thoughtful and comprehensive examination of a surprisingly large and diverse body of hockey literature by dozens of Canadian authors…The book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate student coursework in the disciplines of English, Cultural Studies and Canadian Studies. ‘
James Onsuko
American Review of Canadian Studies vol 41:03:2011