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King Leary (1988)

par Paul Quarrington

Membres	Critiques	Popularité	Évaluation moyenne	Mentions
187	15	145,401	(3.53)	36
Selected as the 2008 CBC Canada Reads Winner! "A dazzling display of fictional footwork... The author has not written just another hockey novel; he has turned hockey in a metaphor for magic." Maclean's Percival Leary was once the King of the Ice, one of hockey's greatest heroes. Now, in the South Grouse Nursing Home, where he shares a room with Edmund "Blue" Hermann, the antagonistic and alcoholic reporter who once chronicled his career, Leary looks back on his tumultuous life and times: his days at the boys' reformatory when he burned down a house; the four mad monks who first taught him to play hockey; and the time he executed the perfect "St. Louis Whirlygig" to score the winning goal in the 1919 Stanley Cup final. Now all but forgotten, Leary is only a legend in his own mind until a high-powered advertising agency decides to feature him in a series of ginger ale commercials. With his male nurse, his son, and the irrepressible Blue, Leary sets off for Toronto on one last adventure as he revisits the scenes of his glorious life as King of the Ice.… (plus d'informations)

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Affichage de 1-5 de 15 (suivant | tout afficher)

Classic Quarrington fun! He died way too young (

)

Kgferris | Jul 12, 2021 |

This is a choice from a member of my bookclub, otherwise I doubt that I would ever had read it. And, had I been in a different mood, I probably would not have liked at all. But, there is something as “the right book at the right time”, and I did laugh lots in a moment when I needed to find a book that would make me laugh.

The characters are quite stereotypical, but humour is by nature stereotypical characterization. And Quarrington’s humour is fresh, non-cliché. It lacks a certain depth in plot and characters, but there is great originality in its humour, so 3 stars it is.
(

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RosanaDR | Apr 15, 2021 |

This story screams Canadiana and hockey history. While I enjoy watching hockey, I have no historical knowledge of the greats of yesteryear, so the name dropping meant nothing to me. What I did enjoy is the first person narrative, Percy's florid perspective (and hazy memory) as the King of the Ice, and how Quarrington tells what is in essence a rather bleak story in a poignant, entertaining way with wry humour. I did not find the characters overly loveable, but I do appreciate Percy - now an aged and infirm resident in a senior's nursing home - and how his hazy memories stir up emotions of both pride and regret. My favorite parts of the story include the monks who taught young Percy about hockey while he was in reformatory school. When they show up unexpected at his hotel room in New York... well, you will just have to read the book to find out more.

Overall, an interesting and entertaining CanLit story told with humour and pathos. (

)

lkernagh | Dec 31, 2020 |

I read this as my sports themed book for the 2017 Book Riot Read Harder challenge. it was a slow read for me because I have very little interest in sports, but it was well written and the characters were fairly interesting.

[SPOILER] The ending, an easy transition to an earlier memory of hockey under a full moon, was fantastic. (

)

obtusata | Jan 9, 2020 |

This was a good book but not a great book I would say. I'm still not sure why it beat out Not Wanted on the Voyage in the 2008 Canada Reads unless it's because the judges thought something humourous should win. And yet it's not laugh out loud funny. More the kind of wry grin of recognition funny. It is certainly Canadian unlike the other two books by Quarrington that I have read, Galveston and Whale Music, both of which largely take place in the USA.

This book will definitely appeal to hockey fans but I think the message is broader in scope than that. Leary, like most people at the end of their days, has things to be proud of and things to regret. He has outlived almost all of his friends but sees a way to make amends. I'd like to be able to make amends to some people and I imagine most people would. So I'll be pondering that message for a while. In the meantime maybe I'll have a glass of Canada Dry ginger ale! (

)

gypsysmom | Aug 7, 2017 |

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1988

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King Leary

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Selected as the 2008 CBC Canada Reads Winner! "A dazzling display of fictional footwork... The author has not written just another hockey novel; he has turned hockey in a metaphor for magic." Maclean's Percival Leary was once the King of the Ice, one of hockey's greatest heroes. Now, in the South Grouse Nursing Home, where he shares a room with Edmund "Blue" Hermann, the antagonistic and alcoholic reporter who once chronicled his career, Leary looks back on his tumultuous life and times: his days at the boys' reformatory when he burned down a house; the four mad monks who first taught him to play hockey; and the time he executed the perfect "St. Louis Whirlygig" to score the winning goal in the 1919 Stanley Cup final. Now all but forgotten, Leary is only a legend in his own mind until a high-powered advertising agency decides to feature him in a series of ginger ale commercials. With his male nurse, his son, and the irrepressible Blue, Leary sets off for Toronto on one last adventure as he revisits the scenes of his glorious life as King of the Ice.

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