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“Hockey Sur Glace” by Peter LaSalle is a collection of short stories and poems. This book immediately caught my eye, being a fan of the game. And a moment later I realized that it could also be very bad. After all, a collection of hockey stories? But as I read the description it specifically said that it wasn’t hockey stories. It was stories that hockey has something to do with. One of the best stories in the book (”Wellesley College for Women, 1969″) actually has very little hockey in it. The stories represent more. Though not all of them are great.
Here is a list of the stories and poems:
“Hockey Angels”
“Le Rocket Negre”
“A Pond-Hockey Pledge” (poem)
“Goalies Are Weird” (poem)
“Hockey Sur Glace” (poem)
“Rollerblading Along” (poem)
“Wellesley College for Women, 1969″
“Additional Consideration”
“The Injury”
“Hockey”
“Van Arsdale’s Pond”
The poems were interesting to read, but not all that great. I find it hard for anyone to write a good poem that is more directly related to sports. “Goalies Are Weird” was really the only one that stood out, and mostly for it’s humor, like the goalie that swears and trash talks opponents like crazy, yet hardly says two words to his teammates. What helped this poem in my eyes is being able to relate in some ways. I have played goalie, and am probably considered weird by a handful of people, if not more.
“Le Rocket Negre” was an interesting story about a French Canadian of half African descent who gets noticed and works his way up into the Detroit Red Wings organization. His dream is to play for his beloved Montreal Canadiens, yet never makes it to the NHL. “Hockey” (what a simple title) was also a pretty good story, but I think it could have been longer and given the reader more explanation of what was going on. “The Injury” was a strange stream-of-consciousness story that I was finding annoying at first, since the entire 11-12 page story was one sentence. But as you get deeper into the story, it has much to tell about an up-and-coming player whose career is ended with a freakish injury in a meaningless game near the end of the season in the minors. And “Van Arsdale’s Pond” is a unique look at a kid’s point of view, using hockey as a metaphor much like “the grass is always greener on the other side.”
One story, “Additional Consideration”, I didn’t get through. It seemed to a humorous/satirical look at something called the “Sleep Shot.” I got about a third of the way through (it was the longest story of the bunch) and decided it was weird and boring. Maybe someday I will go back and really read it. Just wasn’t in the mood considering the other stories seem to come more from the heart.
For the hockey fan that likes to read, this is a nice little collection of stories. Though it is probably best read in the middle of the season. It was strange reading about kids trekking through piles of snow to get to a frozen pond while it’s really in the mid 70’s outside.
7/10
