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Bezig met laden... Finnie Walshdoor Steven Galloway
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Paul Woodward isn't from a wealthy family, so when he sits beside Finnie Walsh, the son of the wealthy owner of the local mill, he doesn't know they shouldn't be friends. They become fast friends over hockey cards and hockey practice. Their friendship even endures beyond an accident involving the loss of Paul's father's arm and into adulthood as the boys pursue their love of hockey. Although I am not much of a hockey fan, I was surprised how much I enjoyed funny and heartfelt book that features quirky characters. This book would be appropriate for teens from grade 9-12, both boys and girls. Galloway achieved considerable, and well-deserved, success with his novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo. Finnie Walsh is his first novel, and it shows the promise of a first novel without the sophistication in theme and nuance exhibited in The Cellist of Sarajevo. Paul Woodward lives in a small Canadian mill town where his father works in the mill and his best friend is Finnie Walsh, son of the man who owns the mill and half of all the other businesses in town. The boys are hockey fanatics and the novel traces their lives through adolescence into adulthood when they both have a stint in the NHL. As boys, they have different idols: for Paul it is Wayne Gretzky, for Finnie it is Peter Stasny and later, certain goaltenders as Finnie develops his own expertise in that position. Paul has a younger sister who sees visions of future events and continuously wears a life-jacket because she had a vision at one point that she would drown, which she nearly does in a skating accident that cuts her throat. Finnie’s family is dysfunctional with a distant father, dead mother, and three brothers who run afoul of the law; Finnie’s commitment to hockey is the centerpiece of his life, but this is lost when he defends Paul against one of his own teammates in an on-ice brawl and after that no team will have him. The novel is told in the first person through the eyes of Paul, and the essence of the novel is summed up in the opening paragraph: “Finne Wlash will forever remain in my daily thoughts, not only because of the shocking circumstances of his absurd demise, but because he managed to misunderstand what was truly important even though he was right about almost everything else. Finne Walsh taught me that those in need of redemption are rarely those who become redeemed.” I thought the story line wandered a bit and certainly did not have the thematic and action focus of The Cellist of Sarajevo. Finnie is a smart, sensitive kid, but a little too precocious and perceptive for a young kid at times. I also thought Finnie’s death was a too contrived and unlikely in the circumstances and effects built around it. But the writing is good, some good characters, and the reading unfolds smoothly. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Prijzen
Steven Galloway's first novel, an incredible coming of age story, now revised and available in trade paperback from Vintage Canada. Finnie Walsh is a captivating, Irving-esque story of family, friendship, redemption, and legend. Paul Woodward lives in Portsmouth, a quiet northern mill-town. Born the day Paul Henderson planted the puck between the pipes against the Soviet Union to win the 1972 Super Series, Paul has no choice about playing hockey. His best friend Finnie Walsh is stinking rich. He is also fellow hockey fanatic and the only good kid in a long line of delinquent brothers. Paul's father works the nightshift at the local mill, owned by Finnie's father. One fateful day the boys noisily prepare for their first season of hockey in the Woodward driveway, keeping Paul's father awake when he should be sleeping. This triggers a chain of world-altering events. Galloway proves that childhood innocence, while not exactly bliss, can be amusing and more than mildly instructional. This is the book John Irving would have written if he understood hockey as well as wrestling. Finnie Walsh, like the fabled games before NHL expansion, is a story about greatness and legend. But it's also a heartsong to family, friendship, and atonement. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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P.S. It's possible that if I didn't like or understand hockey at all that I wouldn't like this book as much, but I don't think any knowledge of the game itself is necessary to appreciate the novel or its plot, characters, themes, etc.
P.S.P. If you've read and understood Moby Dick, there will also be allusions and other themes for you to recognize and appreciate, but the concepts are clear without having read about Ahab or Starbuck in advance. ( )