King Leary

King Leary by Paul Quarrington was my fifth read for the challenge. This book was the winner of CBC's Canada Reads 2008. It took me some time to get into this novel that chronicles the life of Percival "King" Leary, a well known hockey player in the early 1900s. We find Leary in the present at a nursing home when he embarks on a journey to Toronto to film a ginger ale commercial. Throughout the story Leary looks back at, and sometimes hallucinates back and re-lives, things that happened to him on his life journey. He comically interacts in the present day with friends who have long-sinced passed away. Initially I found the hockey-theme rather boring but about 1/3 into the book this aspect became almost the side-line to the interesting story of Leary and his mates that captured my interest and attention. In the end I am pleased I read the book and I can see why it received its honour. The book's characters are apparently based on real people, however, not knowing much about hockey, this was lost on me.