King Leary [Hardcover]

Paul Quarrington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1988

Percival Leary was once the King of the Ice, one of hockey's greatest heroes.  In the South Grouse Nursing Home, where he shares a room with Edmund "Blue" Hermann, the antagonistic and alcoholic newspaper reporter who once chronicled his career, learly 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 how to play hockey; and the time he executed the perfect "St. Louis Whirlygig" to score the winning goal in the 1919 Stanley Cup finals.

   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 madcap adventure as he revisits scenes of his glorious life as the King of the Ice.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Quarrington is the Canadian author of the well-received Life of Hope and Home Game. His success in this entertaining fourth novel is not only creating a memorable character in Canadiens' hockey champion Patrick Leary, "King of the Ice" for most of the first half of the 20th century, but also surrounding him with equally memorable companions. There's Clay Clinton, a likable though Machiavellian con artist-cum-hockey manager, and Leary's best friend; gormless Clifford, King's obese, amiable son, who seems to have inherited some of his father's inability to see reality; Manny Oz, King's challenger for the crown who died ignominiously and alone in a hotel room; Blue Hermann, King's roommate in the nursing home, ace reporter and alcoholic; and the hockey-playing monks of Bowmanville Reformatory, where Leary's career begins. In an odyssey that takes the King from past to present, and from Bywater to Toronto to make a ginger ale "advert," the ghosts and half-truths of Leary's life are satisfyingly resolved.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Paul Quarrington has turned hockey into a metaphor for magic,"
                   -MACLEAN'S

"A fresh and zany voice."
                   -THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"An extraordinary writer with a rare gift."
                   -Timothy Findley    


From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada; 1st edition (February 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385251386
• ISBN-13: 978-0385251389
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,205,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest books you will ever read, February 18, 2000

By 

Stephen Stamp - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Leary (Paperback)

King Leary is an old man now, but in his heydey he was the king of the ice, leaving opponents clutching at air as he executed the famous St Louis Whirligig. He is tracked down by an androgyous advertising company hack to promote a brand of ginger ale, and together they commence a laughter-inducing trip to the big city to make ads.

This book will have you holding your stomach and wiping your eyes. It would be worth the read just to find out the real meaning of the King's Indian nickname, Loofweda, which he translates as "skates like the wind".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Canadian Humour about a Canadian sport, December 9, 1999

By 

Tammy Pichette (Otterville, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Leary (Paperback)

King Leary is a very funny novel. I really enjoyed this book because its setting is right around where I live. The characters in this novel seemed real and alive. Paul Quarrington is an author who really gets involved in his work. This novel is a great recommendation to anyone who really enjoy's a good Canadian laugh!

Happy Reading and enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, very human, and touching, March 4, 1999

By 

J. Hogan (Nanaimo, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King Leary (Paperback)

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Based loosely on hockey as it was earlier in the 20th century. Written in the first person, a style of which Quarrington is a master (see also "Whale Music"). Also, like Whale Music, very touching at times.