Blue Ice

And Other Stories from the Rink

Book Details

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 09/17/2009 by Chad Vandervalk.

Recommended. A short story collection for anyone who appreciates hockey.

Discerning Reader recently sent me a great little collection of short stories called Blue Ice: And Other Stories from the Rink by Frank Ewert. I am not sure if it was mainly because I am Canadian, and so grew up with ice flowing through my veins during the winter, that I was chosen to review it. For whatever reason I am extremely thankful.

Those who really have no idea what hockey is all about, aside from sitting down and watching it on TV, need to pick up this book. Ewert gives us an insider's view of what it is like to participate in this great game outside of the glitz and glam of professional sports. There are no stories of millions of fans cheering on their favourite team, but plenty of stories of young boys learning what it means to work together and overcome their differences.
Ewert makes the characters come alive as they fight for the puck and the attention of the girls, sometimes coming down to blows on the ice and elsewhere. The last story in the collection is about a few friends who witnessed their beloved Stanley Cup being won by the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Calgary Flames in Game 7. This blow to their national spirit, to their sense of fairness, to their understanding and love for the game of hockey, was almost more than they could take. Ewert writes a collection of stories about identity, about growth, about loss. There is a melancholy tone to this book which plucks the heart strings of a nation in love with a cold game.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone. Maybe you will understand a little bit better why Canadians are so obsessed about hockey.