Regardless of the decade you grew up, in the last 50 years of the Canadian mosaic – one common theme provided the paving stones for your journey: rock and roll music and outdoor winter sports… most likely hockey.
And chances are, your fabric of choice in this environment would have been denim, leather or blue corduroy – your allowed uniform determined by membership, in cliques often limited to the rockers, the greasers and the rest of us; the young, naive, anxiety ridden innocents lacking a defined identity.
As the twentieth century drifted to its conclusion, several elements of fashion would appear along with more choices in group membership, arguably better music but some (if not all) of the common rites of passage would remain constant; the ever present fear and loathing of growing up in an environment rich with bullying, perceived violence and the emotional roller coaster of adolescence.
In this Grant Lawrence follow up to Adventure in Solitude, he captures the timeless essence of the Canadian male coming of age story – in a rugged and relentless environment of doubt and seemingly endless bullying from his peers.
Here in the 21st Century, bullying has finally been brought into acute focus – for its actual emotional and physical body count. In its engaging first half, Grant pulls us along for a gripping and visceral snapshot of his formative years as he takes us on a dizzying ride down painfully familiar territory.
What separates our now graying and rough sewn memories of youth from Grant’s testimonial is the colorfully crude reminiscence of the accompanying sound track – a veritable letter perfect chronology of regional punk and independent rock – something Grant recalls with impeccable detail worthy of a Ken Burns documentary, all the while illustrating his transformation from a geeky and awkward jock-hating nerd to a place of redemption, contrition and maturity.
The Lonely end of the Rink is actually three books in one (maybe four) – the first half outlines the 12 year adventure of Grants passage from child to teenager in the public school system. In its second half and denouement, Grant discovers the raw power of facing his childhood demons with the blade, the blocker and braving the bully on a level and albeit frozen playing surface.
Sutured into the fabric of this dialogue is a 30 year retrospective of Canadian hockey and a quirky matrix of Canadian musical genuflections – bowing towards hockey, its history, its tragedies, successes and absurdities and how utterly and irrevocably intertwined all these elements are in the Canadian experience.
Grants Lonely Rink is a brisk and bracing icy breeze in your face, a rock and pop cultural timeline and an immensely respectful first person tribute to Canada’s great frozen obsession – impossible to put down until the final period. Gritty, accurate and equally painful, it is a welcome addition to the Grant Lawrence collection of great stories.