The Good Body

by Bill Gaston

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
40	1	625,543	(2.8)	3
The Good Body is a triumphant blend of mordant humor and heartbreak. By turns hilarious and poignant, it s the story of retired pro-hockey ruffian Bobby Bonaduce, who is stubbornly ignoring a disease that may be killing him. Bobby returns to his hometown and scams his way into university in a misguided attempt to redeem his messy past and lay emotional claim to a son he abandoned 20 years earlier. With this acclaimed novel, Bill Gaston demonstrates yet again that he is one of the best chroniclers of men and sports."… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

georgebexley, rachelm2001, cherrytomato, kickthebeat, moonlit.shelves, Jade_Jackson93, CAUT, TheBookJunky, Thistalalh

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

None

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 3 mentions

▾Member reviews

Minor-league hockey goon Bobby Bonaduce discovers he has MS and returns to Fredericton, hoping for one last chance to play hockey with the son he abandoned. His son plays for UNB; to get on the team, Bonaduce (now a more dignified "Robert") cheats his way into the creative writing MFA program. Complications ensue.

Bonaduce is a likable goofball surrounded by good, clearly drawn characters, and The Good Body is funny and engaging throughout. But the ending is unsatisfying.

This novel could easily slide into sentimentality, and one of its great strengths is that it does not. But, probably because Gaston refuses sentiment, the conclusion seems to leave everything unresolved.

ajsomerset | Oct 1, 2008 |

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

▾Series and work relationships

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

ReLit Award (Shortlist – Novel – 2001)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

The Good Body is a triumphant blend of mordant humor and heartbreak. By turns hilarious and poignant, it s the story of retired pro-hockey ruffian Bobby Bonaduce, who is stubbornly ignoring a disease that may be killing him. Bobby returns to his hometown and scams his way into university in a misguided attempt to redeem his messy past and lay emotional claim to a son he abandoned 20 years earlier. With this acclaimed novel, Bill Gaston demonstrates yet again that he is one of the best chroniclers of men and sports."

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary