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Product Description
Review
. . . far more complex than the hilarious one-liners that make her work so irresistible to read. (Margaret Gunning Edmonton Journal 20110903)
... [a] strong new comic novel. (Michael Bryson Winnipeg Review 20110902)
In this coming-of-age tale, male friendships and relationships are explored in all their goofiness and complexity . . . [Lynn Coady is] one of Canada's best writers of fiction. (Dana Medoro Winnipeg Free Press 20110901)
. . . a richly comic creation . . . a revealing effort in cross-gender empathy. (Joel Yanofsky Montreal Gazette 20110731)
. . . thoroughly engrossing. . . a breathless and frequently hilarious narrative . . . one of the freshest voices in years. (Zoe Whittall FASHION Magazine 20111201)
The Antagonist could have not have come at a better time. In our fast, media-saturated world, this novel gives the reader the refreshing and increasingly rare opportunity to take a closer, more compassionate look at someone wrongly judged by his outer shell. (Heather Leighton Rover Arts 20110916)
Sentence for sentence, Lynn Coady is one of the most dynamic prose stylists in Canadian letters. (Andre Mayer Walrus 20110801)
The Antagonist is a crafty, technically-accomplished series of meditations on subjects ranging from manhood and self-knowledge to tricky father-son relationships. (Brett Joseph Grubisic Vancouver Sun 20110903)
[Lynn Coady] has a hearty wit and a piercing understanding of human nature . . . [she] has made herself one of our essential writers. (Jeet Heer Quill and Quire 20110909)
A deft blend of farce, tragedy and wry social comment, The Antagonist is no mean feat. (Barbara Carey Toronto Star 20111006)
. . . by turns angry, funny, tender and sad . . . The Antagonist is a full-bodied work of fiction. (Giles Blunt Globe and Mail 20110909)
Unhinged at times, cathartic, lyrical and brave ... the reader must simply sit back and enjoy. (Nathaniel G. Moore Rabble 20120130)
. . . a readable, quixotic coming-of-age story, a comedy of very bad manners, and a thoughtful inquiry into the very nature of self. It's the sort of novel — and Coady the sort of writer — deserving of every accolade coming to it. (Robert J. Wiersema National Post )
[Lynn Coady] is entering old-pro territory ... (Laurie D Graham Malahat Review )
... [a] strong new comic novel. (Michael Bryson Winnipeg Review 20110902)
In this coming-of-age tale, male friendships and relationships are explored in all their goofiness and complexity . . . [Lynn Coady is] one of Canada's best writers of fiction. (Dana Medoro Winnipeg Free Press 20110901)
. . . a richly comic creation . . . a revealing effort in cross-gender empathy. (Joel Yanofsky Montreal Gazette 20110731)
. . . thoroughly engrossing. . . a breathless and frequently hilarious narrative . . . one of the freshest voices in years. (Zoe Whittall FASHION Magazine 20111201)
The Antagonist could have not have come at a better time. In our fast, media-saturated world, this novel gives the reader the refreshing and increasingly rare opportunity to take a closer, more compassionate look at someone wrongly judged by his outer shell. (Heather Leighton Rover Arts 20110916)
Sentence for sentence, Lynn Coady is one of the most dynamic prose stylists in Canadian letters. (Andre Mayer Walrus 20110801)
The Antagonist is a crafty, technically-accomplished series of meditations on subjects ranging from manhood and self-knowledge to tricky father-son relationships. (Brett Joseph Grubisic Vancouver Sun 20110903)
[Lynn Coady] has a hearty wit and a piercing understanding of human nature . . . [she] has made herself one of our essential writers. (Jeet Heer Quill and Quire 20110909)
A deft blend of farce, tragedy and wry social comment, The Antagonist is no mean feat. (Barbara Carey Toronto Star 20111006)
. . . by turns angry, funny, tender and sad . . . The Antagonist is a full-bodied work of fiction. (Giles Blunt Globe and Mail 20110909)
Unhinged at times, cathartic, lyrical and brave ... the reader must simply sit back and enjoy. (Nathaniel G. Moore Rabble 20120130)
. . . a readable, quixotic coming-of-age story, a comedy of very bad manners, and a thoughtful inquiry into the very nature of self. It's the sort of novel — and Coady the sort of writer — deserving of every accolade coming to it. (Robert J. Wiersema National Post )
[Lynn Coady] is entering old-pro territory ... (Laurie D Graham Malahat Review )
Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Against his will and his nature, the hulking Gordon Rankin ("Rank") is cast as an enforcer, a goon — by his classmates, his hockey coaches, and especially his own "tiny, angry" father, Gordon Senior.
Rank gamely lives up to his role — until tragedy strikes, using Rank as its blunt instrument. Escaping the only way he can, Rank disappears. But almost twenty years later he discovers that an old, trusted friend — the only person to whom he has ever confessed his sins — has published a novel mirroring Rank's life. The betrayal cuts to the deepest heart of him, and Rank will finally have to confront the tragic true story from which he's spent his whole life running away.
With the deep compassion, deft touch, and irreverent humour that have made her one of Canada's best-loved novelists, Lynn Coady delves deeply into the ways we sanction and stoke male violence, giving us a large-hearted, often hilarious portrait of a man tearing himself apart in order to put himself back together.
(20110926)
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book I wish I could write,
By
This review is from: The Antagonist (Hardcover)
The beauty of this book is the internal dialogue and cadence. It is simply the best book I've read in the last two years. Unfortunately, it took me a LONG time to pick it up because the cover art did not speak to me at all. LUCKILY, I read several reviews by writers I admire - those compelled me to purchase. I am so glad I took their advice. Its taking me a long time to finish this book because I keep re-reading sentences! If you know quality writing, you must MUST read this book.
6 of 19 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
I couldn't finish it...,
By
This review is from: The Antagonist (Hardcover)
I gave this novel an honest try - but found it so incredibly boring & fictional.I had an extremely difficult time getting over the narrator's whiny tone. But what really convinced me to stop reading was when I realized the narrator was a 40-some year old with obvious "daddy-issues", who spoke like he was still 15. Completely unrealistic tone & there was nothing that drew me in to entice me to read more.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Powerful and Wonderful Story!,
By S. Schwartz "romonko" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Antagonist (Hardcover)
Ms. Coady is one of Canada's premiere novelists, and that is very apparent when you read this book that was one of the finalists in the 2010 Giller Prize awards. There have been a lot of things in the news here in Canada lately about hockey enforcers and the toll it takes on their lives. This book illustrates this issue very well indeed. Rank is just that-a big, brawny guy who has been expected all his life to act as an enforcer-in hockey, in his various jobs as a young man, and in just about everything he does. This role does not sit well with him, and he spends his entire life trying to reconcile himself to this unasked-for role. And the book takes us to its inevitable conclusion-an event that rips up Gord's life and causes him to retreat within himself. The characters in this book are very memorable. We have Rank himself, and his three college friends as well as Rank's twisted and angry father. And throughout the ghost of Rank's mother whose demise almost tore Rank to pieces. As serious as this topic is, the book has hidden gems of humour buried throughout. These help to make the characters real and the story not so tragic and sad. This book is a triumph to Ms. Coady's subject and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A point of view worth reading.,
By theGsayeth - Published on Amazon.com
Reading this book was a weird experience. I read it primarily because of the buzz. What garnered this buzz - the subject matter and the timing of it's release. This past summer there were a number of hockey related deaths, enforcers, "goons" (I know that's not polite but it is how they are referred) who took/gave one too many blows to the head. This book is about that. I'm not a big hockey fan and this book barely touches upon hockey, this book is about the person behind that masque, that title: goon/enforcer. I recognize my own prejudice and I wanted to put myself in a point of view that I wouldn't normally see or understand. I know that I often look at really strong guys, the tough guys like that in a very particular way. I discount them, I put them in a peg and that's where they stay. This book is wonderful in challenging those prejudices. It's well written and I enjoy the story. The main character: Gordon Rankin, is a very disagreeable sort of individual. He's a womanizer, a brute, a know-it-all jerk who I struggled to follow along. That's the beauty of this work, it forces you to travel, to think, to feel the same emotions that Rank feels, especially emotions/thoughts you'd rather not confront.The premise is simple. Gordon finds himself the main character in a novel, a novel that follows a young man who does things that are all too familiar to Gordon, a novel that is based on his life written by a former university friend. The book is a series of e-mails written to this friend, a response, an accounting of the story but from Gordon's point of view. I think you'll enjoy this read very much if you give it a chance. It's not easy to read and the story is fairly simple, not too much happens plot wise. But, it's more about Gordon, his feelings, his thoughts, what it's like to live his life - it's all about his character, the role that is thrust upon him. Enjoy.
4.0 out of 5 stars
loved it!,
By mojo - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
My book club chose this book a couple of months ago. I really enjoyed it, I'm amazed at the author's ability to write so well from a male perspective. A well written, great story. I'm now reading her other books.
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