The Goon

by Jerrod Edson

153 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Author of seven books. Recipient of The David Adams Richards Prize, Relit Award shortlist. Most recent titles include the novella ANIMALS (2025) and the novel THE BOULEVARD (2023), available at Amazon, Indigo, and Galleon Books.

Reviews

[Jerrod Edson]

This is my fourth novel, published in 2010. It was shortlisted for the 2011 Relit Award for Best Novel. The Telegraph Journal said it was the best New Brunswick novel of 2010.

[Renee Layberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid Canadian content. The characters were vivid enough for me to feel that they were "real", but not so overly-described that I couldn't superimpose characteristics from similar people that I've had in my own life. I didn't feel at all that Edson was trying to convince me to "get" his characters—they were just living their own lives out in the pages in ways that didn't have to endear me, break my heart, or make me feel satisfied or triumphant. I finished the book feeling like I was honestly acquainted with these people, and I'd been drawn in enough to sincerely care about how they would go on to live their lives after I finished the final page. And, not being a hockey fan (but married to one), it widened my perspective somewhat on some of the primal undercurrents of how boys and men experience being part of that tribe. I liked this book enough that I'm picking up The Dirty Milkman as soon as I finish typing up this review.