Orser: A Skater's Life

by Brian Orser, Steve Milton

A great book. Hardcover

Genres: Figure Skating, Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir

214 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Surreysmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1989:]. It's nearly a year since I read (or should I rather say devoured?) this for the first time, but since it's one of those books which, for whatever reason, one retains almost to the point of memorization, I thought I might as well give it a review. This book was both a treasure and a disappointment: a treasure, because Orser is, in fact, quite frank about the joys and tribulations associated with his life as a skater. That is, of course, what one is promised in the subtitle. And some of it, especially the Calgary and Budapest chapter, is riveting to anyone who got at all involved in the TV coverage of those events. The disappointment is two-fold - first, as one would expect from an athlete and a sportswriter, it's not particularly well-written: flat and repetitive. Second, as is, I suppose, his right (especially when he is only at the beginning of his career), Orser withholds all information about his personal life. His relative effusiveness on the subject of what a good friend Boitano is, is therefore practically a guarantee that there is not/has not been anything between them. Of the man with whom he shares his restaurants, his home and his life, there is only the most guarded mention, in the most neutral terms. Orser has been carefully "packaged" by public relations men, and this book is part of the package. A smart little cookie in his own way, our Brian has gone along with - nay verily encouraged it. We mustn't forget that his hero - his Dad -is a hard-nosed businessman. It's all the more interesting, then, to see the mask slip once in a while, and his real dislike of, say, Norbert Schramm, finding its way through. If I seriously thought I'd get an honest answer, I'd write and ask, "Just what did you and Boitano say to each other in that dressing-room before the Olympic finals?" But, like many another question raised by this book, that question may never be answered - unless, by chance, Mr. Orser writes about the last 2/3 of his life as well!

[Victoria Sigsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any skating geeks like myself this is an excellent, if fairly short, read. It is written in a way that is easy to read. If you remember the 1988 winter Olympics with the "battle of the Brians", then you also might enjoy this.
It does explain some skating terms and describes how to do them and explains the changes in the marking system(which has since changed again) for those who need to know.
It covers Brian's childhood and how he began skating and the book concludes after he wins the Olympic silver medal. He says he didn't "win the olympics". He did he won the Silver medal, how many of us can say they did that? He is a winner.
The book describes just how much he had to do to achieve his successes on the ice which he has now swapped to be an amazing skating coach for many top form skaters.
This book will be a good read during the winter Olympics season or any skating season, which comes to an end in March every year and starts again in Ssptember.

[Katherine Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another era, really interesting look at Canadian figure skating back in the 80s.

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a short autobiography of the life of a Canadian skater who was in his prime when I was growing up. I remember the Brian vs Brian campaign during the Olympics in Calgary. I didn’t realize Orser was the first one to successfully perform a triple axle in competition. Interesting tidbit of trivia. This book was alright. I suppose if you are a competitive Canadian skater, this book might be more meaningful. It is not a literary work of art by any means. But it does provide some interesting insight on the sport of Men’s Figure skating. Orser, interestingly enough, is currently the coach of the #1 ranked woman’s figure skater, Yu-Na Kim. If you are a big fan of men’s figure skating, I would recommend this book, otherwise, skip it.