I have always had at least a passing interest in the Montreal Canadiens, even though I cannot call myself a fan of the team. So naturally I wanted to request a copy of this book when I saw ARCs were available. I am very glad my request was approved as this was an excellent book.
Title/Author:
“Habs Nation: A People’s History of the Montreal Canadiens” by Brendan Kelly
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
The Montreal Canadiens have one of the most storied histories in professional sports, having won 24 Stanley Cups and are also a source of pride for not only the city, but for the entire province of Quebec. However, they have not won a championship since 1993 and the number of French-speaking players from Quebec, once a source of pride for the team and province, has been dwindling during that time. This book by Brendan Kelly not only explores this phenomenon but also connects it to the movement by some Quebecers to secede as an independent, French-only nation.
Kelly does a great job writing about both the political and the hockey parts of the book. He interviews very knowledgeable people on both topics, especially the hockey part where he talks to former Canadien greats who were both anglophones and francophones (English and French speaking). That gave this a very balanced approach to the book, even though it is quite clear that Kelly is making a direct correlation between the status of the separatist movement and the success of the hockey team.
Something else that Kelly writes about very
well is the rivalry between the Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques before the
latter left for Colorado in 1995. That
was also the year when the second independence referendum for Quebec failed to
pass, dealing a blow to those who favored independence. This contrasted with the 1980 referendum, that
passed, and while not resulting in independence, there were several concessions
from the nationalist government. And,
either by coincidence or not, 1980 marked the year of the end of the Canadiens
dynasty in which they had won the last four Stanley Cups, losing to the
Minnesota North Stars in the quarterfinals that spring.
While there is certainly no absolute connection between the two, Kelly makes
this comparison very interesting, provides the reader with a great account of
the rich tradition of francophone players for the Canadiens and also gives the
reader an interesting look at the movement to make Quebec a separate nation.
I wish to thank Baraka Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
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