Babiak’s Champion City
Peter Darbyshire, on his book blog for Vancouver’s The Province, has posted an interview with The Garneau Block author Todd Babiak. In the interview, Babiak makes clear that part of his interest in writing a serial novel based in Edmonton was the chance to explode some myths about his home town and his province: “I think, nationally, Alberta is seen as a Conservative monolith with cowboy cities, but it’s completely untrue.”
Babiak also tackles the subject of The Great One: “Edmonton lived through 10 years of heartbreak after Gretzky left…. There is something sweet and ridiculous about this… I mean, it’s just hockey! Edmonton and Canada must discover other themes and myths.”
Interestingly, when discussing his post-Garneau Block projects, Babiak mentions “a magical realist screenplay called The Great One, set on the day Gretzky announced he was leaving Canada.”
Hey, get over it, man.
Related links:
Read the interview with Todd Babiak
Read the Q&Q review of The Garneau Block
