As some long-time readers may recall, I've dabbled a bit in the work of Don Delillo. So has Greg at Hockey Rants, who recently shed some light on one of Delillo's more obscure novels:
For a while, a few years back, I collected hockey books -- I had some vague idea of assembling a vast hockey library. I eventually gave it up because you can only read so many books like "Brett: Shootin' and Smilin'" or "Manon: Alone in Front of the Net" or "Maltby: Utter Loser" before you start to stare at the walls and contemplate what you're doing with your life. Then there's the "a season with the team" books, written by sportswriters unwilling to deal any real dirt. Then there's the inspirational hockey genre, stuff so sentimental and sappy it would make Mitch Albom nauseous.Then there's Cleo Birdwell's "Amazons."
[...]
But what makes it really strange is who's actually behind it. "Cleo Birdwell" is Don DeLillo and a collaborator -- the same Don DeLillo that's perpetually on the shortlist of Major Literary Figures. He's always been a pretty obvious sports fan (baseball is a major plot point in "Underworld," and football is the foundation of "End Zone" -- which "Amazons" resembles, albeit on a slighter scale), but even so, "Amazons" sticks out like a sore thumb in his ouevre.
I'm scouring Amazon for Amazons, right now...
UPDATE: Martin Thornell writes:
Weird that Jes just posted on DeLillo's Amazons - I'm in the middle of reading it right now. It is a strange book - even by DeLillo standards - it has the same feel as a lot of Kurt Vonnegut stuff I have read. I had a hard time finding it - I guess because DeLillo has tried to have it buried, but my local library came through with an inter-library loan - I may write something when I finish.
Looking forward to it.
Ah, I have a copy of Amazons, from years and years ago. I liked it, though not quite as much as Frank Orr’s Puck is a Four-Letter Word. If you’re already placing an Amazon order, that’s worth another four bucks.
Found a copy on eBay!