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Olympia
A story of evolution, love and death which centres on three generations of Olympic athletes - the Bavarian grandparents who escaped Nazi Germany, and their Canadian descendents.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Dennis Bock
7 books128 followersDennis Bock is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. His newest novel, The Good German, was published in September 2020 and has been lauded by Margaret Atwood as "a cunning, twisted, compelling tale of deeply unexpected consequences."
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” his books include Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers and lives with his two sons.
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” his books include Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers and lives with his two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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September 22, 2009Olympia is Dennis Bock's first novel, preceding The Ash Garden.
The Ash Garden was my introduction to Bock; it gathered all kinds of buzz because of the significant size of his advance. But it didn't live up to expectations; one had the sense it was deliberately constructed, built upon a scheme, and the underlying scaffolding was sometimes more visible than the story.
I had the same sense here. At times, it seems that Bock's allusions and symbols are more clearly and carefully drawn than his characters. Nonetheless, Olympia suffers less from this fault than did The Ash Garden; although it garnered less attention (and cash up front), this is the better novel.
The Ash Garden was my introduction to Bock; it gathered all kinds of buzz because of the significant size of his advance. But it didn't live up to expectations; one had the sense it was deliberately constructed, built upon a scheme, and the underlying scaffolding was sometimes more visible than the story.
I had the same sense here. At times, it seems that Bock's allusions and symbols are more clearly and carefully drawn than his characters. Nonetheless, Olympia suffers less from this fault than did The Ash Garden; although it garnered less attention (and cash up front), this is the better novel.
December 11, 2021
I really enjoyed the prose in this novel and even when the plot was less interesting, I found myself absorbed into the words and characters. There was a larger story between the moments where not much happened and I think that could have been clearer. Still a very enjoyable novel.
March 19, 2014
This is a book that actually spoke to me on several levels. Many people have the luxury of having a family history that is filled with pedigrees and noble deeds while a lot of us have family stories that are ambiguous and confusing. Bock has written about somebody whose family history is troubled and whose members are somewhat vague. It is a murky read at times but Bock has documented a reality that many of us have.
Link to my complete review
Link to my complete review
February 7, 2012
Poetic novel about how families cope with tragedy. Well written but slow moving and a bit frustrating; very little of the grandparents' story is revealed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews