The Guardians Review

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The Guardians ReviewI don't read a lot of Canadian authors. Not because I have anything against them of course, it's just that I rarely seem to come across them on my bookish travels. The last book I read that was actually set in Canada, prior to this one, was probably Moonheart or another title by Charles DeLint. I mention this because the Canadian setting in this book is very noticeable due to the constant references to Ice Hockey. The Guardians of the title for example, are primarily, the hockey team for which the key characters played as young men. That Canadian identity is really the first thing that struck me about this book, and it contributes to a strong sense of place which I really liked.
The story is told in the first person, from the perspective of one character in two different time periods. One is naturally enough, the present, and the other is revealed in extracts from the same character's journal, providing an unreliable narrative of events that happened in 1984. In the present the main character, Trevor, has learned that one of his best friends from childhood has taken his own life. Trevor has been appointed as executor of the will, and must travel back to the small town of Grimshaw where he grew up, in order to attend the funeral and carry out his late friend's final wishes. Which means going back to confront a past he had long hoped was behind him. It's not just the emotional difficulty of confronting the past that Trevor must deal with either, in the present he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and is already suffering from diminished mobility and other effects of the condition.
As boys, Trevor and his friends Ben, Randy and Carl were involved in a shocking event that took place in an abandoned house long considered haunted. The events at the Thurman House left each of them scarred in their own way, and now Ben, the only one who stayed in Grimshaw, has committed suicide. When Trevor returns to Grimshaw himself, events occur which have an eerie parallel to those from the past.
This novel is definitely creepy and atmospheric, but more than that it is melancholic, and actually quite sad in places. It is a story about friendship and about the passage of life. It certainly resonated with me and in some ways with where I am at this time in my own life. Not the obvious areas of drama, but I am approaching a similar age to the main characters in the story, and this is as much a book about the onset of middle-age as anything else. It is a story about the events that shape a person's life, and what we do with them as we attempt to move forward.
I think it's fair to say that this is actually a fairly masculine book as well. I don't mean in a posturing, strutting, blood and adrenalin way. But in that it very much centres on the bonds that men and boys form with one another, and the way that men feel they need to be in the world. Again, a lot of this I really connected with, but I do wonder if female readers will connect as easily.
Originally, I expected this to be little more than an enjoyable haunted house story. In actuality there is much more to it than that. At its heart, The Guardians is a classic coming of age story with supernatural overtones, in the tradition of Stephen King's IT and The Body (which became the film, Stand by Me). It has all the ingredients of an atmospheric chiller, a suspenseful crime thriller, and an excellent focus point in the abandoned Thurman House. Above all, it is an emotive story about the passage of time, and the importance of overcoming the shadows of the past.The Guardians OverviewFrom acclaimed author Andrew Pyper, a gripping novel of psychological suspense about four men haunted by a secret from childhood.There's no such thing as an empty house...Trevor, Randy, Ben and Carl grew up together in the small town of Grimshaw as many boys do--playing hockey on the local team, the Guardians, and forging friendships that run deep. Twenty-four years later, Trevor, recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and faced with his own mortality, learns that his old friend Ben has committed suicide. He returns to Grimshaw to pay his respects and to reunite with Randy and Carl. But going home means going back to the memories of a sinister crime that occurred in the abandoned house at 321 Caledonia Street--a crime that claws its way into the present, leaving its indelible mark on everyone. Chilling to the core and gripping in the extreme, The Guardians is taut psychological suspense that will leave you at once breathless and moved.From the Hardcover edition.

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