On 14 November, the organizers of the Salon du livre de Montréal décernaient the Marcel-Couture Melançon to Benedict, author of the book The eyes of Maurice Richard.



The book, published by Editions Fides at the end of 2006, is not a biography of Maurice Richard. For this professor in the Department of French Studies at the University of Montreal, but rather to analyze the phenomenon Maurice Richard over time. "The cultural historian, if properly done its work, must locate his analysis on a different plane. He did not criticize a man, but to understand what a society, since sixty years, wanted to make this man, that Quebec and Canada had wanted to invest in the figure of Maurice Richard. "Melançon says in his epilogue on page 240.



That is the richness of the book, which shows how, in both Quebec and English Canada, we have interpreted the actions of the great player. To do this, the author has stripped and analyzed from many sources. The bibliography is largely composed of written documents, icons, sound recordings and moving images. All this mass documentary is proof of the importance of the phenomenon Maurice Richard.



Of course, the Rocket, for his exploits, has demonstrated to his fellow citizens of the time with work and perseverance, it could achieve its goals, against all odds! But on the edge of the sporting history of Quebec, Richard phenomenon is so huge, that it's in the shadow of those who preceded him. Collectively, we did that for Maurice Richard, as if our sporting history began with him.



Benedict's book Melançon is good, because it sheds light on our collective imagination that remains in need of heroes. It shows the representations we kindly give Maurice Richard. It portrays us, and that's it.