Villeneuve

Paul E. Blower was Assistant Head, Adult Services Department, Sault Ste. Marie Public Library, Ontario.

This is a large-format picture book celebrating the career of Gilles Villeneuve, the Canadian Formula One driver who was killed in 1982 at the age of 32 in a qualifying trial at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The text, a rather pedestrian translation from the French, sketches the life and career of Villeneuve from boyhood beginnings in Chambly and Berthierville, Quebec, to teenage successes in snowmobile racing, to the triumphs and setbacks of his short-lived career in motor racing. Mercifully, the author does not dwell on the circumstances of his death.

The pictures, however, are the main reason why anyone would buy this book (though at twenty dollars, it is questionable how many would). There are about 250 full-colour photographs, mostly by Allan de la Plante, of Villeneuve and other racers, their cars, and what might be described as their “circle.”

Two things strike me about the sport from reading this book: one is the high degree of corporate sponsorship (this is, after all, a very expensive undertaking) and the other is how dependent even the most skilled driver is on the technical performance of his car.

Motor racing is not a sport in which Canada has particularly excelled over the years, and with the death of Gilles Villeneuve, even that tenuous hold is considerably loosened (the efforts of frère Jacques notwithstanding). To date, few books have been written about the exploits of this remarkable Canadian (Le dernier virage, by Christian Tortura (Quebecor, 1982), is available to French readers). It is up to individuals and libraries to decide if this picture book is a fitting memorial.