Olympia

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

Olympia is a novel that consists of eight linked stories about a family
of German immigrants, told in the first person by the son, Peter. It
starts in 1971, when Peter is 13 years old and the family is living in
Southern Ontario; it ends 25 years later in Spain. For this family of
athletes, the Olympic Games are the events that mark the passing years.
The grandparents meet while competing in the 1936 Berlin games, the
father sails in the 1960 Rome games, the children are hopefuls for the
1980 Moscow games, and the parents remarry in Barcelona in 1992.

As the family struggles with events of the past, however, it is further
weakened when tragedy strikes. Peter’s grandmother drowns in a bizarre
accident on a still summer lake, and Ruby, his adored younger sister and
a gymnast with an Olympic future, contracts leukemia (there is a
devastating account of her treatment and death and its effect on her
family). But through it all, Peter finds strength and, ultimately, his
place among the living.

With its believable characters and intriguing storyline, this
well-written novel should appeal to many readers.