#Robbie Arnott

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: THE RAIN HERON by Robbie Arnott.*

The People have Spoken, so I'm reading THE RAIN HERON next! This one's been on my radar for a while, although I'm glad I waited (because I like this cover variant much more than the first variant that I saw).

*Featuring Dye Mad Yarns' Great Lakes Collection moonlighting as a background.

[dougwallen]

Robbie Arnott feature for The Big Issue Australia

[marymcmagic-hair]

"I have met siblings with almost unconscious understandings of each other. Of what the other will say, how they will react, what they will choose: as if they are adhering to a plan that only the two of them are privy to.

It is like meeting aliens. Levi and I have never understood each other.

But I know that between us there is love. Not warm love, not vocal love, but love nonetheless."

- Flames by Robbie Arnott

[expendablemudge]

ReadingIsResistance to ignoring the magic of the natural world

FLAMES got a 5* #BookReview of #Tasmania's home-grown magical realism monadnock Robbie Arnott's #scifi-adjacent beautiful book from Australia's eminent Text Publishing.

[rhetoricandlogic]

The Rain Heron: A Novel

By Robbie Arnott

FSG Originals

288 pp.

Reviewed by Paul D. Pearlstein

March 12, 2021

Despite many strong parts, this fragmented, genre-defying tale makes for an unsatisfying whole.

The Rain Heron: A Novel

Reviewed by Paul D. Pearlstein

March 12, 2021

Robbie Arnott is a prize-winning Tasmanian writer who has created in The Rain Heron a phantasmagoric tale in five parts. The chapters are very loosely tied to a mythical bird whose appearance reverses a devastating drought in an unidentified rural land.

The heron is incorporeal, made of water, though it can be netted and caged. Its apparent magic becomes the subject of a deadly hunt by soldiers involved in a local uprising. It’s unclear what the military hopes to do with the bird, but perhaps the heron’s preternatural powers might give them an edge in their struggle. That “struggle” is left to the imagination of the reader, as is much of the storyline, throughout which obfuscation, minimalism, and a creative timeline are mixed with some beautifully honed prose.

Sharing this tale with the bird are three curiously engaging women. Only briefly do we meet the first, a farmer whose land and livelihood are ruined by drought. She is saved when the ethereal bird appears to end the dry spell and become her protector. This woman alone enjoys great prosperity until a jealous neighbor’s boy tries to kill the heron. The boy is found with his eyes plucked out, the drought returns, and the farmer’s prosperity reverts to penury.

We next meet Ren, whose life was ruined and whose son was conscripted by the marauding military resistance. To survive, she flees to a mountain cave, where she stays alive by hunting, trapping, and trading pelts. Ren’s character may remind readers of Ayla in Jean Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear, another savvy survivalist.

The third woman, Zoe, lives by the sea, where she and her aunt earn a living milking squid and selling the valuable ink. A stranger intrudes and tries to learn the secret of how to obtain the ink. He ends up unintentionally killing the aunt. Zoe then kills him with the help of a blood-sucking squid, promptly leaves town, and joins the military resistance.

She excels in her new life and is quickly promoted to Lieutenant Harker. While commanding an all-male unit, she is ordered to capture the water heron and bring it to her superiors. Intelligence reports indicate that if Ren can be found, she can lead the soldiers to the mystical bird.

We first meet the soldiers as they’re scouring a mountainous region for Ren, who uses her knowledge of the terrain to avoid detection. Eventually, however, she is found. When she bravely refuses to reveal the bird’s location, she is tortured by the lieutenant until she relents. The bird is caught and caged, but not without a fight. During its capture, one of Harker’s eyes is plucked out.      

The bird is taken to the soldiers’ encampment at Ren’s cave, where Ren makes one last attempt to free it. The now partially blinded Lieutenant Harker (Zoe) instinctively shoots Ren in the throat despite never before having aimed a gun at another human.

After the passing of time, the remorseful lieutenant decides to free the bird. She returns to the cave and to Ren, who is still alive but unable to speak because of her injury. Together, the women go to a spot in the mountains and release the water heron. The lieutenant then leaves. She drives to a military doctor’s office to have him examine her gouged eye, and an abrupt fairytale ending ensues.

The author scatters several acts of gratuitous violence amid the pages: the plucking out of eyeballs; the murder of Zoe’s aunt and subsequent killing of her killer; the shooting of Ren; and more. It seems unnecessary for the book as a whole; perhaps each individual bloodstained episode would fit more comfortably into standalone stories.

Much of Arnott’s best writing describes the natural beauty of the unnamed region, the climate, and concern for the environment, though it’s unclear if that qualifies this book as a work of eco-fiction. It could just as easily be categorized as a fantasy, a feminist myth, a murder mystery, or even some sort of Dickensian coincidence tale. Regardless, The Rain Heron tries to span several genres but never quite succeeds in any. While its distinct narratives are interesting, the novel’s puzzling organization left this reader scratching his head.

[tintededges]

Limberlost

Contemplative novel about independence, masculinity and growing up I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the author. Image is of “Limberlost” by Robbie Arnott. The eBook cover is an impressionistic painting of a yellow boat and a white tree with yellow leaves. There is greenery throughout the background and yellow stripes give the impression of the boat’s reflection. “Limberlost” by…

[flourmelon]

“I remembered bloody waves. I remembered the freshening scent of pine trees, the dark height of a mountain, how a gun felt as it erupted in my fingers. Then I looked again at the boy, and approached him the way one should approach a broken child—with concern, a net of safety, and something like love.”

The Rain Heron

—Robbie Arnott

12.26.2022

🌧️🔫🦢🚲🌾

[hollowtones]

I've been reading through a book called The Rain Heron, by Robbie Arnott, and it's been very interesting so far.

I bring it up because there's a middle-aged squid farmer woman who laughs a lot and is covered in scars who I think you would enjoy. But also because it's interestingly written, with no quotation marks for dialogue, and a scant few named characters. It's akin to a less dreamlike and visceral Cormac McCarthy book.

Okay have a nice day

I think I had someone else recommend this book to me at some point. I read a summary and it sounds interesting enough, so maybe I’ll try tracking it down and reading it at some point. Thanks!

[awkwardplant]

2023 Reads

This year I've read 24 books - I had only planned to read one book per month, given that I've barely read since leaving highschool. But my old bookworm self is re-emerging! As I write this, I'm on my 25th lol.

I decided at the start of the year that I wanted to try an read a wide variety of genres, which I did. Didn't love everything I read, but such is life. Below are all the titles and my terrible attempts to summarise the plots. The ones with a heart were my favourites and ones I highly reccommend.

My full list in order:

No Destination by Satish Kumar

Autobiography of the life of a pilgrim who left his family at 9 years old to become a Jain monk, then left that to become an activist and walk across continents.

Not the kind of life story you hear everyday, that's for sure.

How to Invent Everything by Ryan North

(Nonfiction) An in depth guide for the stranded time traveller that needs to recreate modern technology from scratch.

Funny, easy to understand, and bitesized sections that can be read when you've got a spare 5 mins.

Moral Compass by Danielle Steel

A girl who experiences sexual assault while at a private school that newly became co-ed, and the resulting court case/investigation into what happened.

Personally I felt this read like a case-study more than a story, and the message was very heavyhanded.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero ❤

A horror comedy about a group of adults that used to be sleuths in their teens reunite to solve a case that everyone thinks has been wrapped up.

This was recommended to me by a librarian that said it was like "if the scooby doo gang all had trauma and fought eldritch beings" which perfectly summed it up. Also, if you shipped Velma and Daphne... you'll enjoy this book 👀 The writer randomly switches to a script-like format at times, some people hate that but I personally like when an author does whatever the fuck, just because he can. Delicious dark humour.

The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott ❤

About a woman who lives alone in the mountains in a country devastated by a coup, and is sought out by a soldier in order to find the mythical Rain Heron.

Nice prose and descriptions, and the other character's pov chapters have some great suspense.

The Mark and The Void by Paul Murray

An office worker meets a novellist who wants to write about his life.

I was really into the first half of the story, but the second half became boring as the plot stagnated

Resistance by Samit Basu

People have superpowers corresponding to their innermost desires, and we follow the life of a billionaire who is the leader of a mecha group and the lives of their enemies.

I accidentally picked this up at the library, not realizing it was a sequal to Turbulence, but it read okay on it's own. You'd like this if you're into My Hero Academia or other shounen anime.

Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North ❤

Set in the distant future after an apocalypse, an archivist is forced to translate documents from the "burning age" for the Brotherhood

I still think about this story daily. The writing has an interesting style and rhythm and the plot is packed with intriguing developments

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins ❤

There's a library with the secrets to the universe, and several people, called Pelapi, grew up learning a unique catalogue of skills using its books, taught by Father, who might be God? But he's gone missing lately.

If you like The Umbrella Academy you'd like this. Like Meddling Kids, it's also dark and funny.

The People we Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

A journalist and her old friend go on holiday in a last attempt to rekindle their friendship.

I found this book on a train, then left it on another. Hopefully it got a new home! The story was sweet, especially the ending where the journalist spent some time on herself.

It's Kind of a Funny story by Ned Vizzini

A teenage boy suffers a mental breakdown and spends a week in a psychiatric ward.

Given to me by a family member, I am now a bit concerned for her. It has a happy ending, at least. There was a transphobic depiction of a character that was mentioned in the blurb, but she doesn't even stay for the whole story.

The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason

A body is found on a mountain in Iceland, reopening a cold case from 30 years ago, bringing the detective in charge of it out of retirement.

The prose isn't great in this due to a poor translation. The plot/characters are a bit cliche but not too bad overall. The ending was unexpected yet also expected in the best way?

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree ❤

Cosy fantasy about an orc who retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop/cafe.

Bought this after seeing it recommended for people that like Stardew Valley. I liked the amount of detail that went into just building the shop. The prose is simple, but I find that fits the main character, Viv, well, and there were some really good lines/messages in the story. I have adopted Thimble.

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession

Two unremarkable irish men consider their lives and place in the universe.

This would've been one of my favourites had it not focused so much on Paul's sister's wedding. The book should've been called Leonard, Hungry Paul, and Grace. I did enjoy the conversations in this book, and the attention to the mundane.

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

Southern Gothic queer supernatural story about a college student trying to solve the case of his best friend's death, while being haunted by Revenants.

This took me ages to read because it was so emotionally heavy and the plot moved slowly. Like it had some incredibly good prose and relationship dynamics, but I couldn't force myself to read it again.

Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

Solar punk story about a (nonbinary!) person who suddenly switches jobs to become a tea monk, then leaves that to visit a hermitage and meets a robot along the way.

This is a short book because the sequel is the second half of the story. £13-17.99 seems too expensive for half a book. It was recommended as a cosy fantasy but the MC is existentially unhappy with their life for most of it, so the story doesn't quite fit in that category.

A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill ❤

Noah, the youngest child of his family, narrates the life of his parents: a bookish mother and a Lovecraft-horror lover father, and the monsters they all encounter

Phenomenal prose, characters, themes, and plot. Lots of psychological trauma and inner demons.

Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah ❤

A family moves into a suburb and a war begins between them and the neighbours after he knocks down their "black lives matter" banner.

Oh boy, it sure escalates to become way out of hand. It has a mystery element to it which I enjoyed trying to figure out. Lots of tension between plot points. The last line! Agh!!

The Fall by Louise Jensen

A girl falls off a bridge and the family/police try to uncover who pushed her, but instead uncover secrets about the family.

There were some parts that didn't make sense to me, and there was a lot of characters to keep track of. Not a bad book but it just didn't have that extra spark.

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Prequel to Legends and Lattes (but can be read on its own) where Viv has recently started adventuring but has to recover from an injury before she can return to her group. She helps out at a bookshop and gets caught up with a necromancer.

Preferred the first book as it felt cosier, but the action in this book is fun too.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

A woman leaves her office job after a breakup to live above her uncle's bookshop and helps out, but she hates books.

Too short for my liking, and the main character was difficult to connect to and the relationships/conversations seemed shallow. the second half of the story centres on the uncle's wife and while it had a valuable lesson it just wasn't as good to read.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Childhood friends meet again in college and design a game together, which changes their lives/careers.

This was not a terrible book, but it did have some strange descriptions, and the author doesn't understand how the game industry works.

The Hike by Lucy Clarke

4 women who have been friends since highschool go to Norway to climb Mount Blajfell, but they are not prepared for the trek

I felt this had some cliches, but a pretty decent suspense novel

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

10 people are invited to Soldier Island for various reasons, only to find they all have one thing in common... murder.

I was theorizing like crazy during this, trying to guess whodunnit. I felt like the reveal was a bit disappointing because how on earth was anyone meant to guess that??

Library books: 9

Given to me: 5

Favourites: 7

If you have any recs for me I'd love to know, just message me!

[madtomedgar]

Books read in May:

Where Reasons End, Yiyun Li: This is a stunning, devastating work. I almost felt like I shouldn’t be reading it though. The author had apparently been working on a novel about a middle aged woman whose child commits suicide when her own teenage son committed suicide, and this “novel” is mostly pulled from her journals in the months immediately after, and then only very lightly it seems, fictionalized. So it felt like I was reading her grief journals and that felt a little voyeuristic or invasive. I also don’t think I personally would qualify this as a novel, because to me it reads more like prose poetry, but she is very insistent that that’s what it is, so. It’s very spare, but almost in a way where it feels stripped. There’s a lot of meditation on language (she finds adjectives judgmental) and memory and of course grief, as well as the way a drive to be perfect strangles relationships and shuts people off to the possibility of love. I think the thing that struck me most, and that felt like a slow and subtle horror was the way in which it became clear that the deceased son in this story became the face and voice of the mother/author in the story’s internal critic. The way the after-image of her son that she was conjuring in her mind to talk to morphed into that voice that’s always noting everything she does wrong, or could do better, or the ways in which she thinks she isn’t measuring up or disappointing. It was almost as if the only way she felt she could keep the conversation going or keep him “around” even in her own mind was if he could sneer at and critique her, which is just so sad. Anyway. She’s a fantastic author and everyone should read something by her, even if this is not it.

The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott: The author tried to do magic realism, and it was fine, but it didn’t really work. I think because there was just nothing that the world of this story was moored to, and imo magical realism works best when the magical thing is a way of making real some abstract and difficult thing so it can be grappled with. But his setting was just a generic post-coup vaguely euro/western anglophone country, and the characters were mostly archetypes. Even that would have worked if he hadn’t switched from a very limited 3rd person narration that gave the sense that this was a story being told in the last quarter to first person narration. It was jarring and it kind of ruined the almost fairy-tale quality that was working for the rest of it. There was also kind of a hamfisted ending where the character is healed and begins working for good things instead of destructive things because of the magical healing power of heterosexuality and like. yawn. I think maybe in a different genre I’d really like his writing but this book just didn’t come together for me.

Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age, Darrel McCleod: Ok look. I don’t think all books need trigger warnings. But I think if your book involves a lot of sexual violence against children, you should maybe put something in the description to clue readers in to that. Because it’s not a given that a memoir about growing up as a Cree boy in the 60s and 70s and struggling with poverty and eventually realizing he is gay is going to have that in it. So, here is your notification that this book involves a lot of graphic discussion of sexual violence against children, sometimes by other children. I don’t think that’s a reason not to read it, or that that’s some kind of literary sin. It’s just the author describing his own experiences. But I do wish there had been some indication. He makes a choice which I don’t understand to write this from the perspective of his child and then teenage and young adult self. I am used to memoirs involving a perspective that is an adult, now, looking back, and using that backwards looking knowledge and understanding to frame the anecdotes. One of the results of his choice to not do that is that it can read at times as just... a series of events that happened. Sadly, I want more from memoir than that. The other thing is that it makes for occasionally uncomfortable reading when you’re getting just his child-perspective on, for example, the sexual abuse he was suffering. So. I found his story interesting, heartbreaking, harrowing, sometimes funny, but I am finding a certain similarity amongst stories about growing up poor with an alcoholic parent and a marginalized identity. And I think part of it is that that is just the same no matter where you are, and that there’s nothing special, or to be learned, no unique insight, that this gives you, it really just is what it is. And I think I want something more from them than that, for my own personal reasons, and keep getting disappointed that it’s just always what I grew up with in a different flavor. But that’s more on me than on the book. The author seems like a wonderful man, and I’m glad I read the book even though I didn’t vibe with his narration choice.

The Unravelling, Karen Lord: Very fun fantasy whodunit with an intricate and dreamlike supernatural set-up based heavily in Senegalese folklore. The very end was a little neat for my liking, but the writing was great. I enjoyed the way the Undying were both personalities and also manifestations of certain traits or qualities, that was executed very well. I also enjoyed the metaphysical aspects of the worldbuilding, and how big a part of the narrative that was, to the point where the human characters often got lost in the natural domain of the supernatural ones, and I the reader also felt a little deliberately lost. Recommend for a quick enjoyable fantasy book, looks like the author has a few other books too that also look very good.

The Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and the American Family, Sylvia A. Harvey: I think I don’t like books about social issues written by journalists, rather than social scientists. Something about the journalism background tends, in my experience, to lead to sentimentalizing and simplifying, and an over-reliance on anecdote or over focus on a handful of examples. The author says she wants to write about the toll long-term prison sentences take on families, and wanted to focus on people that generally aren’t seen as sympathetic and worthy of release, specifically murderers. However, she shies away from the actual crimes, and then spends a lot of time mitigating what the 3 subjects (yes, only 3) did. She focuses heavily on what life is like for these men in prison, and how hard it is being away from family, which is not the same thing as looking at how mass incarceration effects families with a member in prison. I wish there had been more data and more data analysis. I wish she hadn’t relied on a heartstrings approach with 2 men serving sentences for murder and one woman with a drug charge. The problem with this approach is that if your readers don’t find the people sympathetic, they don’t buy your argument. She also valorizes the traditional family in a way that I think is uncomfortable and ultimately harmful to her argument, because it all falls apart if these guys actually... aren’t great fathers. She seemed embarrassed by, or at any rate hid, the fact that either all or 3 of one subject’s 4 children wound up doing time in jail or prison also, when to me, it seems like this is a point against the current system. If having a parent in prison long term increases the likelihood of the children doing time, regardless of the parent’s personality, that’s huge! But it felt like she thought that was a point against the subjects somehow and would make them less sympathetic. I also wish she hadn’t just profiled subjects in southern states, because that makes it look like a south problem, not an everywhere problem, that’s she’d included a family with an LGBTQ member, and that she had done more research into the particular issue of drug addiction in rural Appalachia. A for effort but C for execution.

The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, The Ascent to Godhood, Neon Yang: God Forbid Women Do Anything.

[somerabbitholes]

11 and 39 for the book asks!

11. A book that was most out of your comfort zone

Flames by Robbie Arnott. I don't normally read magical realism but this was a delight.

39. Five books you absolutely want to read next year?

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses by James Joyce; In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova; Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India by Akshaya Mukul; and An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipaul

end of the year book asks

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

hello fellow denizens of our beloved hellsite, please help me select my next book to read based on ZERO propaganda, only titles and cover vibes. here are The Options:

and here they are, all lined up and waiting:

help me, button-pressing site, you're my only hope!!

[pynkhues]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/13/the-25-best-australian-books-of-2024-helen-garner-tim-winton-nam-le-christmas-gift-guide

That's quite a good selection, actually. Highly, highy recommend Melanie Cheng's The Burrow and Robbie Arnott's Dusk (more than that, I'd say read his older novel, The Ran Heron because I love it). Siang Liu's book is good too - I think he's one of our funniest literary authors actually, and a really nice guy. I haven't read Cher Tan's essay collection yet, but I've read a lot of her essays, and I think they're great, so I'm keen to check it out!

I haven't read Helen Garner's The Season, but I adore her writing - would recommend Monkey Grip and This House of Grief first and foremost, but her diaries are great too - so she's worth checking out as well.

[teejeepclothes]

Kansas Sports Teams Bobby Witt Jr. And Patrick Mahomes 2024 Signatures Shirt

Kansas Sports Teams Bobby Witt Jr. And Patrick Mahomes 2024 Signatures Shirt

Robbie Ftorek replaced Jacques Lemaire as Head Coach & was very successful during the regular season, but after repeated early exits from the Playoffs Devils GM Lou Lamoriello fired Ftorek on March 23, 2000 with the Devils in 1st place in their division & only a few weeks remaining during the Kansas Sports Teams Bobby Witt Jr. And Patrick Mahomes 2024 Signatures Shirt . Assistant Coach Larry Robinson was promoted to Head Coach & was nearly eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1st round of the Playoffs. After the embarrassing road loss, the quiet & usually reserved Robinson went into the visitors locker room & screamed at the team for wasting an opportunity. This team was special, the 1999–00 Devils boasted a “Triple Threat” of (1) the “A-Line” composed of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, & Petr Sykora who were by far the best top line in the NHL in terms of offensive production & their defensive ability to shut down the opponent’s top lines. (2) The best top defensive pairing in the NHL in Scott Stevens & Scott Neidermeyer. (3) The best goaltender in the NHL – Martin Brodeur. Legend has it that Coach Larry trashed the Philadelphia locker room & even kicked a garbage can. This will be forever known as “Larry’s Tirade” that enspired the Devils to win the next 3 games & defeat the Flyers in 7 games to move onto the next round.

[teejeep-shirt]

Animal Lovers For Trump 2024 Cat And Dog Debate Shirt

Animal Lovers For Trump 2024 Cat And Dog Debate Shirt

Robbie Ftorek replaced Jacques Lemaire as Head Coach & was very successful during the regular season, but after repeated early exits from the Playoffs Devils GM Lou Lamoriello fired Ftorek on March 23, 2000 with the Devils in 1st place in their division & only a few weeks remaining during the Animal Lovers For Trump 2024 Cat And Dog Debate Shirt . Assistant Coach Larry Robinson was promoted to Head Coach & was nearly eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1st round of the Playoffs. After the embarrassing road loss, the quiet & usually reserved Robinson went into the visitors locker room & screamed at the team for wasting an opportunity. This team was special, the 1999–00 Devils boasted a “Triple Threat” of (1) the “A-Line” composed of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, & Petr Sykora who were by far the best top line in the NHL in terms of offensive production & their defensive ability to shut down the opponent’s top lines. (2) The best top defensive pairing in the NHL in Scott Stevens & Scott Neidermeyer. (3) The best goaltender in the NHL – Martin Brodeur. Legend has it that Coach Larry trashed the Philadelphia locker room & even kicked a garbage can. This will be forever known as “Larry’s Tirade” that enspired the Devils to win the next 3 games & defeat the Flyers in 7 games to move onto the next round.

[strawberryclothing]

Vintage Motorcycle Racing Motocross & Biker T Shirt

Vintage Motorcycle Racing Motocross & Biker T Shirt

Robbie Ftorek replaced Jacques Lemaire as Head Coach & was very successful during the regular season, but after repeated early exits from the Playoffs Devils GM Lou Lamoriello fired Ftorek on March 23, 2000 with the Devils in 1st place in their division & only a few weeks remaining during the Vintage Motorcycle Racing Motocross & Biker T Shirt . Assistant Coach Larry Robinson was promoted to Head Coach & was nearly eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1st round of the Playoffs. After the embarrassing road loss, the quiet & usually reserved Robinson went into the visitors locker room & screamed at the team for wasting an opportunity. This team was special, the 1999–00 Devils boasted a “Triple Threat” of (1) the “A-Line” composed of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott, & Petr Sykora who were by far the best top line in the NHL in terms of offensive production & their defensive ability to shut down the opponent’s top lines. (2) The best top defensive pairing in the NHL in Scott Stevens & Scott Neidermeyer. (3) The best goaltender in the NHL – Martin Brodeur. Legend has it that Coach Larry trashed the Philadelphia locker room & even kicked a garbage can. This will be forever known as “Larry’s Tirade” that enspired the Devils to win the next 3 games & defeat the Flyers in 7 games to move onto the next round.