 Beattie, reviewing one of the stories in the "My White Planet" collection, noted "'A Nation Plays Chopsticks' may be the finest explanation for Canadian’s love affair with hockey I’ve ever read".Jarman's books have been received positively, and have won and been nominated for a number of awards.One of his short story collections, "19 Knives", was met with acclaim and chosen as ‘book of the year’ by The Guardian newspaper.