Princes in Waiting

Douglas Ivison is an assistant professor of English at Lakehead
University in Thunder Bay.

This first book by Saskatoon writer Larry Gasper is a promising debut. A
collection of linked stories focusing on a group of young men living in
rural Saskatchewan, Princes in Waiting is marked by a strong sense of
place and character and a vivid narrative voice. The stories are
consistently engaging, and provide real insight into the young men’s
struggles with family, adulthood, and the changing socio-economic
conditions of rural Saskatchewan.

The collection is not uniformly successful. For example, “Dear
Penthouse,” an entertaining tale about an erotic storytelling contest
by a group of railroad workers in northern Manitoba, is little more than
an extended anecdote, however well told. It could have provided an
interesting commentary on storytelling and audience, but does not
realize that potential; nor does it provide much insight into the
characters at the heart of the story.

The best stories in the collection deal with the young men’s
struggles. The impact of violence and abuse on three generations of the
MacAllister family, for example, is movingly—even occasionally
humorously—traced through a number of stories. Andy MacAllister’s
struggles with alcoholism, his unsuccessful attempt to control his own
violence, particularly when dealing with his girlfriend’s daughter,
and his ambivalence toward his abusive grandfather who suffers from
Alzheimer’s disease are all effectively portrayed. Ski Radinski’s
philandering, which at first seems like a one-note joke, takes on new
resonance when he attempts to curtail the behaviour and commit to his
girlfriend.

Princes in Waiting is a solid first collection, and I look forward to
Gasper’s next book.