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Young Men
by Russell Smith
Doubleday Canada, 1999.

Reviewed by Michael Bryson

Russell Smith expands the emotional range of his fiction with his latest effort, a collection of short fiction revolving around the mores and anxieties of his favourite subject, young men. 

Smith's writing has matured, but it remains on occasion flat and his satire has been moderated by (yuk) guilt (which more than one of his characters admits to feeling after expressing sentiments contextually inappropriate). 

The most successful story in the collection, "The Stockholm Syndrome," hints at a turning point in Smith's career, as he shows himself able to integrate his subtle social criticisms of Toronto's glitterati and the down home wisdom of his Nova Scotian youth. 

These are Smith's two solitudes (and the oft ignored solitudes of Canlit, which are urban/rural, not English/French). Let's hope he returns to them.
 

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The Danforth Review is produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All content is copyright of its creator and cannot be copied, printed, or downloaded without the consent of its creator. The Danforth Review is edited by Michael Bryson. Poetry Editors are Geoff Cook and Shane Neilson. Reviews Editor is K.I. Press. All views expressed are those of the writer only. International submissions are encouraged. The Danforth Review is archived in the National Library of Canada. ISSN 1494-6114. 

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