The Stargazer is a collection of thirteen slice-of-life stories, each with a subtle twist. In most tales, Bates’ engaging characters meet random, unorthodox strangers who affect their lives, often leading to profound epiphanies, ramifications, or a personal ideological shift.
Several recurring motifs, likenesses, and pop culture references filter delicately through the compilation. There are similarities in a number of the characters’ backgrounds, especially absent or soon-to-be absent fathers.
The stories are based in or are connected to Minnesota, specifically the Minneapolis region, and there is a blend between contemporary narratives and those set in the 50s/60s.
The titular tale is a powerfully good opener that is heartwarming without being sugary. The main protagonist, fifty-five-year-old Mitch is resigned, self-contained, and simply existing. This changes when he meets Loren, an elderly man, known locally as “The Stargazer”.
Bates is adept at unfolding surprising yet credible facets of his characters’ personalities, motivations, desires, and fears which often have to be confronted. This examination of unexpected emotional baggage combined with Bates’ keen eye for detail, especially the natural environment, ensures his stories swiftly become textured and intriguing.
Overall, his writing has a fluid authenticity and a steady, soothing pace, complementing the warm, nostalgic energy and twinkle of wry amusement in his prose. Some of the tales are brushed with the vagaries of fate or the whim of a higher, uncanny power leading to a frisson of unpredictability that sparks and maintains reader interest.
Still Waters Run Deep is a lighter version of The Stargazer. It could have been unconvincing but Bates’ development of the serendipitous connection that develops is measured and considered.
The Kid from Arizona immerses the reader in the free-spirited vibe of two nineteen-year-olds attending a music festival in 1969. The fleeting yet intense bond the pair of teenagers form with another boy, Michael, is utterly credible in context, making the thrust of the tale incredibly poignant.
Rockin’ Robins is another of the stronger and highlights Bates’ narrative structure, in which his characters are preparing for or heading toward a defining event.
His building of the differing levels of apprehension from the grown-ups and the children in Rockin’ Robins is masterful as is his depiction of ten-year-olds Poppy and Sid. Bates has an aptitude for portraying the simple complexity of a child’s or teenager’s view of the world and the behavior of the adults within it.
Eleven-year-old Cal in Can of Worms, a beautifully wrought and vividly detailed coming-of-age tale with a dark heart, and twelve-year-old Tommy in the equally nuanced Transistor Radio effortlessly reinforce this with the latter tale also containing original echoes of the earlier story, Rockin’ Robin.
Out of those written from a younger person’s perspective, Knuckling Down, with thirteen-year-old Larry at the helm was my favorite, a consummate and layered piece. Bo Boulay is edgier and Bates capably nails the dynamic between Bo and Cory, lacing it with plenty of dramatic irony for the reader.
Home is Where the Heart Is, is a haunting little number in which Bates gives the reader an element of satisfaction but possibly not enough, although it’s uncomfortably realistic.
Hole in the Ice and The Squirrel Hunter would make interesting novellas. Bates interleaves backstories and introduces additional viewpoints. Hole in the Ice has a spiritual sprinkling and The Squirrel Hunter also has a whiff of the preternatural.
Maggie’s Decision also contrasts, the subject matter is dark and Bates’ handling of it, is ambitious. It works, and it’s the only tale where a long-awaited event never actually comes to fruition although it could be leveled the most important happening in Maggie’s life had already occurred.
The collection ends with Classic Rock, an escapism piece that possibly meanders a touch. Although noticing superficial details is important to the story, it feels a little over-embroidered.
Nonetheless, The Stargazer is a finely written, well-crafted, and wonderfully absorbing collection. Well worth losing yourself in.
