GOD'S BEDFELLOWS. Carpenter, David. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart. 1988. 214pp, cloth, $22.95. ISBN 0-7710-1917-3. CIP Adult/ Secondary Reviewed by Ingrid vonHausen Volume 16 Number 5 1988 September Carpenter is the author of several novels (e.g., Jokes for the Apocalypse* and Jewels**). His "Ketzer" won Descant’s novella competition. This is his first collection of short stories, some of which have been previously published in Saturday Night, Canadian Literature Review and Fiddlehead. Firmly set in western Canada in the recent past (1960s or early 1970s), these excellent stories are all of a piece. Featured are a variety of characters, all flawed or handicapped in some serious way. The crises they experience are truly horrendous, but Carpenter keeps strict control: we never see the horror directly. His concern is with what goes on inside. Although this can be considered regional writing, these literate and uncompromisingly adult stories deserve a wide audience. Good readers at the senior high school level will also be able to handle them. Ingrid vonHausen, New Hamburg, Ont. *Reviewed vol. XIV/3 May 1986 p.111. *Reviewed vol. XIV/3 May 1986 p.111.