Perdue : Or, How the West was Lost

Although Saskatchewan playwright and Coteau Books co-founder Geoffrey Ursell had written wrote poems, plays, and songs earlier in his career, 1984’s “Perdue” was his first novel. With short, snappy chapters, “Perdue” carries on Ursell’s career-spanning trend of writing about Saskatchewan, offering a magical and often humorous re-imagining of western Canada where major historical events and allegorical figures collide. Seen through the titular character’s eyes, the Saskatchewan prairies become home to suggestive and satirical events that span centuries, ranging from the demise of the buffalo to the First World War.