Comfort

David Michael Kaplan. Penguin Books, $6.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-14-009624-8

In this 12-story debut, Kaplan's freshly evoked settingssuch as a dry riverbed where the scent of lemons lingersreflect and intensify the fears and thoughts of his characters. ""This is a magical collection,'' exclaimed PW, ``written with grace and alive with an awful fancy.'' (April)