Secrets Men Keep

The men in these stories live unsettled lives, filled with vague longings and nameless desires. All seem to be incomplete, to be bearers of the ``secrets'' mentioned in the title-dark secrets, difficult to share with other men, or, God forbid...women. Their isolation and inability to relate well to others are what author Rindo uses to give each of these elegantly written stories an edge. Michael (``Eclipse'') is forced into fatherhood only to be overwhelmed by his deep feelings for his newborn son. The eccentric father in ``The Blue Heron'' mourns his late wife by giving in to his passion for collecting exotic animals and teaches his son a bit about the nature of marriage. ``I began to understand that what others had mistaken for a bad marriage was actually one of the truest kinds of married love, the kind that filled genuine need, knowing it would sometimes be loud and messy...'' The real heart of the collection is the title story, in which the narrator cleverly relates bizarre confidences leaked to him by various men and includes a cogent analysis of why men act the way they do: ``one part genius, one part lust, one part guilt, one part selfishness, one part brute strength, one part cruelty, one part just plain evil, and ninety-three parts confusion.'' There is much to ponder in this brilliant collection regarding the complicated, delicate dance men perform with women, other men and, especially, their fathers and themselves. (May)