What's True, Darling

Canadian writer Farrant's unconventional short stories resemble quick riffs of contained madness. Most of the 20 pieces in this two-part work, her fifth collection (Sick Pigeon was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize) succeed in their purpose--to play the English language like a fine instrument while bemusing the sophisticated reader. Only when she succumbs to in-jokes and bubblegum does Farrant fall short. A dialogue between Barbie and Skipper is reminiscent of the content of the pop hit ""Barbie Girl,"" and figuring out that Edna (in ""Dorothy Parker's Dog"") is St. Vincent Millay and Diane (in ""Virginia was the Hardest"") is Arbus smacks of testing the reader's cultural literacy. Yet Farrant excels in the longer pieces (""Tic-Tac-Doe"") and in the essay-like lists (""All Chickens are Sucks""). A brave iconoclast, she portrays Diana Ross as a midget stretched to eight feet by wigs, platform shoes and stilts; her Marriage Indenture for Unruly Children Act in ""Tales from Wit's End"" is hilarious. Taken as a whole, this collection has delightful rhythm and spin. (Mar.)