Things I Want Back from You

Residents of a California suburb reckon with betrayals and unwanted visitors in Stix’s offbeat debut collection. The drama kicks off with the title story, a 15-point list of items to be returned to Spirit Rosenblatt by her unfaithful lover, beginning with a sequined cellphone case. The stakes are even higher in “Alice,” which finds the narrator trying to free a Guinea worm embedded in his sister’s stomach. More bizarre incidents occur in entries like “The Acorn,” in which a man’s nagging mother is reincarnated as a mole and torments him by perching on his shoulder. Spirit Rosenblatt resurfaces in “While I Am Away,” which takes the form of instructions for her dog sitter while she’s at a life coaching conference. “Party at the End of the World” revisits the theme of infidelity as doting wife Betty discovers her travel writer husband, Robert, in the throes of passion with a neighbor. In “Migration,” Robert has a chance meeting with Spirit, who also lives in the neighborhood. The tonal shifts are sometimes jarring, though Stix credibly portrays the indignities of modern life. It’s a solid first outing. (June)