Mendocino and Other Stories

Packer's stories feature 30-something men and women who wake up one morning to find their lives have taken quite unexpected, and not really desirable, turns. In ``Babies,'' unmarried Virginia pines away on the sidelines as her co-workers blossom into long-awaited pregnancies. Finally, when her good friend Sam gives birth, Virginia visits the new mother and baby and must face her deep longing for a child: ``A real baby. I touch her cheek; it's so incredibly soft and pink and warm . . . I can feel the warmth of her body . . . all the way to my breast . . . there are tears rolling down my face.'' Packer draws the reader into the frustrating stalemates that engulf her characters, but she is not afraid to inject a bit of gentle humor along the way. Hypochrondriac Charlie (``Nerves''), who can't seem to develop any enthusiasm for living, is losing his wife little by little. Perhaps her friend Kiro is the reason. ``This is all about Kiro? Jesus, Linda--too bad I'm not some fastidious little Japanese architect, is that it? He probably doesn't even have any hair on his chest.'' The stories are rich in detail and concentrate on the unexpressed emotions festering under the surface of each character's thin skin. Mendocino is a find, and Packer gives voice to the angst of the '90s. (July)