Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards

Introducing this distinguished annual collection, series editor Dark notes ""the inherent subjectivity of the reading experience,"" an important caveat whenever an anthology pulls together stories under a ""Best of the Year"" heading. This year's judges, Sherman Alexie, Stephen King and Lorrie Moore, provide short essays for the three stories winning top honors. Of the 17 other tales, most earn their place here by virtue of innovation, emotional impact, or masterful imaginative leaps. Certain selections are bone-chilling, like Michael Chabon's ""Son of the Wolfman,"" a pull-no-punches examination of a horrifying plight, pregnancy-by-rape; and Annie Proulx's ""The Mud Below,"" a fiercely literary western tale of a bull rider. Others are eye-catching. though not always top-notch, like David Foster Wallace's ""The Depressed Person,"" a logorrheic examination of privilege and depression (complete with maniacal footnotes), or ""Cataract,"" Pam Houston's tough-talk river adventure. A rare story by Chaim Potok, about a troubled adolescent, gratifies, as do T. Coraghessan Boyle's ""The Underground Gardens,"" in which an Italian immigrant's need to dig in the earth becomes all-encompassing, and Michael Cunningham's time-lapse portrait of a beautiful, self-involved young man observed by his despairing sibling. The first-, second- and third-prize winners (Peter Baida's ""A Nurse's Story,"" Cary Holladay's ""Merry-Go-Sorry"" and Alice Munro's ""Save the Reaper,"" respectively) are rich ground for debate among serious short-fiction readers: exactly how does Baida's melancholy, hopeful tale of a dying woman's courageous work organizing fellow nurses come to be ranked above all the others, including a gem by Jhumpa Lahiri and those short-listed at the book's end? But this discussion is integral to the pleasure of reading such a collection. It is somewhat disappointing that the anthology's Magazine Award again went to the obvious powerhouse, the New Yorker, when the Gettysburg Review, with two sharp stories, seemed a worthy contender. Overall, the collection is not only a keystone for readers, but, with its useful listing of magazines consulted (including addresses), a motivating force for writers. (Sept.)