Nightwork: Stories

Unsettling insights and beautifully stylized prose propel Schutt's impressive first book, a story collection. The writing is spare and the stories brief, creating an effect more akin to the compression of prose poetry than to conventional minimalist fiction. Many of Schutt's tales, such as ""You Drive,"" focus on family relationships, interactions that are either latently or overtly erotic. In some stories--notably ""Stephen, Michael, Patrick, John"" and ""Good Night, Sweetheart""--Schutt's obliqueness of manner is needlessly obscure. But for the most part, edgy atmosphere and descriptive beauty compensate for a lack of clear plot and conventional characterization. In the most powerful story, ""Religion,"" Schutt writes of a group of children who have been rescued from an abusive cult. Also noteworthy is ""Metropolis,"" about a conversation between a teacher and a student's mother. The author excels at painting corrosive images of corrupted innocence and at evoking a seething, sexualized violence that looms underneath the often mundane surface of her stories. Though some may find Schutt's style impenetrable and her subject matter uncomfortable, those looking for fine writing and acute observation will find much to admire here. (May)