Christ on the Mount of Olives and Other Stories

Thirteen brief stories comprise this slim collection. McNamee's world is populated with eccentrics, who dream and see their dreams shattered, either fairly or unfairly. Some of them are real people (Napoleon, Nixon, Gauguin). Others are fabulous--a man who discovers that he has the ability to change himself into any object, animate or inanimate; an immigrant who builds a Babel-size tower to broadcast his new universal language and thus bring world peace. Religious themes and imagery abound, from Navaho shamanism to a Chinese emperor who would proclaim himself God. The flavor of the Southwest, where the author lives, also suffuses much of the work. The stories, however, are not tied to a single place or time. A favorite story is sure to be ``Quisque Sui Faber'' about the 16th-century Parisian poet who, in McNamee's universe, created Homer and wrote the Odyssey. So will ``Juniper's Solution,'' about a circus couple who believe their trained horse is trying to tell thieves their bank account number by pawing the earth. By turns funny, poignant and ironic, McNamee ( The Return of Richard Nixon ) has produced a collection that will delight. (Oct.)