Funny Once

Nelson’s stories are frequently anthologized, and for good reason: they feature memorable, albeit often desperately unhappy, characters; evocative Southwestern settings; and a refreshing frankness about the emptiness of modern life. She starts her fifth collection (after Female Trouble) at the peak of her game, with the haunting “Literally,” in which a widower struggles to protect his children (and their maid) from life’s harsh realities. The final story is another strong selection, “Chapter Two,” about an alcoholic named Hil who diverts her AA group with tales—and lies—about an eccentric neighbor even worse off than she is. Lies also figure into the title story, in which a bored young wife’s “terminal unhappiness” manifests as a need to play havoc with the lives of her friends, and in “Iff,” a single mother covets her son’s attention and sabotages his love life. But there’s a downside to collecting such unrelentingly stark material in one volume. Readers may confuse characters, finding little distinction between the two middle-aged frenemies of “Winter In Yalta” and the remarried divorcee of “First Husband.” What begins as pathos looks more like self-pity by the end of the collection. Despite the collection’s individual gems, these unhappy families are too much alike. (May)