FICTION

LOOK OUT FOR HYDROPHOBIA by Betsy Wing (Birch Lane Press: $17.95; 233 pp.). The writer of these short stories and novella puts together sentences that make you want to keep reading. A delightful, airy glow lures you into a scene, and then the plot takes a twist and you get a feeling of discomfort. Within a few paragraphs, you have murky depths to contemplate, while never losing your concern for the dear people who populate these pages. The title story is about a forlorn housewife who tries to will herself to be happy with her crabby husband by being conscientiously sweet and accommodating. Fortunately, her saccharine scenario is interrupted when her little boy brings home a goat, step one to ultimate chaos and personal liberation. Original, warm, funny and sometimes nerve-racking, these stories mark the debut of an impressive talent.