cover image More Perfect Union

More Perfect Union

. St. Martin's Press, $23.95 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-312-18526-8

The 44 entries in this collection, subtitled ""Poems and Stories About the Modern Wedding,"" seem equally divided between traditional avowals of love and the disenchantment, panic and sorrow expressed by those frightened by or disappointed in the marriage bond. They range in tone from lighthearted to poignant and in quality from lightweight to excellent. Selections from the novels of Alice McDermott, Anne Tyler and Carson McCullers, and short stories from Alice Munro, Stephen Dixon and Francine Prose have the complexity and incisiveness one expects from these masters of the craft. Poems by Sharon Olds, Anne Sexton and Jonathan Galassi are tender and moving. Among standout stories by less well-known writers is ""Presents,"" in which Faye Moskowitz lends a merciless eye to her protagonist, a pregnant 19-year-old unable to accommodate her new body and status to the cynical expectations of the other guests at a bridal shower. The jilted bride in Karla Kuban's striking ""Cold Feet"" feels a sudden affinity with sharks. Jauntier in tone, Peter Turci and E. Shaskan Bumas each depict a man's bemused point of view in the midst of prenuptial madness. Some other entries are trendy and thin, but the collection as a whole nicely covers the gamut of contemporary attitudes about tying the knot. (June)