Give the Pig a Chance & Other Stories

Edcouch, Texas, is a small town on the Mexican border that aspires to the 2683 inhabitants claimed by its highway sign. ``But I don't think Edcouch really had that many people unless the sign took into account various farm animals and wandering pets,'' writes Rice, a student at South Texas State University, in his first collection of short stories. Rice offers sensitively rendered stories written in an appealing style, but unfortunately, no new ground is broken in these 14 tales of the (mostly) Mexican Americans living in dusty burgs. Rice wisely resists the temptation to focus on magic-realistic quirkiness and instead looks at the everyday mix of cultures, as in the most successful story, ``The Circumstances Surrounding My Penis,'' where a boy's slight physiological difference earns him years of embarrassment until broader experience helps him figure out what it's all about. The stories are pleasant enough individually, but gathered into a collection, they lack the punch to carry readers through to the end. (Jan.)