The Blue Box

Carlson (The Signal) is back with a collection of super-short "flash fiction," a slim volume of stories that are both funny and moving, and uniformly excellent. The first story, from which the book's title is taken, exhibits Carlson's primary strategy: adopt a convention (in this case, the thriller's stock situations), then subvert the enterprise en route to an elliptical, wistful, often surprising ending. "Party at the Beach Party House," about a group of young men who appear to be from a 1950s beach movie, offers another brilliant ending with a satisfying, ironic twist. The title of "The Pitcher Sees the Coach Approach" supplies the story's plot but cannot prepare you for the denouement. Many pieces are hilarious, including several letters of recommendation for students, such as the one for Gordon Lee Bunson, an arsonist and stalker. Grammarians will like "My True Style Guide" whose main advice is to make female characters more like "Cheryl Whitcomb," a professor's former flame. The book is so slight it might be mistaken for verse, but while its contents demonstrate the craftsmanship of the poet, they are very much stories: fully wrought miniature narratives. (Aug.)