‘Bark’ Short story collection centers on illness

In her new short story collection, Lorrie Moore introduces us to an assortment of characters struggling with mental illness or deterioration. In 'Bark” (Knopf, 192 pages, $24.95), we meet families, friends and lovers who find themselves on uneven ground as tricks and travails of the mind change their personal landscapes.

In some of the stories, the illness is front and center. For example, 'Referential” opens: 'Mania. For the third time in three years they talked in a frantic way about what would be a suitable birthday present for her deranged son. There was so little they were actually allowed to bring …”

In 'Debarking,” the book's opening story, the tone is somewhat lighter, but the subject still is prominent. A man in his first post-divorce relationship reflects: 'He had never been involved with the mentally ill before, but he now felt more than ever that there should be strong international laws against them being too good-looking.”

In stories - like 'Subject to Search,” in which a military consultant must come to terms with the impact of his advice - illness manifests as an effect rather than a cause of the story's incidents. 'Foes” investigates the impact of traumatic physical injury on one's thinking and ability to interact with others.

All this is tricky territory, but Moore carries it off with care without being overly careful. In fact, these tales have a certain aggressiveness and, in keeping with their thematic center, an off-kilter quality. But the characters also are recognizable and we feel for them - and often like them. These characters are doing the best they can, and the reader feels a kinship with them.