'Female Trouble' is collection of gems on family

In her latest work of fiction, Antonya Nelson ("Nobody's Girl," "The Expendables") takes on themes of family and fidelity from all compass points. In the 13 stories of "Female Trouble," Nelson traces the interplay between couples, between parents and children, between siblings.

Sometimes the family members are not related, as in the story "Goodfellows." We see how the workers of a small business, in this case a pizzeria, often behave as a family. The middle manager Steve is the uncle who settles for less; the waitresses are sparring siblings.

At the center of "Loose Cannon" is the role reversal of an adult brother and a sister. The story vaults with this first sentence: "All of a sudden John Gamble was the responsible one."

John, the hard-drinking, unaccountable black sheep of the family finds his sister Lynnie distressed, fleeing from home to him. After the death of their father, Lynnie takes to wearing her father's clothes. She sleeps all day. By the time John realizes his sister is never leaving and she is really in his care, he has a regular job and an acceptable pastime: watching college basketball. Looser sibling becomes the caregiver.

In the title story, "Female Trouble," we follow the sex life of a young man who gets involved with three women. Nelson dresses the story with a humorous subtext, as protagonist McBride stays uncommitted and unhappy while gal pals Martha, Daisy and Claire meet and bond. Mostly as a result of Daisy's pregnancy, the three women form their own support system apart from McBride, creating family ties of a new sort.

In "Female Trouble" and the other stories in this collection, the author uses a setup to grab the reader. It is as if Nelson equips her characters for a good walk, making sure they are packing food and wearing good shoes. Then she shoves them off on life's journey without a map. The reader can't wait to see where they end up.

Nelson adds this gem to her three previous story collections and three novels.