EXPENDABLES by Antonya Nelson (Avon: $8.)....

EXPENDABLES by Antonya Nelson (Avon: $8.). Nelson draws vivid portraits of women struggling to cope with the awkward snarls of contemporary relationships in this collection of short stories. The heroine of “Substitute” tries to help her best friend deal with the prospect of marrying a man she’s suddenly decided she doesn’t really like--just before the ceremony. In the anthology’s most striking story, “Helen in Hollywood,” a film-industry wanna-be wrestles with her personal demons--booze, drugs, food, failed romances--through the darkest hours of the night. However, the male characters in “Listener,” “The Expendables” and “Slickrock to Bedrock” lack the sharply observed details that bring Nelson’s women to life.