PLATTE RIVER by Rick Bass (Ballantine:...

PLATTE RIVER by Rick Bass (Ballantine: $10; 145 pp.). Each of the three polished novellas in this collection deals with a misfit trying to find his place in an indifferent society. A lonely man and an independent woman forge a surprising bond in “Mahatma Joe”; the quiet hero of “Field Events” covers his inner wounds with his enormous physical strength, until he is healed by an eccentric, loving family. In the powerful title story, an ex-pro football player comes to terms with life on a greatly reduced scale.