MONKFISH MOON by C. Romesh Gunesekera...

MONKFISH MOON by C. Romesh Gunesekera (Riverhead Books: $11, 138 pp.). The nine graceful stories in this collection by the author of “Reef” focus on the gaps between social classes and between desire and reality. The ethnic struggles ravaging Sri Lanka destroy the once-happy marriage of two expatriates; a terrorist attack on a local shop ruins the plans of a successful merchant and his loyal servant. In a few deft lines, Gunesekera suggests rich patterns of the island’s culture.