Guess Again (2012)

Love and loss permeate Guess Again, the alternately hilarious and heartbreaking collection of 11 short stories from Bernard Cooper, the O. Henry-winning author of Truth Serum. In ''What to Name the Baby,'' an uneasy pregnant daughter travels with her father and his elderly lover in a Winnebago. In ''Hunters and Gatherers,'' a shrill Mormon couple invite their few gay friends to a potluck dinner party to ''cure'' the husband's same-sex longings. ''If it were up to me, love would stop trains and change weather,'' the protagonist tells the confused man. It doesn't. AIDS plays a grim role in several stories, but Cooper is a respectful writer who doesn't victimize his characters even as they stare down tragedy. Imbued with dignity and humor, they get the last laugh, and we get a few ourselves. A