THE CLOTHES THEY STOOD UP IN

Now here's a darkly comic story perfect for the new era of economic downsizing: Bennett's wee little fable (literally -- the book's got the dimensions of Thin Thighs in 30 Days) celebrates the brave, frightened, constricted, plucky Englishness of middle-class, middle-aged Mr. and Mrs. Ransome, who return from the opera one night to find that every single stick they own has been stolen. And they find, further, that once everything's gone, there's room in their lives, for the first time, to experience the chaotic freedom of desire. If Bennett's previous plays (The Madness of George III), monologues, skits, and screenplays are delicious bonbons of wit, this novelette is a tasty Junior Mint. B+