THE TENNESSEE WALTZ by Alan Cheuse...

THE TENNESSEE WALTZ by Alan Cheuse (Southern Methodist University Press: $10.95; 160 pp . ). The characters in Cheuse’s stories face divorce, disintegrating romances and loveless marriages with bleak resignation. Their academic polish and professional skill can’t overcome their emotional limitations. In the title story, a small-town trio pursues marital infidelity joylessly and almost dutifully; a young woman realizes her marriage is over before it’s really begun in “Sources of Country Music.” But Cheuse fails to convince the reader that these characters really exist: They remain constructs of words, rather than credible individuals. Cheuse’s reviews for radio’s “All Things Considered” suggest that his criticism is more interesting than his fiction.