The Three Button Trick and Other Stories - Softcover

Barker, Nicola

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062871714 ISBN 13: 9780062871718

Publisher: EccoPress, 2018

Synopsis

Nicola Barker weaves humor and tragedy through this fresh and original collection, as her characters struggle to find love, independence, and fulfillment in this new addition to the Ecco Art of the Story series

Nicola Barker's collection of her nineteen most brilliant stories exemplifies her ability to create daring, witty, and dynamic characters, all their idiosyncracies intact. Barker's stories often use wordplay and humor to stretch the boundaries of metaphor and reality as the outrageously original plots unfold. Through her confident and clever style, these short stories sling Barker to the forefront of fiction writing, as she is reminiscent of Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, and Margaret Atwood.

The collection begins with a smart tale of a teenage girl whose obsession with the size of her nose dangerously compromises her relationships with her friends and her family. "Inside Information" is a pun of a title, describing how the protagonist's unborn fetus is the only one able to reform his mother's compulsive shoplifting by pulling the ultimate prank. "G-String" and "Symbiosis: Class Cestoda" detail women who gain self-esteem, albeit through quirky methods, despite the cowardly men who try to suppress them. The title story, "Three Button Trick," is about a man who deliberately buttons his duffel coat incorrectly to attract sympathetic females. Carrie falls for this trick, and it takes twenty-one years, a curious friend, and an eighty-three-year-old widower for her to realize her mistake. Wesley is the protagonist of a three-part collection, "Blisters," "Braces," and "Mr. Lippy" who, traumatized by two unfortunate incidents as a young boy, is an eccentric obsessed with freedom and the sea.

Barker skillfully intertwines humor with despair to stimulate any reader's interest; she taps into the psyches of her characters to create an authentic, original, and highly enjoyable read. The Three Button Trick and Other Stories is a resonant, audacious volume from a writer of immense talent and originality.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Nicola Barker weaves humor and tragedy through this collection, as her characters struggle to find love, independence, and fulfillment

The Three Button Trick and Other Stories is a collection of nineteen of Nicola Barker’s most brilliant stories and exemplifies her ability to create daring, witty, and dynamic characters, all their idiosyncrasies intact. Barker’s stories often use wordplay and humor to stretch the boundaries of metaphor and reality as outrageously original plots unfold.

The collection begins with the tale of a teenage girl whose obsession with the size of her nose dangerously compromises her relationships with her friends and her family. “G-String” and “Symbiosis: Class Cestoda” detail women who gain self-esteem, albeit through quirky methods, despite the cowardly men who try to suppress them. The title story, “The Three Button Trick,” traces the story of a man who deliberately buttons his duffel coat incorrectly to attract sympathetic females.

Barker skillfully intertwines humor with despair; she taps into the psyches of her characters to create an authentic and singular narrative. The Three Button Trick and Other Stories is a resonant, audacious volume from a writer of immense talent and originality.

About the Author

Nicola Barker is one of Britain's most original and exciting literary talents. She is the author of two short-story collections: Love Your Enemies [winner of the David Higham Prize and the Macmillan Silver Pen Award] and Heading Inland [winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]. Her previous novels are Reversed Forecast, Small Holdings, Wide Open Behindlings and Clear, the last of which was long-listed for the 2005 Booker Prize. Her work is translated into twenty languages, and in 2000, she won the IMPAC Award for Wide Open. In 2003, Nicola Barker was named a Granta Best of British Novelist. She lives in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: EccoPress
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0062871714
• ISBN 13: 9780062871718
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256