buy the book from amazon

Flag    Amazon UK



Browse Similar Books at Amazon
Literature & Fiction->United States
Literature & Fiction->Literary
Literature & Fiction->Short Stories & Anthologies->Anthologies
Literature & Fiction->Short Stories & Anthologies->Short Stories
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense->Thrillers & Suspense->Psychological Thrillers
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Contemporary Fiction->Literary
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Contemporary Fiction->Short Stories
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Literary Fiction->British & Irish
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Literary Fiction->Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Literary Fiction->Psychological
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Literary Fiction->Short Stories
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Short Stories->Single Authors
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->United States->Short Stories
Kindle Store->Kindle eBooks->Literature & Fiction->Genre Fiction->Psychological
Literature & Fiction->Genre Fiction->Psychological


Description
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.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS PAGE COMES FROM AMAZON. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.