A Bit on the Side
A Bit on the Side by William Trevor is a collection of twelve short stories published by Penguin Adult on May 5, 2005. This edition, written in English and spanning 244 pages, showcases Trevor’s storytelling prowess through a variety of poignant narratives. The stories delve into the complexities of human relationships, featuring characters such as a waiter revealing a life of crime to his ex-wife and a schoolgirl reflecting on her past actions regarding a tutor.
Readers will find that each story meditates on themes of love, including its clandestine and sometimes cruel aspects, set against the backdrop of both rural Ireland and urban London. Trevor’s characteristic tenderness and keen observation illuminate the humanizing and dehumanizing elements of modern life. This collection invites readers to explore the intricacies of personal connections and the secrets that shape them.
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A Bit on the Side – Twelve remarkable stories by the master storyteller William Trevor
‘Compassionate, poignant, even heart-rending. Almost perfect works of art by perhaps the greatest short story writer now working in English’ Sunday Independent
William Trevor is truly a Chekhov for our age. In these twelve stories, a waiter divulges a shocking life of crime to his ex-wife; a woman repeats the story of her parents’ unstable marriage after a horrible tragedy; a schoolgirl regrets gossiping about the cuckolded man who tutors her; and, in the volume’s title story, a middle-aged accountant offers his reasons for ending a love affair. At the heart of this stunning collection is Trevor’s characteristic tenderness and unflinching eye for both the humanizing and dehumanizing aspects of modern urban and rural life.
If you enjoyed The Story of Lucy Gault and Love and Summer, you will love this book. It will also be adored by readers of Colm Toibin, George Saunders and James Joyce.
‘A treat … each meditate[s] on the subject of love – adulterous, unspoken, clandestine, sometimes cruel. Whether set in rural Ireland or London, their pages whisper of relished secrets and dreams foolishly clung to’ Mail on Sunday
William Trevor was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork. He has written eighteen novels and novellas, and hundreds of short stories, for which he has won a number of prizes including the Hawthornden Prize, the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award, the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and the David Cohen Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime’s literary achievement. In 2002 he was knighted for his services to literature. His books in Penguin are: After Rain; A Bit on the Side; Bodily Secrets; Cheating at Canasta; The Children of Dynmouth; The Collected Stories (Volumes One and Two); Death in Summer; Felicia’s Journey; Fools of Fortune; The Hill Bachelors; Love and Summer; The Mark-2 Wife; Selected Stories; The Story of Lucy Gault and Two Lives.
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