About book The Three Button Trick And Other Stories (2001)
The great thing about a short story collection is that there’s almost always something for everyone. Which is good because, though I don’t think highly of Nicola Barker’s much-praised writing talent, I was able to enjoy a few of the 19 stories included in this volume. It took 93 pages for me to find a well-crafted, unique short story, but I must admit “Symbiosis: Class Cestoda” was worth the wait. What an astonishing idea! The solution to America’s growing obesity problem: Give them a tapeworm. Why didn’t I think of that? You can eat as much as you like of anything — pizza, pasta, doughnuts, peanuts, HoHos, cream puffs, cookies, ice cream, mocha lattes (a personal weakness) — and not gain a pound! And the brilliance with which Barker’s svelte, tapeworm-carrying character brushes off the man who’d driven her to eat is praiseworthy.After wading through a few more tedious stories, I discovered “Dual Balls,” similar to “Symbiosis” in its structure and uniqueness. In it, Selina Mitchell, an elderly dumpling who dedicated her life to teaching, is dared by her best friend, Joanna, to do something completely out of character — wear a sexual device to school. If David Sedaris’ satires didn’t count, I would say this is the best short story I’ve read by a modern writer. I’d like to check out one of her novels, but I’m afraid they’d all be as dramatic a hit-or-miss reaction as it was with her short stories.
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