A Bit on the Side

"Reading the Irish writer William Trevor is like drinking cool water when you are tired. You may think you want something stronger or fizzier than his understated prose and his calm understanding of the human condition; but before long you realise that he is providing the kind of refreshment you really need.... His [10]th volume of short stories shows him at his best.... He holds the attention without any melodrama or cheap tricks."
--"The Sunday Telegraph, April 18, 2004
"Beautiful, spartan prose...His characters are concisely drawn. [They] understand the consolations of sympathy. [This] is a suggestion that lends a human quality to his writing."
--"Saturday Telegraph, April 24, 2004
"Perfectly crafted stories... In his tenth book of stories William Trevor displays a matter-of-fact mastery. His tone and material are distinctive without any striving-it's rare for him to raise his voice.... Trevor keeps his point of view fluid, so that the reader's impressions of a central character can be enriched by other people's.... Trevor has laid claim to a large stretch of human terrain. He must go on exploring it, even at the risk of turning it into a private and increasingly imaginary country. Call it Trevorland."
--"The Observer, April 25, 2004
Praise for William Trevor:
"The greatest living writer in English is an Anglo-Irishman named William Trevor. . . . It might seem presumptuous to speak about Trevor in Shakespearean terms, but he is among the few contemporary writers who warrant the comparison."
--"The Globe and Mail
"One of the pre-eminent writers of his generation. He is arguably the finest story writer from the era that may have seen the form reach itsapex."
--"Toronto Star
"Often spoken of in the same breath as Joyce and Chekhov, Trevor shares both writers' subtlety, and, like them, is able to create distinct and mysterious worlds."
--"National Post
"One of the greatest writers alive."
--"The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax)

"From the Hardcover edition.

"Every story here is a model example of just how much a great writer can reveal in a short space." --Newsweek



"A Bit on the Side is a wonderful book... William Trevor really is the best short story writer alive." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post