Granta 61: The Sea

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #61

by Ian Jack (Editor), James Hamilton-Paterson (Contributor), Haruki Murakami (Contributor)

The sea is the natural arena for adventure, mystery and catastrophe (the Odyssey, Moby-Dick, the Titanic, el Niño). But air has replaced water as the transporting element of the twentieth century, and the sea has been retreating in the imaginations of the West.

For too long we have turned our backs to it. This issue of Granta looks outward again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Essays

270 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Ian Jack is a British journalist and writer who has edited the Independent on Sunday and the literary magazine Granta and now writes regularly for The Guardian.

Reviews

[g · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given a subject matter as magical as The Sea, I guess I had quite high expectations of this volume...and was not really satisfied, and have not really finished all the stories.

I began with Murakami, who I have deeply admired after reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicles. Despite some beautiful descriptions ("The whole huge space felt like a room without furniture, except for the band of flotsam that lined the beach) Murakami's story "The Seventh Man" seemed rather dull and unsurprising. The story is a depiction of remorse The Seventh Man felt upon the death of his friend during a typhoon - it is the "I could have saved him, but I did not" sort of guilt haunting our character for many years after the event. We read through his emancipation of this guilt, and eventually arrive at the point where the story starts, The Seventh Man talking about his lonely life to others...
On the other hand, though I do not enjoy Orhan Pamuk's vulgar orientalism at most occasions, "The Boy Who Watched the Ships Go By" was quite an intense read looking back at the Bosporus from my Ithaca corner of non-sea life, and thinking about the porch where I myself used to watch the Bosporus change colors.. Given my aptness for deep nostalgia, I must admit I even had tears in my eyes as I finished reading. Could it be this emigrant appeal that earned him the Nobel Prize? Guess not.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of stories dealing with the sea, this book was very engrossing. Whether fiction or non-fiction each tale kept me interested. One of my favorites was a very short story entitled Snapper on Board which was a true account of being a photographer on a cruise ship. The author of that one described the ship and its passengers and crew so well it was like being there. From earlier days of sail to modern times these looks at life on and near the sea are fascinating.

[Red Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few snippets to interest you in this series of cutting edge writing:

Sea Burial: "If, as claimed, there is in the human mind a gambling instinct, a constant assessment of odds, moments of shock reveal it as being definitely more reliant on superstition than on statistics."

Unspeakable Rituals by Paul Theroux: On the Creech people of Sumatra, one man is the memory of the tribe. He memorizes all dates and events. At 30 he is killed. The next born becomes the memory, and all debts and quarrels are settled." - For the Rondok people, their leaders are elected through a series of tests. Finally, exhausted, the remaining candidates are locked in a room by themselves with rats. Some die, and some eat the rats. The winner is neither bitten nor bites. He emerges having found some harmony.

[Isla McKetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few keepers in here but I couldn't shake the deep disappointment of discovering that only two women are among the authors in the book - and both of them have stories that are just a few pages long. Such an oversight. Loved the Rosie, Murakami, and Bathhurst, have already forgotten most of the rest (including the Pamuk, alas).

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost entirely creative non-fiction in this issue from 1998.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent collection of stories, photo essays, and journalism. I've always personally had a fascination with the ocean, so I had elevated hopes for this collection. It didn't land in quite the way I was looking for, but there are some really bright spots. Orhan Pamuk's "The Boy Who Watched The Ships Go By" was the most engaging piece. It seemed to catch on the notion of the sea that is most attractive to me: the idea that the sea is full of excitement and danger when looked at everyday from the shore. I felt this way growing up, as if there was always a promise from the beach of some adventure waiting for me. I had hoped to find this same feeling in some of the other pieces collected here, but they seemed lacking.

Respect to the Charles Nicholl and Paul Theroux pieces as well. Very interesting and funny respectively.

[Dorothee Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier this year, I read the Granta collection on Pakistan and on Africa, and was impressed by both of them. So I ordered another one, "The Sea", thinking that it might be a good summer read. And it is. And surprise: it's from 1998, but it feels both fresh and timeless like the ocean. One of the stories that stood out was Murakami's "The Sea", and it also included the long short story "Sea Burial" by James Hamilton-Paterson..

(this is part of a longer review on "The Sea" and other short stories, here's more: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2013...