Granta 176: American Berserk

by Thomas Meaney (Editor)

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 22, 2026

Reviews

[Kathleen]

A mixed bag of outstanding, great writing and unreadable garbage. They really need to stop with the poetry, it’s a waste of paper.

[Joanne Hughes]

I was so disappointed when this Granta showed up (I have a subscription but hadn’t even looked to see what was coming next). Trump had just declared MORE tariffs and spent many hours posting weirdo AI videos about him beating up Canada. I live and breathe American Beserk; my rage grows daily. So the thought of giving over any more of my brain to the US was irritating. But then I was riveted. Actually enjoyed this Granta more than any others for a while. The glimpse inside the military conferences - terrifying but so banal (because patriarchy and capitalism). Halle Hill’s Year of the Rat offers a sliver of a sad life - but oh it’s so easy to see this character (misguided, uninformed, alone) being filled from the ugliness of the internet. Arc de Trump dishes some TEA on MAGA and the republicans and just how very nasty the fascist regime is (and oh so shallow and soulless and man I hope Karma really exists).

[Chris]

A great introduction. If we don’t survive this disaster, this volume will, to tell the tale. Antonia Hitchens, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Tao Lin, and William T. Vollmann were the prose highlights for me. Micheal Robbins, Osdany Morales (Harry Bauld, translating), and Frederick Seidel in poetry, Nikita Teryoshin’s photography with Seth Harp’s intro.
“What is the American Berserk?…
The American Berserk is characterized by world-historical excess. It is the mood of a country convinced of its chosenness, but drenched in self-pity about that chosenness not working out.”

[Ray Quirolgico]

A complicated and sometimes messy collection of text and images that does not seem to fully realize the theme, as described in the introduction. The tragicomedy of American identity never comes through with powerful conviction or sharp ironic humor. The chapters in this issue feel too superficial - maybe the contributors tread too lightly, which (I suppose) says something about our “berserk” time anyway.

[Sean Daley]

Most of it a bit scattered and not really on theme but there were a few standouts. Teryoshin's photography of military weapons conventions was spectacular, so was the essay on Cuba. In particular the story about the downward spiral of a vc in the sf techbro space was especially cathartic.

[MN]

Worth reading for the non-fiction

[David Shepherd]

A good issue. Stand outs for me were John Jeremiah Sullivan's The Acute Wing and Hansen Shi's Blood Boy, but all of the long form writing was enjoyable.

[Paul Dembina]

Very disappointing, especially the fiction