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Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #134
Granta 134: No Man's Land
From Nobel laureates to debut novelists, international translations to investigative journalism, each themed issue of "GrantaGranta"'s "Best of Young" issues, released decade by decade, introduce the most important voices of each generation - in Britain, America, Brazil and Spain - and have been defining the contours of the literary landscape since 1983.
"Granta" does not have a political or literary manifesto, but it does have a belief in the power and urgency of the story and its supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real. As the "Observer" wrote of "Granta" "In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world."
Contributors have included Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Saul Bellow, Fatima Bhutto, Roberto Bolano, A.S. Byatt, Anne Carson, Raymond Carver, Angela Carter, Bruce Chatwin, Robert Coover, Edwidge Danticat, Lydia Davis, Don DeLillo, Richard Ford, Mavis Gallant, A.M. Homes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Martha Gellhorn, Nadine Gordimer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen King, Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan, Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Alice Oswald, Adrienne Rich, Salman Rushdie, Karen Russell, W.G. Sebald, Zadie Smith, George Steiner, Edmund White, Joy Williams and Jeanette Winterson."
"Granta" does not have a political or literary manifesto, but it does have a belief in the power and urgency of the story and its supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real. As the "Observer" wrote of "Granta" "In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world."
Contributors have included Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Saul Bellow, Fatima Bhutto, Roberto Bolano, A.S. Byatt, Anne Carson, Raymond Carver, Angela Carter, Bruce Chatwin, Robert Coover, Edwidge Danticat, Lydia Davis, Don DeLillo, Richard Ford, Mavis Gallant, A.M. Homes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Martha Gellhorn, Nadine Gordimer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen King, Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan, Lorrie Moore, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Alice Oswald, Adrienne Rich, Salman Rushdie, Karen Russell, W.G. Sebald, Zadie Smith, George Steiner, Edmund White, Joy Williams and Jeanette Winterson."
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2016
7 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Sigrid Rausing
45 books52 followersSigrid Rausing is Editor and Publisher of Granta magazine and Publisher of Granta and Portobello Books. She is the author of History, Memory and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia: The End of a Collective Farm and Everything is Wonderful, which has been translated into four different languages.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 26, 2018
A solid collection bookended by two superb essays. Peter Pomerantsev’s Propagandalands on the cyberwar in a little known, dumped-on sector in Ukraine should be tattooed on everyone’s arms as a reminder of our current state of Not Reality. “Propaganda has always accompanied war, usually as a handmaiden to the actual fighting. But the Information Age means that this equation has been flipped: military operations are now handmaidens to the more important information effect. It would be like a vastly scripted reality TV show if it weren’t for the very real deaths.”
Rachel Cusk’s Coventry is an equally powerful follow up on silence and shunning. I haven’t been thrilled with Granta since the early 2000s, but there are always one or two pieces that make the purchase worth it. This one shines.
Rachel Cusk’s Coventry is an equally powerful follow up on silence and shunning. I haven’t been thrilled with Granta since the early 2000s, but there are always one or two pieces that make the purchase worth it. This one shines.
April 25, 2016
It has been a while since I last read an edition of Granta, when I subscribed during the 80s and 90s, and I had forgotten the sense of jumping from place to place which can leave you a little bemused at the start of a new story - where exactly in the world am I on this page?
This is a great collection of pieces from Afghanistan and Angola, the Ukraine and the UK. Reading these tales of everyday life in extraordinary circumstances only makes you wonder how people manage to live normal lives and adapt to such adversity. There are harsh lessons on every page. People live in bombed out ruins or children learn to plant landmines in Angola. All of it is beyond our everyday existence and this is what Granta does so well, brings us stories that would never normally reach our comfortable lives.
I was particularly touched by Peregrine Hodson's descriptions of post-traumatic stress. The glass of wine at the vicarage on bonfire night and the firecracker that sent him diving for the ground in a reaction that was so automatic that he almost had no recollection of how he came to be lying among the damp leaves of autumn. At a time when we recall the centenary of WWI, when people suffering from "shell shock" were shot for cowardice, it is a great reminder of how unconscious such actions can be.
A great collection from around the world.
This is a great collection of pieces from Afghanistan and Angola, the Ukraine and the UK. Reading these tales of everyday life in extraordinary circumstances only makes you wonder how people manage to live normal lives and adapt to such adversity. There are harsh lessons on every page. People live in bombed out ruins or children learn to plant landmines in Angola. All of it is beyond our everyday existence and this is what Granta does so well, brings us stories that would never normally reach our comfortable lives.
I was particularly touched by Peregrine Hodson's descriptions of post-traumatic stress. The glass of wine at the vicarage on bonfire night and the firecracker that sent him diving for the ground in a reaction that was so automatic that he almost had no recollection of how he came to be lying among the damp leaves of autumn. At a time when we recall the centenary of WWI, when people suffering from "shell shock" were shot for cowardice, it is a great reminder of how unconscious such actions can be.
A great collection from around the world.
March 19, 2016
Not as good as the last issue for me, but there were two striking pieces in here. First, Rachel Cusk's essay titled "Coventry" is a wonderful musing on silence, family, womanhood, and a lot of other things. One line in particular got me thinking: "Throughout my adult life, I have used the need to earn money as the central support of a sense of self-justification: as a woman, that always seemed at least preferable to the alternatives." Huh. Interesting. Is it true? Not sure, but I plan to think about it some more. Second, I loved Eric Puchner's story "Last Day on Earth." It really captured how kids think the best of their parents and what the disillusionment is like when they finally figure out we're all human.
May 30, 2017
This is a powerful, heartbreaking collection of essays and fiction. A shining example of how relevant Granta can be, and a sorrowful example of how heartbreaking our world is.
Propagandalands and Broken City are superb essays of wartorn Eastern Europe. Many others deal with the horror of war in the Middle East.
Reading Comprehension is superb black humor, and The Way of the Apple Worm and Last Day on Earth are heady reminders of the surrealism and absurdity at the heart of adolescence.
Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart.
Propagandalands and Broken City are superb essays of wartorn Eastern Europe. Many others deal with the horror of war in the Middle East.
Reading Comprehension is superb black humor, and The Way of the Apple Worm and Last Day on Earth are heady reminders of the surrealism and absurdity at the heart of adolescence.
Highly recommended, but not for the faint of heart.
April 15, 2018
This was a very good issue. It was a bit too heavy on the war themes, but hey, that's the theme. As a
subscriber, I get what I get. Still, there was a lot that was worth the read here.
The opening journalism about propaganda in Ukraine, Peter Pomerantsev's "Propagandalands" was a fascinating glimpse into the the separatist movement in Ukraine.
Azam Ahmed's "The Ferryman" about a man who collects bodies for all sides in the Afgan conflict was so engrossing, I thought it was an essay.
Peregrine Hodson's "Aftermath" was a glimpse into the head of man suffering from PTSD.
I learned a lot about Ceausescu's reign and how he influenced modern Bucharest in Philip O Ceallaigh's "Bucharest, Broken City."
Alejandro Zambra makes great stories seem so easy. I don't know how he does it. I've never read something by him that wasn't great and "Reading Comprehension: Text No. 2" was no exception. I loved the "quiz" at the end.
"Last Day on Earth" by Eric Puchner was a beautiful, emotional story about that moment when a child learns of his parents' fallibility.
Rachel Cusk's "Coventry" was a well-written lyrical exploration of silence in her life as seen as an act of war and peace. Wonderful.
subscriber, I get what I get. Still, there was a lot that was worth the read here.
The opening journalism about propaganda in Ukraine, Peter Pomerantsev's "Propagandalands" was a fascinating glimpse into the the separatist movement in Ukraine.
Azam Ahmed's "The Ferryman" about a man who collects bodies for all sides in the Afgan conflict was so engrossing, I thought it was an essay.
Peregrine Hodson's "Aftermath" was a glimpse into the head of man suffering from PTSD.
I learned a lot about Ceausescu's reign and how he influenced modern Bucharest in Philip O Ceallaigh's "Bucharest, Broken City."
Alejandro Zambra makes great stories seem so easy. I don't know how he does it. I've never read something by him that wasn't great and "Reading Comprehension: Text No. 2" was no exception. I loved the "quiz" at the end.
"Last Day on Earth" by Eric Puchner was a beautiful, emotional story about that moment when a child learns of his parents' fallibility.
Rachel Cusk's "Coventry" was a well-written lyrical exploration of silence in her life as seen as an act of war and peace. Wonderful.
April 12, 2020
When I picked this up and noted the theme I had been afraid it would be too morbid a landscape to inhabit in my mind. I was glad I did though because there is humanity, some beauty, some insertion of rationale, and most of all, perspective from the many. I empathise, I understand why all these were written, to document some chunks of life that otherwise would be forever forgotten, no matter how painful. Pain and suffering is still life being led, no matter how we react to it.
October 1, 2018
Edition focusing on the spaces between. Of note 'Base Life' by George Makana Clarke, 'The Ferryman' by Azam Ahmed and 'Bucharest, Broken City' by Philip Ó Ceallaigh.
March 4, 2025
LRB take notes
May 17, 2016
For me this is one of the strongest, clearest issues in the past few years. Bleak, yes. But every piece gives pause for thought. And more thought.
Propagandalands (Pomerantsev) is a nightmare of truth, of 1984 coming to life yet again. Set in the Ukraine, it explores the sense and absurd nonsense of Kremlin and Ukraine "moves" and countermoves in a horrific game of Live Chess. A journalist's eye sees all the moves.
Base Life (GM Clark) - I was deeply moved by the story of Nzinga who only wants to live in Maybelline Make-up Land instead of the complex Angolan war. Seeing her navigate land mines while yearning for her Coke can radio, all as a matter of daily life, is just mind-blowing.
Kobane: The Aftermath (L Meloni) - The unapologetic destruction of this city by ISIS troops is as bleak with hopelessness - and scatterings of colorful hope - as any place can be. Meloni's photographs are remarkable.
The Ferryman (A Ahmed) - a worthy pairing with Meloni .In Syria. the narrator navigates bodies and truces between American and Afghan forces in a tango that makes no sense except for destruction. But the elder perseveres despite....
Aftermath (P Hodson) - one of the strongest pieces in the anthology. Hodson interweaves his time in Tokyo, his grandfather at Gallipoli, his present life trying to make sense of time, family, meaning, the past-in-present - all under the veil of his struggle with PTSD. Remarkable.
A Play on Mothering and A Play on David Rakoff (AM Homes) - a tribute to the work of a man seen in many lights who embraced many lights.
Bucharest, Broken City (P O Ceallaigh) - Dictator Ceausescu's destruction and reconstruction (of a sort) of Bucharest mirrors the power and impotence of propaganda and self-aggrandizement. Again the issue's theme of finding the past in the present pervades each page.
Gaza, Mode D'Emploi (ES Jalil) - the photographs reflect the hardness of living in a black and white land while thinking it's all in color. Or of living in a land that has few boundaries - or too many.
Reading Comprehension: Text No. 2 (A Zambra) - How to get an annulment in Chile where divorce is illegal...unless you're somebody big. Loved the multiple choice questions that close the piece.
Last Day On Earth (E Puchner) - Finding out your parents aren't who you thought they were while you're trying to figure out who you are if very, very difficult. Poor Caleb has to learn hard truth about both his parents. Can your mom walk on her hands? Can your dad really believe the lies he swaps out?
The Way of the Apple Worm (H Muller) - Darkest dark. Gunther Grass meets Caligula.
Coventry (R Clark) - the most fitting end. Being sent to Coventry (bombed and non-existent) and finding that in middle age it's a good place to be where "...the thing about time is that it can transform the landscape without improving it. It can change everything except what needs to change." And if you can accept that with some level of humility, Coventry is a good place to be.
Propagandalands (Pomerantsev) is a nightmare of truth, of 1984 coming to life yet again. Set in the Ukraine, it explores the sense and absurd nonsense of Kremlin and Ukraine "moves" and countermoves in a horrific game of Live Chess. A journalist's eye sees all the moves.
Base Life (GM Clark) - I was deeply moved by the story of Nzinga who only wants to live in Maybelline Make-up Land instead of the complex Angolan war. Seeing her navigate land mines while yearning for her Coke can radio, all as a matter of daily life, is just mind-blowing.
Kobane: The Aftermath (L Meloni) - The unapologetic destruction of this city by ISIS troops is as bleak with hopelessness - and scatterings of colorful hope - as any place can be. Meloni's photographs are remarkable.
The Ferryman (A Ahmed) - a worthy pairing with Meloni .In Syria. the narrator navigates bodies and truces between American and Afghan forces in a tango that makes no sense except for destruction. But the elder perseveres despite....
Aftermath (P Hodson) - one of the strongest pieces in the anthology. Hodson interweaves his time in Tokyo, his grandfather at Gallipoli, his present life trying to make sense of time, family, meaning, the past-in-present - all under the veil of his struggle with PTSD. Remarkable.
A Play on Mothering and A Play on David Rakoff (AM Homes) - a tribute to the work of a man seen in many lights who embraced many lights.
Bucharest, Broken City (P O Ceallaigh) - Dictator Ceausescu's destruction and reconstruction (of a sort) of Bucharest mirrors the power and impotence of propaganda and self-aggrandizement. Again the issue's theme of finding the past in the present pervades each page.
Gaza, Mode D'Emploi (ES Jalil) - the photographs reflect the hardness of living in a black and white land while thinking it's all in color. Or of living in a land that has few boundaries - or too many.
Reading Comprehension: Text No. 2 (A Zambra) - How to get an annulment in Chile where divorce is illegal...unless you're somebody big. Loved the multiple choice questions that close the piece.
Last Day On Earth (E Puchner) - Finding out your parents aren't who you thought they were while you're trying to figure out who you are if very, very difficult. Poor Caleb has to learn hard truth about both his parents. Can your mom walk on her hands? Can your dad really believe the lies he swaps out?
The Way of the Apple Worm (H Muller) - Darkest dark. Gunther Grass meets Caligula.
Coventry (R Clark) - the most fitting end. Being sent to Coventry (bombed and non-existent) and finding that in middle age it's a good place to be where "...the thing about time is that it can transform the landscape without improving it. It can change everything except what needs to change." And if you can accept that with some level of humility, Coventry is a good place to be.
Read
February 28, 2016A good collection. Reportage of the complicated allegiances in the Ukraine, and the wasteland of Bucharest, razed, but not rebuilt. All the stories were engaging in different ways. Azam Ahmed's The Ferryman, about a holyman trying to secure a proper burial for dead soldiers in the possession of a Taliban chief, Base Life, by George Makana Clark, set during the Angolan Civil War. Aftermath is a depiction of a soul living with PTSD. Herta Muller writes a magical realism that I could enjoy, but had trouble following at times. David Rakoff's piece On Mothering was a vibrant piece of writing. Alejandro Zambra's work about divorce in Chile is probably the funniest thing I've read this year.
Rachel Cusk's writing reflects on an odd phrase and habit that seems quintessentially English, though not exclusively practiced by that population.
Of the poetry, I only found Don Mee Choi's memorable. The photo essays were interesting, their inclusion in this volume entitled "No Man's Land" self-evident. I didn't find the images particularly startling or memorable. Certainly, the devastation of Kobane, and it's citizen's trying to salvage what remains there of their lives is powerful, but both Meloni and "Gaza..." photographer, Eduardo Soteras Jalil seem to be working in an irony, a juxtaposition of the mundane and the tragic, everyday life and dramatic upheaval, peace and war, that is becoming numbingly common.
Rachel Cusk's writing reflects on an odd phrase and habit that seems quintessentially English, though not exclusively practiced by that population.
Of the poetry, I only found Don Mee Choi's memorable. The photo essays were interesting, their inclusion in this volume entitled "No Man's Land" self-evident. I didn't find the images particularly startling or memorable. Certainly, the devastation of Kobane, and it's citizen's trying to salvage what remains there of their lives is powerful, but both Meloni and "Gaza..." photographer, Eduardo Soteras Jalil seem to be working in an irony, a juxtaposition of the mundane and the tragic, everyday life and dramatic upheaval, peace and war, that is becoming numbingly common.
April 19, 2016
I got this because I was curious about the short-story on the Communist systematisation of Bucharest (about 5 km2 of the old downtown was razed to accommodate Soviet-style apartment blocks and structures). However, it does not really do justice to the topic; it mostly focuses on the Jewish diaspora and the Jewish district of Bucharest. While it is interesting, I would have welcomed a broader treatment of the subject (Uranus or Dealul Spirii are not even mentioned).
Overall, the stories are good in general, I enjoyed most of them.
Overall, the stories are good in general, I enjoyed most of them.
October 9, 2016
In no man's land, there are only survivors- which is kind of what reading this issue of Granta felt like: I survived. The story by Azam Ahmed was very good and I hope to read more of his work in the future. Reading about David Rakoff and the short piece written by him in this issue makes me wonder why I haven't read more than one of his books. George Makana Clark is worth looking into as well as "Base Life" was one of the best selections of the issue.
Granta: always solid even when you do not care for most of the issue.
Granta: always solid even when you do not care for most of the issue.
December 13, 2016
always good literature
March 13, 2016
Well, the topic for this issue wasn't really what I was wanting to read, but that didn't stop me from devouring it over a few days, depressing though it was. Granta is still at the top of my list for lit mags.
August 28, 2016
Okay issue of Granta. Liked "The Ferryman," "Aftermath," and "Bucharest, Broken City." Fiction just okay; not impressed by Herta Muller' s story. Eric Puncher's work was more interesting, but not his best that I have read. Nice remembrance of David Rakoff by A. M. Homes. Love her writing.
May 14, 2016
Quite good issue of this magazine that I used to follow more closely (and even subscribed to). This one is a 'behind the scenes' look at the current conflicts in the world (Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Afghanistan).
April 19, 2016
Some great stuff, but very bleak.
June 13, 2016
Found this issue a bit of a slog. Bleak, no doubt. But some stories, especially the non-fiction, I struggled to engage with.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews