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Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #45
Granta 45: Gazza Agonistes
The latest edition of one of the most impressive international literary magazines of our time. Granta readers around the world, numbering more than 140,000, savor the work of contributors such as Doris Lessing, Saul Bellow, Salman Rushdie, Joan Didion, Louise Erdrich, and Redmond O'Hanlon. Photos.
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
25 people want to read
About the author
Bill Buford
97 books320 followersWilliam Holmes Buford is an American author and journalist. He is the author of the books Among the Thugs and Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany. Buford was previously the fiction editor for The New Yorker, where he is still on staff. For sixteen years, he was the editor of Granta, which he relaunched in 1979. He is also credited with coining the term "dirty realism".
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 28, 2025
He who struggles
I pulled this off the shelf to re-read after seeing the latest pessimistic news item about Paul Gascoigne's health. It's one man's view of Gascoigne's footballing career up until 1994, with a postscript taking it up to 1998. Since that man is the literary critic and poet Ian Hamilton, the standard of writing is miles above that of the usual book about sport (or indeed, about anything). Hamilton was also a Spurs supporter who'd become fascinated with Gascoigne as the latest bright hope of English football, so it's a fan's story - of hope, fulfilment and disillusionment as the idol's early promise is eventually burnt out by the pressures of life at the top. The author describes the arc of Gascoigne's career at Newcastle, Spurs, Lazio, Rangers and thereafter in detail, which represents about as eventful a life as you could hope - or fear - for. As Terry Venables, his erstwhile manager, comments on p164: 'Paul always seems to be at a critical stage in his career, ever since I have known him."
Perhaps I might be permitted to mention a personal encounter with Gascoigne which occurred in May 1996 at Heathrow airport. From I know not where (I'm not a soccer fan), I managed to recall that he'd been playing for Rangers in the Scottish FA Cup Final a few days previously; when I asked him how they'd got on, he gave me a robust account of their victory. He was friendly, pleasant and approachable, with an impressive air of physical strength and stamina. The fact that he was about to get on a plane with the rest of the England squad and enter into the next chapter of his eventful life (they were flying out to Hong Kong on a short tour, and a disapproving account of his antics on the flight back formed much of the build-up to the Euro 96 tournament) made the encounter especially memorable for me.
Originally reviewed 8 February 2013
I pulled this off the shelf to re-read after seeing the latest pessimistic news item about Paul Gascoigne's health. It's one man's view of Gascoigne's footballing career up until 1994, with a postscript taking it up to 1998. Since that man is the literary critic and poet Ian Hamilton, the standard of writing is miles above that of the usual book about sport (or indeed, about anything). Hamilton was also a Spurs supporter who'd become fascinated with Gascoigne as the latest bright hope of English football, so it's a fan's story - of hope, fulfilment and disillusionment as the idol's early promise is eventually burnt out by the pressures of life at the top. The author describes the arc of Gascoigne's career at Newcastle, Spurs, Lazio, Rangers and thereafter in detail, which represents about as eventful a life as you could hope - or fear - for. As Terry Venables, his erstwhile manager, comments on p164: 'Paul always seems to be at a critical stage in his career, ever since I have known him."
Perhaps I might be permitted to mention a personal encounter with Gascoigne which occurred in May 1996 at Heathrow airport. From I know not where (I'm not a soccer fan), I managed to recall that he'd been playing for Rangers in the Scottish FA Cup Final a few days previously; when I asked him how they'd got on, he gave me a robust account of their victory. He was friendly, pleasant and approachable, with an impressive air of physical strength and stamina. The fact that he was about to get on a plane with the rest of the England squad and enter into the next chapter of his eventful life (they were flying out to Hong Kong on a short tour, and a disapproving account of his antics on the flight back formed much of the build-up to the Euro 96 tournament) made the encounter especially memorable for me.
Originally reviewed 8 February 2013
September 19, 2014
I have officially fallen in love with Granta... the non fiction pieces were excellent. I do not care for sports but the enthusiasm for Gazza has made me a soccer fan! The entire issue was wonderful... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews