‘But he couldn’t lose the sense that this was a turning point in his life, that she’d been delivered to him for a reason.’
Randeep Sanghera stood in front of the green-and-blue world map tacked onto the wall. The map had come with the flat, and he’d nearly taken it down – it was too big and crinkled, and cigarette butts had stubbed black islands into the mid-Atlantic – but he’d kept it in the end. A reminder of …
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‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
A conversation between Kamila Shamsie and Sunjeev Sahota.
Sunjeev Sahota speaks with Ellah Alfrey about his work, Midnight's Children and having a day job.
‘I’d had quite enough of everything. I vowed to no longer mistake obedience for love.’
Fiction by Catherine Lacey.
‘They couldn’t put their finger on exactly what it was they craved, but they knew it was very different to what they had.’
Fiction by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes.
‘People say it’s healthy for couples to fight, it means there’s still passion. I’ve always assumed that was bullshit, but now I’m not sure.’
Fiction by Brad Phillips.
