‘They were citizens of a multidimensional universe and they liked to get high.’
Simpson held his mask to his face and dropped with a crash into the grip of cold water. The weight of his equipment was lifted suddenly. It swayed now on its straps. He caught hold of the ladder and started the slow descent into darkness and pressure. The growling and pinging he could hear was the s…
Sign in to Granta.com.
‘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.
‘His life, unexciting as it may have been so far, was still a detailed, complicated thing.’
‘There are glimmers of the reality beyond, the promise of redemption even in the darkest places.’
Adam Foulds introduces the photography of Ian Willms.
‘Swifts come closer than any other creature to living in the sky and having air and ceaseless movement as their home.’
A short film featuring Adam Foulds, one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.
The World War began in Sarajevo, on a balmy summer afternoon in 1914. It...
