‘I really love Southern Gothic literature and so part of me was like – well, what if I could create an Immigrant Gothic?’
Granta Magazine’s Josie Mitchel speaks to Esmé Weijun Wang , author of The Border of Paradise about being one of Granta’s 2017 Best of Young American Novelists.
They discuss the largeness of literature, the Southern Gothic genre and what it means to be an American novelist.
‘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.
‘Dennis with his bespectacled eyes on his phone, performing the act of emotional multitasking. While I’ve been psychotic, he’s been phone banking.’
‘I’m simply trying to do good, Sharon, in the way that I can.’
Fiction by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump.
‘When and where does the crisis of war begin and end?’
Y-Dang Troeung on the longevity of war.
‘How many children had accidentally – or purposely, for that matter – shot a parent? Too many to count, no doubt.’
Fiction by André Alexis.
‘He prefers the battles of the bed, but his wife insists on his keeping to a severe containment.’
