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Granta 169: China

Fiction | Issue 169

Tomorrow I’ll Get Past It

Yu Hua

‘Every time I tried to write more, it turned out to be a fruitless endeavor – I felt like I was trapped in a sealed room with no windows.’

Fiction by Yu Hua, translated by Michael Berry.

Essays & Memoir | Issue 169

Adrift in the South

Xiao Hai

Finally! I thought. Now I get to work in a big factory. I was fifteen and a half years old. I was a child laborer.’

Xiao Hai on coming of age in the factories of Shenzhen, translated by Tony Hao.

Fiction | Issue 169

Black Pig Hair, White Pig Hair

Yan Lianke

‘Are you here to accept punishment on the mayor’s behalf ? This is a great opportunity. People burn incense for a chance like this.’

A short story by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas.

Fiction | Issue 169

Speedwell

Zhang Yueran

‘Fiction is a kind of spell, I said, and analysing a story is an exorcism. It loses all its mystery.’

Fiction by Zhang Yueran, translated by Jeremy Tiang.

Fiction | Issue 169

Hunter

Shuang Xuetao

‘Lu Dong is a fifth-rate actor – that’s by his own ranking system.’

Fiction by Shuang Xuetao, translated by Jeremy Tiang.

From the Archive

Fiction | Issue 68

Call If You Need Me

Raymond Carver

‘She watched me as I wrote out a cheque for the three months’ rent. Later, back at the motel, in bed, she lay with her hand on her forehead and said, “I envy your wife.”’

Fiction by Raymond Carver.

Fiction | Issue 19

Knives

Louise Erdrich

‘It is time, now, for Karl to break down with his confession that I am a slow-burning fuse in his loins. A hair trigger. I am a name he cannot silence. A dream that never burst.’

Fiction by Louise Erdrich.

Fiction | Issue 127

A Clean Marriage

Sayaka Murata

‘Frequency of sex since marriage: zero.’

Sayaka Murata on a sexless marriage and the ‘Clean Breeder’ technique for pleasureless reproduction.

Highlights From Granta Books

Recommended Reading

Fiction | Issue 168 padlock

The Museum Guard

J.M. Coetzee

‘Do they strike people as a strange couple? He does not know, does not care.’

Fiction by J.M. Coetzee.

Essays & Memoir | Issue 167 padlock

Where the Language Changes

Bathsheba Demuth

‘I am on the hunt for the Russian Empire, or what traces might still exist of its colonial enterprise.’

Bathsheba Demuth travels the Yukon river, following the history of the fur trade and the Nulato massacre.

Art & Photography | Issue 165 padlock

Have a Good Trip with Trabant

Martin Roemers & Durs Grünbein

‘Question: ‘What do a Trabant and a condom have in common?’ Answer: ‘Both decrease the pleasure of the ride.’’

Durs Grünbein introduces photography by Martin Roemers.

Essays & Memoir | Issue 166

Lifetimes of the Soviet Union

Yuri Slezkine

‘Bolshevism, like most millenarian movements, proved a one-generation phenomenon.’

Yuri Slezkine on Soviet history and the generational arc of revolution.

News, Prizes and Events

Prize

When I Sing, Mountains Dance and Chilean Poet Shortlisted for Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize

When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Sola (trans. Mara Faye Lethem) and Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra (trans. Megan McDowell) are both shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.

Prize

Our Share of Night Shortlisted for The Kitschies

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell) is shortlisted for The Kitschies Red Tentacle award, awarded to speculative, sci-fi and fantasy novels.

Prize

I’m A Fan Wins a British Book Award

I'm A Fan by Sheena Patel wins the Book of the Year: Discover Award at the British Book Awards.