Peshawar is a mess. And last winter—the winter before September 11 became a significant date,...
Peshawar is a mess. And last winter—the winter before September 11 became a significant date, before the word ‘Taliban’ became part of the ordinary American vocabulary, when Osama Bin Laden, once resident in the city, was still merely infamous—it seemed at its worst. The smog above the city …
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.
‘It is India’s turn to undergo social traumas that other countries have suffered in their pursuit of wealth and power.’
‘I was unfortunate to know a Christianity so tainted by colonialism and racial distrust.’
‘Bollywood is part of what our culture has become. We are lying to ourselves all the time.’
‘At night her friends let loose and relax.’
Photography by Vera Yijun Zhou of house parties and clubs in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.
Our ten most popular pieces of memoir, criticism and reportage, including writing by Mary Gaitskill, Gary Indiana, Christian Lorentzen, Tao Lin and Sheila Heti.
