‘When I was ten years old, my father hit my mother so hard that she suffered permanent damage to her right ear.’
I returned to Lagos in 1993 to claim the property I inherited from my father. Although my father was a wealthy man I hadn’t expected to inherit anything from him. To say that I was estranged from him assumes a relationship between us that we didn’t have. When my parents were still together, he w…
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 was two years since I'd been in Zambia and I was looking forward to seeing Ronnie and his cousin, Pinkie’.
‘I should warn you, she said, ketchup on her chin, on the back of her hand. I like to have sex a lot.’
Fiction by Kathy Stevens.
‘There is a sense of carnival mingled with outrage, especially for us since this is our first demonstration.’
Ike Anya on universities, financial cuts and student protest.
‘I saw it all. Nobody here gives children ear, so I saw everything just by being quiet and doing like I dinor see.’
An extract from Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ.
‘Who needs a bed? he said one night. He was drinking beer out of an old dirty pickle jar.’
New fiction by Edward Herring.
‘From a dish washer to an author who writes about washing dishes.’
Memoir by Ilija Matusko, translated by Jen Calleja.
