In this episode of the podcast, Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers reads ‘False Blood’ by Will Self.
Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers reads ‘False Blood’ by Will Self. Diagnosed with a rare blood condition, Self must attend weekly ‘venesections’ (the modern-day equivalent of bloodletting). The unsettling experience inspires morbid thoughts on addiction and disease.
You can find the story in full here, along with more work by Will Self and Max Porter.
‘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.
A new story by Max Porter – part of our series in partnership with The Arts House, Singapore.
‘We don’t often talk seriously or in depth about our childhood these days, but we know we could, and we know what good it did us.’
‘So much good poetry is being written in and about and for this ghastly time. I cling to it.’
Han Kang visited the Granta offices to discuss her book Human Acts.
Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers, shares five things he’s reading, watching and thinking about.
