‘It may seem strange, but the instant before death is marked by a sense of humiliation.’
You don’t need to count the dead to understand the business of the Camorra. The dead are the least revealing element of the Camorra’s real power in Naples, but they are the most visible trace, what sparks a gut reaction. Sometimes I try to recall how many have been killed here since the day I wa…
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‘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.
‘She is thorough in a way that is off putting to people. It makes for a good secretary, not a good conversationalist.’
Fiction by Madeline Cash.
‘More than 111,000 people have gone missing in Mexico in the past six years.’
Anjan Sundaram on cartels, conflict and the rate of disappearances in Mexico.
‘Naturally, no partnership is perfect. Certain pieces will be at odds – you’ll have that.’
Fiction by Nico Walker.
‘It was fantastic to own a phone, it was fantastic to have people you loved in your life.’
Fiction by Leif Randt, translated by Ruth Martin.
‘He’ll be a goner soon; the cops will find him hanging in his loo.’
Fiction by Alison Rumfitt.
‘My tuppence on craft is this: as a writer, you must give your reader space to experience the world of your story (whatever form it takes)’
