Roughly and on average, I am the same: the same as you.
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Roughly and on average, I am the same: the same as you.
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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.
A.L. Kennedy is the author of novels, short stories and nonfiction. Her most recent book is We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time, published in 2020. She was one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 1993 and 2003 and a judge of the same list in 2013.
More about the author →‘I was tempted to let the pages blow overboard and start again...But they have very stern laws about littering at sea.’
A.L. Kennedy on being chosen for, and judging Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.
‘I have never seen anyone eat figs in the street and feel I am unsurprised.’
Tatiana Salem Levy is introduced by previous double Best of Young British Novelist, A.L. Kennedy.
‘Feelings of hate and despair dwindle as they pass down the generations.’
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