‘In the summer of 1990, tens of thousands of Liberians died in a civil war of remarkable brutality. Many more starved to death'.
In the summer of 1990, tens of thousands of Liberians died in a civil war of remarkable brutality. Many more starved to death. I know this because I was living there, a journalist married to an American diplomat. Two rival rebel groups hacked their way through the country, bent on overthrowing the d…
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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.
‘This is how it starts, my yearning to escape: with a snot-green triangular stamp from Qatar.’
‘I can write about this now only because enough time has passed.’
‘At night her friends let loose and relax.’
Photography by Vera Yijun Zhou of house parties and clubs in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.
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‘The wave had erupted with such force that it obliterated the glass lobby.‘
A short story by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Nick Caistor.
