by Alex Clark (ed.).
Yawn!
No, no, no! No, Granta, we don't want 'new fiction' specials. We want what you're best at: factual stuff. Essays, reminiscences, the occasional photo-essay. We don't even mind the odd short story, IF YOU ABSOLUTELY INSIST ON HAVING THEM. But can we please maintain a sense of proportion?
OK, straight cough: I skipped most of this edition. I tried to read it, I really did. I'd begin one of the innumerable short stories, and my eyes would almost immediately begin glazing over. Not fun. Not fun at all. Even the single non-fiction piece (a fawning interview with the short-story writer Mavis Gallant) was pretty damn tedious: "Gosh! Aren't you a good writer, Ms Gallant? You're just great. You really are!"
Come on, Granta, you can do better than this!
And please, please, please, please, please drop the poetry. It's just a waste of space.
Fantastic cover, though. Which just goes to prove the old adage, I suppose.