by Alex Clark (ed.).
Another eclectic mix.
To be honest, I didn't think this edition of Granta was going to be much good, but it turned out to be one of my favourites from recent years.
This volume contains an eclectic mix of pieces loosely themed on loss. As usual, I could have done without the fictional pieces, but the factual ones were mostly excellent. Of particular note were pieces on inconsistent memories from the Tiananmen Square massacres; searching for civil war graves in Spain; the sudden dearth of priests in Ireland; the dying art of smoking (no pun intended); phantom petrol stations; and a model of a Welsh schooner. Like I said, eclectic.
We need more publications like Granta.