Granta 107

Reviewed,Boyd Tonkin
Friday 31 July 2009 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Mitch Epstein's cover image, of a small-town American football game shadowed by belching power-plant towers, slightly misleads. Although his photo-essay on energy and politics in the Bush era stands as a centrepiece, this Granta sounds a less purely mid-Atlantic note than many previous editions.

Contributions from beyond the Anglo-American sphere range from Japanese Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe's eerie tale of hanuting via audiotape to Rana Dasgupta's reportage of speeding cars and crawling mindsets in boom-time New Delhi.

However, meaty memoirs of loss lend this number its backbone: Mary Gaitskill on a disappearing cat and other bereavements; Will Self's fine elegy for JG Ballard; Rupert Thomson's quest through memory for an elusive rascal of an uncle.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in