Granta books are like D’Angelo LPs: I would buy one without having heard a single
track or, in this context, without having read a single word. Brands in
publishing are a dying breed. The days of the Penguin paperbacks belong to a
bygone age. Yes, there is the Modern Classics series and the Vintage Classics
but for contemporary literature i.e. in the last ten to fifteen years, guaranteed
to stand the test of time – fiction and non-fiction –you can’t beat a Granta release.
Recently, I’ve bought three for no other reason than they were published by
Granta and my faith in the brand was handsomely rewarded.
In the last
month, Amitav Ghosh’s In An Antique Land,
Sven Lindqvist’s Saharan Journey and Noo Saro-Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland have educated, entertained and enchanted me. Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed has enraged me and Craig
Taylor’s Londoners has made me see my
home city in a whole new light. What more could you ask from a publishing house
and its authors?
This was
the first time I had read any of these writers. Thanks to Granta, it won’t be
the last.
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