Granta 81: Best of Young British Novelists, 2003 by Ian Jack


Granta 81: Best of Young British Novelists, 2003
Title : Granta 81: Best of Young British Novelists, 2003
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1929001118
ISBN-10 : 9781929001118
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 350
Publication : First published April 1, 2003

In 1983 Granta magazine set out to identify the 20 best novelists under 40 in Britain. This list included Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, and Salman Rushdie. In 1993 Granta chose again, and among the selected works presented were those by Kazuo Ishiguro, Jeanette Winterson, and Hanif Kureishi. In 1995 Granta published its Best of Young American Novelists issue — including Jonathan Franzen long before he penned The Corrections, Lorrie Moore before Birds of America had taken off, as well as other now well-known names like Edwidge Danticat and Jeffrey Eugenides. Contributors to the first two volumes in the series included six Booker Award winners and nine recipients of the Whitbread Award. Now, Granta is poised to present the best of young British novelists for the third time. Guaranteed to provide scintillating reading, this issue features new work by the 20 selected young writers, giving the clearest picture yet of an exciting new generation.

Granta 81: Best of Young British Novelists, 2003 Reviews

  • Brian

    This book kept me sane in the sands of Iraq. Thank you Granta 81!

  • Chris

    Predictably (at least as far as I'm concerned), Zadie Smith's Martha, Martha was the best story in this issue; head and shoulders above most of the others and an entire body and a pair of stilts above some of them (for example, Sarah Waters'Helen and Julia which I singled out for derision in a previous update). Hari Kunzru's LILA.EXE is showing its age now and proving that writing convincingly and timelessly about modern culture is one of the hardest things to do. Philip Hensher's In Time of War has a convincing atmosphere that drew me in and, finally, Adam Thirlwell's The Cyrillic Alphabet was worthwhile. Seven out of 20 ain't bad.

  • Lola

    My favourite book first appeared as a short story and i am a nerd big enough to read it

  • Robert

    In my opinion this, Granta's third selection of Young British Novelists isn't up to the (admittedly very high) standard set by the 1983 and 1993 collections. Compared to those, this is more uneven.

    That said, there is still some fantastic writing on show here, but "At The Villa Cockroft" by
    Dan Rhodes, an extract from his novel
    Timoleon Vieta Come Home: A Sentimental Journey is the clear standout piece. It is brilliant - laugh out loud funny as well as compelling and I have added that book to my reading list.

    Some of the writing here was a pretentious for my taste, especially The Hare by
    Toby Litt and The Balance by
    Nicola Barker but it did get better towards the back of the book. Other than the Rhodes extract I enjoyed Look At Me, I'm Beautiful! by
    Ben Rice and In Time Of War by
    Robert McLiam Wilson.

  • Ram

    Just finished reading Granta 81 series, Best of Young British Novelists 2003, a collection of short stories from writers resident in Britain and under the age of 40. Some of the writers have already become famous like Monica Ali, Hari Kunzru and Zadie Smith. I liked "The Costa Pool Bums" by Alan Warner the best, a hilarious piece. It may be a little old edition, but with Granta, you could take your own time to read and savour it.

  • MacDara Conroy

    A fine compendium of stories from some of Britain's most promising writers.