The Factory

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #89

by Ian Jack (Editor), Isabel Hilton, Joe Sacco

Britain invented the factory -- Manchester was the world's first factory-city. Where are they now, and the world of work that went with them? The answer, mainly, is China. An issue devoted to how and where we made and make things.

Featuring Isabel Hilton in the new factories of China, Joe Sacco on Chechen rebels living in an abandoned dairy factory, Andrew Martin in the chocolate factories of York, Neil Steinberg on the last lamps in Chicago, Des Barry on the factory where his father worked, Liz Jobey on turning a factory into a home and Luc Sante on the boredom of factory work.

Plus new fiction by James Lasdun and Tessa Hadley

With a picture essay on a Rust Belt factory of the American midwest by Alec Soth.

Genres: Short Stories, Essays, Anthologies, Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2005

About the author

Ian Jack is a British journalist and writer who has edited the Independent on Sunday and the literary magazine Granta and now writes regularly for The Guardian.

Reviews

[Wendy Liu]

The fiction was decent, if not the most memorable (I did quite enjoy the one featuring poetry in the GDR). The reportage & essays about factory work was outstanding, though maybe that’s because I’ve been reading lots of labour stuff recently - others might find it tedious. But if you want to read about factory work in the 20th century, this issue of Granta is for you.

[Catherine]

This volume from 2005 has a terrific story by Tessa Hadley and a wonderful memoir by Thomas Healey. Otherwise some pretty grim essays on factory work.

[Nyambura]

Beautiful imagery and reportage.