Granta 103: The Rise of the British Jihad

Granta: The Magazine of New Writing #103

by Jason Cowley (Editor)

In Granta 103, look out for a remarkable investigation into the rise of the British jihad by Richard Watson; Binyavanga Wainaina on what it means to be Kenyan after the ravages of ethnic cleansing; Isabel Hilton in China and Tibet; Philip Delves Broughton on the trail of rogue trader J?r?me Kerviel; and Caleb Crain on the future of Fresh Kills, once America's largest landfill, now a repository of much of the September 11 wreckage and a graveyard for many of the unidentified dead. Web exclusives on include interviews with Jonathan Raban, Lorrie Moore, Robert Macfarlane and others; Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah on her country in crisis; short films and audio discussions with Granta contributors; original fiction by emerging writers in the New Voices series; and news, blogs, photography, and highlights from the archive, updated daily. In Granta 103, look out for a remarkable investigation into the rise of the British jihad by Richard Watson; Binyavanga Wainaina on what it means to be Kenyan after the ravages of ethnic cleansing; Isabel Hilton in China and Tibet; Philip Delves Broughton on the trail of rogue trader J?r?me Kerviel; and Caleb Crain on the future of Fresh Kills, once America's largest landfill, now a repository of much of the September 11 wreckage and a graveyard for many of the unidentified dead. Web exclusives on include interviews with Jonathan Raban, Lorrie Moore, Robert Macfarlane and others; Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah on her country in crisis; short films and audio discussions with Granta contributors; original fiction by emerging writers in the New Voices series; and news, blogs, photography, and highlights from the archive, updated daily.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthologies, Essays, Politics

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Phoebe]

Enjoyed each piece individually but as a whole, there was an odd lack of cohesion and a faint suggestion of Islamophobia.

[bernadette]

I tend to like the essays and not the fiction in Granta so I haven't finished the fiction pieces or poetry. I've liked past issues than this one.

Photography Essay "Soldiers": I thought the juxtaposition of pictures of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan against a letter from a soldier's wife to her husband detailing the concerns at home poignant and worth looking at.

"The Rise of the British Jihad" was an interesting study on early British surveillance of terrorist recruitment efforts of young British muslims and the barriers to obtaining good intelligence in the present. It includes photographs of the Leeds apartment from which terrorists prepared for the London Underground bombings.

I liked the extract from Simon Gray's Coda, describing a trip to Greece and his reactions to his cancer.

[Lera]

Cover story is a depressing piece of investigative journalism describing the radicalisation of the British terrorists who were involved in the successful and failed London bombings. Its unfortunate that the security services knew so much and yet didn't quite put the pieces together. Not news, exactly, but a detailed history.

Some poignant pics of military life in Afghanistan.

Some stories, none of which have stuck in my brain so deeply as these.

[Bex]

The main article in this edition of Granta is a fascinating insight into Muslim radicals living in Britain and the rise of the semi-paranoid spying state.

Other stories (fiction and non) are great as always. Granta never disappoints. For about three years in the 90s I was gifted a subscription to this paperback magazine. The writing is always interesting and often very intelligent and fresh.

[Lawrence]

Another good issue of Granta. The investigatory piece related to the increasing militancy of young British muslims and the failures of MI5 and MI6 decision making is chilling. The issue description isn't correct; it must have been written before the issue's contents were finalized.

[Chris]

Okay, I didn't read the lengthy coverpiece, I was awed by the stories by Jennifer Haigh (Broken Star), and Tamima Anam (Saving the World). The short essays by Catherine O'Flynn, Binyavanga Wainaina, and Aleksandar Hemon were pieces that left me thinking about them long after I put down the book.

[Nancy]

Again, this is a favorite literary periodical. It contains fiction, essays, photographs and recently with a change in editors, some poetry. I often read short pieces by favorite authors or am introduced to new ones. I've subscribed for years.

[Brenden]

Granta 103: The Enemy Within (Granta: The Magazine of New Writing) by Jason Cowley (2008)