Granta 102 (edition 2008)

It's reassuring to know that in a culture permeated with mediocrity and mindless trash, there are still people creating serious and thoughtful work and the means still exist of transmitting this work to its audience. Sadly though, having worked my way through this volume there is nothing which sticks out positively in the memory. The strongest reaction was created by Kathleen Jamie's piece recounting visits to a pathology lab in order to draw attention to the fact that "nature" is not just fields, trees and fluffy lambs but also encompasses the germs, viruses and organisms which ultimately bring out our individual demise. Unfortunately, being one of those squeamish types who cannot even watch medical dramas on TV, I couldn't even bring myself to read that piece in its entirety. Other essays that I did complete have failed to leave their mark. ( )