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lindsayharmon's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Lots of good stuff in this one, including a Thom Jones piece about working at a General Mills plant in Aurora. So bizarre to see British spellings ("neighbourhood," etc.) in Chicago writers' work, though.
jmoxley's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Enjoyed this Granta. A good perspective on a part of America that isn’t on the tourist trail.
towardinfinitybooks's review
3.0
I hope to return to this at some point - I'm not finished with it yet. But from what I've read, this is an interesting portrait of Chicago. However, as others have mentioned, it seems to focus more on the poverty and crime of the city than anything else.
checkyoshelf's review
5.0
I loved this edition of Granta. I know that it is only because I am from Chicago and therefore I get it. I know who and where they are talking about. I can imagine the street intersections and know all the politicians on a first name basis. As a product of the Chicago Public School Systems, it's a necessity to graduate. It just irks me a bit that I know Granta doesn't get it. There is so much more than what's between these covers. Chicago is much more than poverty, housing projects, drunken irish people, corruption and crime. It touches on the huge diversity we maintain but only touches. It says there's more behind a city than it's city center. Maybe that's the point. But Chicago is more than it's crime. That's all.
jessicaboi's review
5.0
I don’t understand the last story or why it’s in this collection.
Overall, though, I loved this.
Overall, though, I loved this.
missnicelady's review
3.0
An interesting if incomplete look at the city I call home. There's more to Chicago than poverty and corruption, right?
My favorite bits were Sandra Cisneros' tribute to her mother, Don DeLillo's tribute to Nelson Algren, and Elaine Showalter's tribute to Jane Adams. But what I'll think about when I think about this issue of Granta, probably forever, is Alex Kotlowitz. His story is about gangs and violence, but it's specifically about the kids who murdered a former coworker of mine, which I didn't know when I bought the book. I don't know what else to say about that, except that the story left me feeling more hopeless and distraught than anything I've read in years.
Chicago has complicated problems.
My favorite bits were Sandra Cisneros' tribute to her mother, Don DeLillo's tribute to Nelson Algren, and Elaine Showalter's tribute to Jane Adams. But what I'll think about when I think about this issue of Granta, probably forever, is Alex Kotlowitz. His story is about gangs and violence, but it's specifically about the kids who murdered a former coworker of mine, which I didn't know when I bought the book. I don't know what else to say about that, except that the story left me feeling more hopeless and distraught than anything I've read in years.
Chicago has complicated problems.
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