by Phil Klay
First published 2014
A Marine returns from Iraq, but the war follows him home. Phil Klay captures this soldier's struggle in a story that anchors this issue of Granta magazine. The Marine faces memories that refuse to stay buried, while the war's psychological grip tightens around him. His experience becomes a window into how conflict reshapes those who fight it. The story sits alongside other tales of ghosts and hauntings from writers across continents. Sara Stridsberg explores a crisis-hit American ghost town, while Ulrika Kärnborg examines a collapsed Paraguayan utopia. Johanne Lykke Holm stages an eerie seance in central Copenhagen. The collection brings together voices from Sweden and beyond, united by themes of spectral presence and psychological aftermath. Each story probes how the past intrudes on the present, whether through war trauma or other forms of haunting.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, literary-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: haunting, psychological-impact
Setting: Iraq, America, Paraguay, Copenhagen
Period: 21st-century
255 pages · Paperback · DANSKT BAND, Svenska, 2014
Content warnings: violence, war