If you're amused by stories centred on women's breasts (David Lodge) or about compulsive masturbation (Martin Amis), if you'd be intrigued by an author's language deficit ( Malcom Lowry), i if you think writing is nothing without hard-gained metaphors and the personal touch* (example from Angela Carter biut a fair few of the stories have those qualities) , if you would welcome reminders that even the most competent woman can be a victim imprisoned by a man's sharp glance and failure to share housework (Fay Weldon's tale of elective martyrdom) and that Chinese people dress in silly clothes and are incapable of speaking English properly** (Malcolm Bradbury), well, then, this is the book for you.
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I read at least the first few pages and far more often all of each sory but gave up on one because it was unreadable and on several others because the writing inspired no confidence in the author and/or because they bored me so. Only one of the stories seemed in any way original (and that, not by a British author), some were enjoyable, and none was memorable.

Malcom Bradbury was also the editor of this book. And as should be apparent from the quote below he obviously shares the not-uncommon casual English attitude of superiority to other peoples. Not surprising then that he he appropriates non-British authors from a formerly-occupied country for the anthology. To call Beckett, Edna O'Brien, William Trevor British is not just wrong: it's wrong and offensive.

*Of walking in a city at night: 'And I moved through these expressionist perspectives in my black dress as though I was the creator of all and of myself, too, in a black dress, in love, crying, walking through the city in the third person singular my own herione, as though the world had stretched out from my eye lke spokes from a sensitized hub that galvanized all to life when I looked at it.'

** 'The little oriental who met him stands there, in shortie pyjamas. "You must close lindow . Water coming . . . into my loom. . . Also, offplint of article for loo to lead." ' ( I must acknowledge though that 'loo' for 'you' though is admirable writersmanship,)

I started reading this in September 2018. I read a few stories at the time, then put it down and read the odd one in between other books, then forgot about it entirely until picking it up again a few days ago. But I have finally finished it!⁣
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The stories are by post-war authors, with some big names on the list. I found it to be a bit of a mixed bag (although I only have the dimmest memories of the stories I read early on).⁣
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My favourite stories were those by Alan Sillitoe, Dylan Thomas, Edna O'Brien, Fay Weldon, Salman Rushdie, Emma Tennant, Angela Carter and Beryl Bainbridge. ⁣
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I started reading then skipped a few and actively disliked a few more (both Kingsley and Martin Amis fell into these categories). I would say that men having affairs/being horrible to their wives are rather overrepresented in the collection, and these were the ones I didn't really get on with.⁣
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It's a fairly interesting anthology overall, but not my favourite! At least I've discovered a few authors whose other works I would like to read. ( )

University of Edinburgh, 1997.