Review : Vivid takes

The Anatomy of Memory (Oxford, £20/$30, ISBN 0 19 507841 1) is
an astonishing anthology compiled by James McConkey. It is a rich spread of
writing about that ability of the brain to lie in wait, suddenly to spring the
past on us at a trivial stimulus—a smell, a fleeting glimpse. The
selections are remarkable pieces and vivid ones, so appetite is quickly
surfeited—a drawback, if it is one, of all good anthologies. But any
random foray into it will be rewarded.