The Shallow end Available to Purchase

THE Times was no sooner back with us last November than it was running the ‘My best books of the year’ feature— which is often depressing and was particularly so last year. 1979 was not a good year for the book world. Bernard Levin was back with us too, and managed to get three days' wordage out of two books. He frequently mentioned the authors and titles (thus ensuring that his fans would pester their public libraries for them) but omitted to mention those bibliographical trifles: publishers and dates.