Focusing on fiction published since 1968, and including 50 writers in this, its second edition, Dermot Bolger's collection is an eclectic, generous volume which avoids the lapidary tendencies of many anthologies. It is a snapshot of the changing contemporary landscape rather than a monument. His feisty introduction argues that the novel "is as much, if not far more, a national art form than the short story ever was", and he includes 17 novel extracts by a diverse range of writers (from the 80-year-old Benedict Kiely, to the 22-year-old Eamonn Sweeney). Loosely grouped in sections according to the period or setting of the work, the juxtapositions are surprising and refreshing. The emphasis is squarely on youth, on the potentially significant writers of the future. While Bolger allows the possibility that some of these might disappear from view, he is determined to give them their moment - and to place them in some excellent, more seasoned, company: Eugene McCabe, Dermot Healy, Mary Morrissy, Seamus Deane, Deirdre Madden, Sebastian Barry, John Banville . . .