17 DECEMBER 1983, Page 53

Christopher Hawtree

Major Patrick Rance's The Great British Cheese Book (Papermac) is one of the most eloquent accounts of a food rapidly falling victim to the supermarkets' refrigerators and cellophane. Stephen Benatar's enter- taining When / was Otherwise (Bodley Head) received too little attention but again showed he is likely to be an enduring novelist.

In a strong field the winner of the worst award by a distance must surely be Clive James's Brilliant Creatures (Cape). Malcolm Bradbury's Rates of Exchange (Secker), too, might have been enjoyable to

write but the forced cleverness and non- jokes made it a dreary read.