Impermanence

The current of the flowing river does not cease, and yet the water is not the same water as before. The foam that floats on stagnant pools, now vanishing, now forming, never stays the same for long. So, too, it is with the people and dwellings of the world. (Hōjōki, Chambers)

The Man who fell to Earth (5.5/10)

Walter Tevis

Science Fiction

A melancholy novel, written in the 1960’s and set in the 1980’s, it build slowly around a character from another planet who is building something on Earth. Very few characters are fully fleshed out here, and those that are, are often drunk especially in the second half of the book. It is well written, and has a timeless feel to it, but it does not provide much in the way of action. The final scenes are not where the standard book would go, and the author should be respected for that, but it still left me feeling a little sad, and a little underwhelmed.

Quality 2/5

Readability 3.5/5