As Cyril Connolly himself writes, "What follows are the doubts and reflections of a year, a word-cycle in three or four rhythms; art, love, nature and religion: an experiment in self dismantling..." This fragmentary method of writing, with quotes, aphorisms, epigrams, allusions, from a litany of great writers, thinkers, and diarists, with sudden reflections on love, the loss of love, spirituality, desire, literature, art, and psychology are the collected musings of Cyril Connolly, first published in 1944 in Horizon, the magazine he was founder and editor for. My favourite parts of his writing are the plentiful poetic depictions of the scene, usually with the aid of perspicacious and evocative lists, revealing the interior life of the poetic author: "Dead leaves, coffee grounds, grenadine, tabac Maryland, mental expectation - perfumes of the Nord-Sud; autumn arrival at Pigalle..."

This book is a literary sketch or prayer book, overflowing with ideas and impressions, deeply felt articulations of the psyche, of collated philosophies, of what constitutes one's being, often pitched with crystalline melancholy providing momentary and heartfelt illuminations away from any unnecessary or phoney narratives.The Unquiet Grave: A Word Cycle by PalinurusThe Unquiet Grave: A Word Cycle by Palinurus