Books: Joyful Pessimist

EARTH MEMORIES—Llewelyn Powys—Norton ($2.75).

In a Swiss tuberculosis sanatorium, convinced that he would soon die, Llewelyn Powys (pronounced Po'-is), then 25, came to a solemn conclusion: "There is no God . . . nothing matters as long as we remain healthy and alive . . . insensitiveness is the one cardinal sin." Still alive 29 years later, while continuing to think each year his last, Llewelyn Powys has succeeded in writing a half-dozen books which stand out for their acute observations of nature, their sensitive prose, their blend of pessimism and pagan delight in the "rabble senses." The most polished of the...