"The more one tries to analyze oneself the more one is conscious of amazing paradoxes and inconsistencies which lurk under the simplest surface." And so J.C.P does exactly that. He launches into a confessional that is rampantly earnest but at the same time shrewdly conscious. Dictionary to hand, I enjoyed every drop of his flurry. This book was to involve all five brothers but ended up being just John and Llewlyn. The latter producing a diarist piece that was more reflective and less probing. Llewlyn states in his introduction that he felt a "confession" was more akin to airing one's sins. Both men were liberally open-minded for their time and it is no wonder that John was a writer's writer, inspiring many a new wave of literally rebel. I can mark the effectiveness of a book by the amount of book tags I place in the pages and in this book, I marked thirteen. It is a cursory read and whatever is missing in the text makes the writing more intriguing. John delves into his aesthetics and addresses some of the common themes of death, religion et cetera. Llewlyn, on the other hand, plies the reader with his thoughts and observations, only touching on the surface. Both staunch atheists, there's no parable in what's written, it's an earthy attempt at undressing humanity in a modest way. It certainly has me in the pursuance of more John Cowper Powys and I wouldn't mind reading Llewlyn's Skin for Skin. ( )