On The Beach, an autobiography of consciousness: an extract
The late light of evening falls on the plain white ball in a pattern of curved shadows within shadows that define the sphere. The ball takes on the colour of the light and he watches the colour fade from a pale warmth through a range of cooler hues, so that as the light dies and the shadows spread he sees the colour darken beyond perception. The now barely visible ball rests within a pool of its own deep shadow on a white china plate. The plate lies on a wooden table and the table stands on the floor. He is still focusing his attention on this after the full darkness of night has come. Despite the loss of the light he reflects on the place of the floor within the house, the house on the ground amidst field, fields on hill, miles of rock below him, and so on.
Previous extracts published by Serpent’s Tail and Penguin Books.
Copyright © Timothy Emlyn Jones 2020