Suspended Judgments: Essays on Books and Sensations

Powys opens with a provocation that still resonates a century later: the world divides into those who can discriminate and those who cannot. This is not mere snobbery but something far more radical, the 'ultimate test of sensitiveness' that separates and unites us simultaneously. These essays argue that genuine appreciation of literature arises not from neutral observation but from dragging forth our 'lurking attractions and antipathies,' our secret temperament, into the light. Powys insists we must travel inward, into our unique 'self-contained system of things,' to find where our 'lonely orbits touch' those of other readers. The paradox he explores is striking: to connect with others, we must emphasize our differences; to be understood, we must become more ourselves. This is not criticism as judgment but as a form of self-knowledge, a 'difficult game' where cultivating what is 'lonely and unique' creates 'perpetual shocks and jars' yet also genuine communion. Powys writes with philosophical urgency about why some readers weep at passages that leave others cold, why taste reveals the soul, and how the act of discrimination, far from being elitist, is the foundation of all meaningful human connection through art.