Comprised of autobiographical sketches, this unusual literary work is divided into four sections, the first dating from 1983, the second from 1985, the third from 1993, and the fourth from 1996. These sketches, which are by definition approximations to a literary self-portrait, were written in the notational vein of the author's mature philosophy (especially from 1985 onwards) and often overlap with general speculations on a variety of subjects which have played a significant role in his personal life. Thus they are anything but purely autobiographical, although autobiography forms the basis of this project, which is certainly beyond the pale of 1983 so far as three of its four sections are concerned