Ahead of its time in its swirling visionary structure, Half a Look at Cain was rejected by Goyen's first publisher and remained unpublished for years despite extensive revisions. The novel is shaped as a series of related episodes, and its characters dream of defying mortality and of finding perfect companionship in lovers and friends. Published at last, it shines as a celebration of passion and as a rediscovered cry against the conformity and of the 1950s.