The Futile Flight of John Arthur Benn

A man uses a time-reversal device to travel backward through successive historical eras, observing quick, often comic glimpses of past centuries and primitive rituals. He halts in a woodland setting, tries to attend to simple needs, and is chased by a wild boar, which forces him to spend a night aloft; during sleep his unconscious shifts him back to his original era. Returned abruptly to his earlier life, he becomes overwhelmingly despairing and ends his life. The narrative moves from episodic historical vignettes to a grim, ironic conclusion, probing the futility of escape and the unforeseen consequences of tampering with time.