I think this quote means in this life nothing is worth turning back one the ones you love in this world.
A book was the first ever object that the martian was able to describe. The book was compared to the Caxton. The martian described the Caxton as having a lot of wings and the wings serve as the pages of the book.
Hope my answer has come to satisfy your query.
I think it is 1. "in the years without rainfall"
