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benedettal's review
3.5
Honestly, this was a solid book, but it kinda pales in comparison with the first one. It’s a great book about writing though, a brilliant showcase of Henry Miller’s beautiful mind and style. No plot, just a recollection of all the hardships of a struggling writer, interposed with dream sequences and just talking about writing itself and other arts. There is nothing of the outrageous atmosphere of Sexus, literally don’t even think there’s any sex scenes. But I did appreciate that you can definitely see the growth of the man, who is now embracing his passion and dedicating his life to that, as opposed to other distractions. Obviously knowing his success in the years after the ones of this narrative makes the journey worth it. It’s an interesting subject matter for him to choose, which also adds to the charm. But yeah, somehow this is both the logical continuation of the first, and a complete left turn at the same time. Curious to see how the trilogy will end.
vkellermann89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
skinnygetout's review
4.0
i have not quite finished this book yet. i have read sexus (the first book in the rosy crucifixion trilogy), and i have not read a henry miller book that left me disappointed.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
4.0
Era fascinantă în rochia persană, strânsă pe corp și cu turbanul asortat la culoare. Venise primăvara așa încât îmbrăcase o pereche de mănuși lungi până la cot; o blană frumoasă, de culoarea cârtiței, îi învăluia gâtul plin, statuar. Alesesem, de comun acord, Brooklyn Heights, ca să închiriem un apartament, cât mai departe cu putință de toți cei pe care-i cunoșteam, mai cu seamă de Kronski și de Arthur Raymond. Ulric era singurul prieten căruia intenționam să-i dăm noua adresă. Urma să fie pentru noi o adevărată „vita nuova”, apărată de intruziunile lumii din afară.
Ziua în care am pornit în căutarea cuibului nostru de amor a fost îmbibată de o fericire radioasă. De câte ori ajungeam în fața unei uși și apăsam pe butonul soneriei, o înconjuram cu brațele și ne sărutam de mama focului. Rochia i se potrivea ca o teacă. Parcă niciodată nu fusese mai ispititoare. Uneori ușa se deschidea în fața noastră înainte de a ne fi putut desface unul din brațele celuilalt. Câte unii dintre proprietari ne cereau să le arătăm verigheta sau certificatul de căsătorie.
Ziua în care am pornit în căutarea cuibului nostru de amor a fost îmbibată de o fericire radioasă. De câte ori ajungeam în fața unei uși și apăsam pe butonul soneriei, o înconjuram cu brațele și ne sărutam de mama focului. Rochia i se potrivea ca o teacă. Parcă niciodată nu fusese mai ispititoare. Uneori ușa se deschidea în fața noastră înainte de a ne fi putut desface unul din brațele celuilalt. Câte unii dintre proprietari ne cereau să le arătăm verigheta sau certificatul de căsătorie.
patrickjohnswrites's review
3.0
Just so you know, I started reading the second book in the series. I have never read the first book. This was a book given to me by a Spanish teacher in the school I taught at this year in Spain. I had nothing else to read so I gave it a go, branching off from my usual genre of fantasy books. This book was a pain, physically and mentally. Physically: With just a gust of wind on a beach in Southern Spain, the first 20 pages flew out of this ancient book, and I had to sprint on the sand to catch them all. Mentally: Henry Miller would just ramble on about nonsense and jump back to the main story of his journey of becoming an author. Literally the story jumped to random scenes of him and his wife participating in friendly orgies. I enjoyed the main story line but the philosophical rants were a bit much for me, taking my mind away from the story. But again, I never read the first book.
mcalzatet's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nikkigee81's review
3.0
There are parts of this that I really enjoyed - Miller meets a lot of usual people - but his suggestions on philosophical stuff leaves me in the dust. I haven't read as widely in that genre, so I get easily confused. The other thing that irritated me here - although it's throughout his books, for some reason it was more annoying in this one - was their constantly bumming off of people. And his getting annoyed when some turned him down.
spjuver's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting story of Henry's struggles as a writer that I had a hard time putting down. I guess that this can be seen as another account of the struggling artist, but there was something about it that resonated with me. I would think that the general view would be that Henry should have buckled down and gotten a job, but somehow he manages to justify his leeching on Mona and his friends/family. Since I have only read this work by Henry Miller I can't say for sure, but I think that he lived the life he needed to live in order to be able to write what he did. Some people manage to have a job and write on the side, but there is something to Henry's words of "living everything" in order to know life enough to write about it. And he sure had some interesting stories to tell.