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shauny_32 's review for:
Quiet Days in Clichy
by Henry Miller
My 20th book by Henry Miller. Quiet Days in Clichy is set around the same time as Tropic of Cancer, which is Miller’s most famous work, and what made him notorious in 1934.
For those who don’t know, Henry Miller (1891-1980), was an American author who travelled from New York to Paris and ending up living there for almost ten years. A number of his works including Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and Sexus, Plexus, Nexus, are highly explicit, some of which could be considered slightly misogynistic, and downright vulgar.
However, he’s much more than this. His books also contain moments of sublime beauty and sensitivity. Miller knows the error of his ways, especially later in life.
Quiet Days in Clichy was published in 1956. At this point in his life, he was living in Big Sur, California, and had written a number of books that demonstrated he could write more than erotism. Anyone who actually read the Tropic novels would know this already, as they focus on many themes, but The Colossus of Maroussi, A Devil In Paradise, and Insomnia are exquisite, and deeply moving accounts of his life that aren't explicit in any way.
Clichy re-treads his hedonistic ways, and somewhat feels like a collection of deleted scenes from his early exploits in Paris. This is by no means a negative quality. The prose is as beautiful as any he’s ever written. There’s something so intoxicating about the way he expresses himself.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve read reviews from readers that were apprehensive to try him at first, but were pleasantly surprised to find a tender, and at times, fragile individual, capable of expressing himself gracefully.
You could argue that it’s less essential than, say, the Tropic novels, but it could also be recommended as a good place to test Miller as it’s not too long, and easily digestible.
"Just live. What an idea. What a sane idea. It's an idea I've never flirted with. To accomplish it, one must have an empty mind, or else a full, rich one. It would be better to have an empty mind."
For those who don’t know, Henry Miller (1891-1980), was an American author who travelled from New York to Paris and ending up living there for almost ten years. A number of his works including Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and Sexus, Plexus, Nexus, are highly explicit, some of which could be considered slightly misogynistic, and downright vulgar.
However, he’s much more than this. His books also contain moments of sublime beauty and sensitivity. Miller knows the error of his ways, especially later in life.
Quiet Days in Clichy was published in 1956. At this point in his life, he was living in Big Sur, California, and had written a number of books that demonstrated he could write more than erotism. Anyone who actually read the Tropic novels would know this already, as they focus on many themes, but The Colossus of Maroussi, A Devil In Paradise, and Insomnia are exquisite, and deeply moving accounts of his life that aren't explicit in any way.
Clichy re-treads his hedonistic ways, and somewhat feels like a collection of deleted scenes from his early exploits in Paris. This is by no means a negative quality. The prose is as beautiful as any he’s ever written. There’s something so intoxicating about the way he expresses himself.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve read reviews from readers that were apprehensive to try him at first, but were pleasantly surprised to find a tender, and at times, fragile individual, capable of expressing himself gracefully.
You could argue that it’s less essential than, say, the Tropic novels, but it could also be recommended as a good place to test Miller as it’s not too long, and easily digestible.
"Just live. What an idea. What a sane idea. It's an idea I've never flirted with. To accomplish it, one must have an empty mind, or else a full, rich one. It would be better to have an empty mind."