Tropic of Cancer
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- Create Date：2021-04-14 14:56:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Henry Miller
- ISBN：0141399139
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Summary
Shocking， banned and the subject of obscenity trials， Henry Miller's first novel Tropic of Cancer is one of the most scandalous and influential books of the twentieth century -- new to Penguin Modern Classics with a cover by Tracey Emin
Tropic of Cancer redefined the novel。 Set in Paris in the 1930s， it features a starving American writer who lives a bohemian life among prostitutes， pimps， and artists。 Banned in the US and the UK for more than thirty years because it was considered pornographic， Tropic of Cancer continued to be distributed in France and smuggled into other countries。 When it was first published in the US in 1961， it led to more than 60 obscenity trials until a historic ruling by the Supreme Court defined it as a work of literature。 Long hailed as a truly liberating book， daring and uncompromising， Tropic of Cancer is a cornerstone of modern literature that asks us to reconsider everything we know about art， freedom， and morality。
'At last an unprintable book that is fit to read' Ezra Pound
'A momentous event in the history of modern writing' Samuel Beckett
'The book that forever changed the way American literature would be written' Erica Jong
Tropic of Cancer redefined the novel。 Set in Paris in the 1930s， it features a starving American writer who lives a bohemian life among prostitutes， pimps， and artists。 Banned in the US and the UK for more than thirty years because it was considered pornographic， Tropic of Cancer continued to be distributed in France and smuggled into other countries。 When it was first published in the US in 1961， it led to more than 60 obscenity trials until a historic ruling by the Supreme Court defined it as a work of literature。 Long hailed as a truly liberating book， daring and uncompromising， Tropic of Cancer is a cornerstone of modern literature that asks us to reconsider everything we know about art， freedom， and morality。
'At last an unprintable book that is fit to read' Ezra Pound
'A momentous event in the history of modern writing' Samuel Beckett
'The book that forever changed the way American literature would be written' Erica Jong
Reviews
that_reading_life
，
Surreal and at times slightly ridiculous。 Miller was a genius with a fascinating life and mind。 The whole book is like a surrealist fever dream of Paris， sex， and madness。 •Also， this is my semi-formal plea to Goodreads to make a change to the book's page because from everything I've seen it makes more sense for 'Tropic of Cancer' to be read first。 •I've wanted to read 'Tropic of Cancer' for years and finally tracking down a copy and reading it was pure joy and bliss。 Surreal and at times slightly ridiculous。 Miller was a genius with a fascinating life and mind。 The whole book is like a surrealist fever dream of Paris， sex， and madness。 •Also， this is my semi-formal plea to Goodreads to make a change to the book's page because from everything I've seen it makes more sense for 'Tropic of Cancer' to be read first。 •I've wanted to read 'Tropic of Cancer' for years and finally tracking down a copy and reading it was pure joy and bliss。 。。。more
Letraheridos
，
Canon Letraheridos Revista #16 （abril de 2021）。
Jo
，
Well。1。 I don't think I have ever read the C-word as many times in my entire life as I did in this book。2。 His esoteric poetic philosophical ramblings reminded me of things my students write when they are trying to sound smart and meet a word requirement- lots to say but hard to find the substance。3。 I really don't like nonlinear storytelling， but when there was actually a story to be had at various places， I found the narratives somewhat engaging。 But then， in the next breath， there we go into Well。1。 I don't think I have ever read the C-word as many times in my entire life as I did in this book。2。 His esoteric poetic philosophical ramblings reminded me of things my students write when they are trying to sound smart and meet a word requirement- lots to say but hard to find the substance。3。 I really don't like nonlinear storytelling， but when there was actually a story to be had at various places， I found the narratives somewhat engaging。 But then， in the next breath， there we go into stream of thought pablum。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Not until I finished this book did I realize that it was the second book in the series。 This might explain why I had no idea what was going on at any point in time （but I don't think that fully explains it）。 Fortunately， I love having no idea what's going on。After being born into its pages and forced to acclimate to Miller's dense， abstract， shifting prose， I found myself in a world of both pure beauty and ugly truth， glued together by thick cosmic humor。 The ugly truth being his repulsive misog Not until I finished this book did I realize that it was the second book in the series。 This might explain why I had no idea what was going on at any point in time （but I don't think that fully explains it）。 Fortunately， I love having no idea what's going on。After being born into its pages and forced to acclimate to Miller's dense， abstract， shifting prose， I found myself in a world of both pure beauty and ugly truth， glued together by thick cosmic humor。 The ugly truth being his repulsive misogyny （whether this was his actual personality or an embellished character， irrelevant）。 This almost ruined it for me， but around that I found some of the most wild， enthralling prose that painted pictures and challenged my mind like a puzzle。 I found myself wanting to re-read nearly every page， as it could not be fully absorbed or decoded on the first pass。The dated tropes and attitudes expressed in the book are reprehensible， though sold with tongue-in-cheek。 Casual fiction and story or character-driven readers should avoid this at all costs。 Gnarled prose lovers may nonetheless raise this as your holy grail。 。。。more
Jesica Taranto
，
No sé cómo no había leído antes a Henry Miller。 Creía que Anaïs Nin podría haber estado un poco enceguecida por él y tenía mis prejuicios pero lo cierto es que， si bien no es lo que esperaba （creí que sería mucho más sexual） este libro me pareció fascinante。Es un libro hermoso lleno de reflexiones sobre la vida （mayormente parisina y en otra época pero en varios aspectos permanece actual y universal）， el sexo， el trabajo， el arte。。。Se lo siente muy carnal， escrito con el cuerpo， a flor de piel， No sé cómo no había leído antes a Henry Miller。 Creía que Anaïs Nin podría haber estado un poco enceguecida por él y tenía mis prejuicios pero lo cierto es que， si bien no es lo que esperaba （creí que sería mucho más sexual） este libro me pareció fascinante。Es un libro hermoso lleno de reflexiones sobre la vida （mayormente parisina y en otra época pero en varios aspectos permanece actual y universal）， el sexo， el trabajo， el arte。。。Se lo siente muy carnal， escrito con el cuerpo， a flor de piel， sin miedo a apelar al costado más salvaje y sucio。Pienso que a lo mejor llegó a mí cuando tenía que llegar。 。。。more
Zach Alfred
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I've read a lot of great books lately， several of which revealed themselves to be wonderful only once I had gotten through the first few dozen pages。 And so I gave Tropic of Cancer the same chance。 It was not until the closing pages though， where Miller， breaking the trust of a friend， stealing from a pregnant woman， confirms himself as the scoundrel that he is and also confirms that it was a mistake to dedicate several hours of my life to this so-called 'classic'。And to be clear， I am not a pru I've read a lot of great books lately， several of which revealed themselves to be wonderful only once I had gotten through the first few dozen pages。 And so I gave Tropic of Cancer the same chance。 It was not until the closing pages though， where Miller， breaking the trust of a friend， stealing from a pregnant woman， confirms himself as the scoundrel that he is and also confirms that it was a mistake to dedicate several hours of my life to this so-called 'classic'。And to be clear， I am not a prude。 I have read and appreciated many works by beat writers like Kerouac， Burroughs and Ginsberg。 I sort of expected Miller's writing to feel like a pre-cursor to the beat writers， but it did not feel like that， with Miller lacking both their charm and redemptive qualities。No， Miller is a racist， misogynistic reprobate。 While I don't think one should apply a 21st century lens to a book written in the 1930s， I also don't think one needs to be particularly woke to find Miller's writing tedious， offensive， and， worst of all， boring。 。。。more
Socrate
，
Locuiesc la Villa Borghese。 Nicăieri nu e niciun fir de praf， niciun scaun mişcat de la locul lui。 Suntem singuri aici şi suntem morţi。Aseară， Boris a descoperit că are păduchi。 A trebuit să-l bărbieresc la subţiori şi chiar şi atunci mâncărimea nu i-a dat pace。 Cum poate cineva să facă păduchi într-un peisaj atât de frumos？ Dar ce contează？ Poate că nu ne-am fi apropiat niciodată atât de mult unul de altul， Boris şi cu mine， dacă n-ar fi fost păduchii。Boris tocmai mi-a prezentat pe scurt ideile Locuiesc la Villa Borghese。 Nicăieri nu e niciun fir de praf， niciun scaun mişcat de la locul lui。 Suntem singuri aici şi suntem morţi。Aseară， Boris a descoperit că are păduchi。 A trebuit să-l bărbieresc la subţiori şi chiar şi atunci mâncărimea nu i-a dat pace。 Cum poate cineva să facă păduchi într-un peisaj atât de frumos？ Dar ce contează？ Poate că nu ne-am fi apropiat niciodată atât de mult unul de altul， Boris şi cu mine， dacă n-ar fi fost păduchii。Boris tocmai mi-a prezentat pe scurt ideile lui。 Prezice starea vremii。 Vremea va fi în continuare nefavorabilă， spune el。 Or să mai fie calamităţi， moarte， disperare。 Nicăieri nu e nici cea mai vagă urmă de schimbare。 Cancerul timpului ne mănâncă。 Eroii noştri s-au sinucis sau se sinucid acum。 Deci eroul nu este timpul， ci atemporalitatea。 Trebuie să ţinem pasul spre puşcăria morţii。 Nu există scăpare。 Vremea n-o să se schimbe。E toamna celui de-al doilea an pe care-l petrec la Paris。 Am fost trimis aici pentru un motiv pe care n-am fost încă în stare să-l dibui。N-am bani deloc， nici resurse sau speranţe。 Sunt cel mai fericit om de pe pământ。 Acum un an， acum sase luni de zile， credeam că sunt artist。 。。。more
EmmaPorzee
，
The books are totally deserving。 I loved them， and I think they are must read。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Laura KJ
，
If Miller was truly like he presented himself， no wonder he divorced five times。 What an odious， boorish man。 He may be the worst character/representation I’ve ever read。The introduction gushed about how he was one of the best American authors， and that boggles my mind。 What is there to like about this book？ How horribly he treated his wife or his friends？ How he’s a leech， a lecher， and a liar？ How there’s no plot other than “watch me be horrible with money and mistreat people”？ I loathed it， a If Miller was truly like he presented himself， no wonder he divorced five times。 What an odious， boorish man。 He may be the worst character/representation I’ve ever read。The introduction gushed about how he was one of the best American authors， and that boggles my mind。 What is there to like about this book？ How horribly he treated his wife or his friends？ How he’s a leech， a lecher， and a liar？ How there’s no plot other than “watch me be horrible with money and mistreat people”？ I loathed it， and I didn’t even touch on the near-constant misogyny。 。。。more
Jeff Mayo
，
Miller kicked around Paris in 1930 and had sex。 A lot of it。 But none of this is particularly erotic。 It's depressing。 Other than basic hedonism， which I would not necessarily be opposed to （just don't call it erotica）， its point was lost on me。 Miller kicked around Paris in 1930 and had sex。 A lot of it。 But none of this is particularly erotic。 It's depressing。 Other than basic hedonism， which I would not necessarily be opposed to （just don't call it erotica）， its point was lost on me。 。。。more
Marek
，
My main emotions when I reached the end of this audiobook were relief and joy that I was now free to move on to something else。In my reading， Miller is painfully aware of himself as a writer， and the book oozes with his unspoken belief that he is doing something new and important for "literature"。 I personally don't enjoy his style nor his subject matter， but I can appreciate that what he did was revolutionary and "important"。 I feel the same way about Jimi Hendrix。There are some moments of surp My main emotions when I reached the end of this audiobook were relief and joy that I was now free to move on to something else。In my reading， Miller is painfully aware of himself as a writer， and the book oozes with his unspoken belief that he is doing something new and important for "literature"。 I personally don't enjoy his style nor his subject matter， but I can appreciate that what he did was revolutionary and "important"。 I feel the same way about Jimi Hendrix。There are some moments of surprising poetic bliss though， when out of the self-obsessed stream of consciousness emerges an equally obsessive but romantic and lyrical ode to sexual desire and rapture。I feel there is a connection with writers such as Hunter S Thompson and Charles Bukowski。 。。。more
Mihika
，
Henry Miller's Paris is the Paris of Balzac， Zola， Sartre and Camus。 It is the Paris I first fell in love with growing up， and really has nothing to do with an existing tangible city。 It is the Paris of art and artists， sex and sensuality， fever and ferment， comprising all extremes and no comfort - "the whole gamut from the abyss to the stars"。 It is obscene， tragic， a watercolour of madness and ecstasy。 His writing style is beautiful and flows from one to the other， back and forth in time and Henry Miller's Paris is the Paris of Balzac， Zola， Sartre and Camus。 It is the Paris I first fell in love with growing up， and really has nothing to do with an existing tangible city。 It is the Paris of art and artists， sex and sensuality， fever and ferment， comprising all extremes and no comfort - "the whole gamut from the abyss to the stars"。 It is obscene， tragic， a watercolour of madness and ecstasy。 His writing style is beautiful and flows from one to the other， back and forth in time and space。 It is written with a sharp sense of humour that doesn't take itself too seriously， like when a prostitute bends over in front of him and as he looks down， he is taken into a Proustian flashback of the whole world from Van Gogh to the journey of the creative artist giving a whole new meaning to tunnel vision！ I read and re-read certain pages as they were really beautifully written， and essentially a surreal insight into the journey of creating art。 I understand why people could dislike it though， but Miller also gives flesh and reason to this aspect of morality。 He describes the artist as someone who is 'inhumane' and does not belong to men and governments; as someone who， just as he feels the horns sprouting from his temples must "stand up on the high place with gibberish in his mouth and rip out his entrails"。 He must fling out his torn bowels and "anything that falls short of this frightening spectacle， anything less shuddering， less terrifying， less mad， less intoxicated， less contaminated， is not art。 The rest is counterfeit。"'Tropic of Cancer' is a love letter painted across the bowels of Paris， from Miller， with love and squalor。 。。。more
Sam
，
wow。 unrivaled in its lyricism and its profanity。 i was actually agape at some points。 a genuine masterpiece。 "I have no money， no resources， no hopes。 I am the happiest man alive。""No matter where you go， no matter what you touch， there is cancer and syphilis。 It is written into the sky; it flames and dances， like an evil portent。 It has eaten our souls and we are nothing but a dead thing like the moon。""Love and hate， despair， pity， rage， disgust -- what are these amidst the fornications of th wow。 unrivaled in its lyricism and its profanity。 i was actually agape at some points。 a genuine masterpiece。 "I have no money， no resources， no hopes。 I am the happiest man alive。""No matter where you go， no matter what you touch， there is cancer and syphilis。 It is written into the sky; it flames and dances， like an evil portent。 It has eaten our souls and we are nothing but a dead thing like the moon。""Love and hate， despair， pity， rage， disgust -- what are these amidst the fornications of the planets？ What is war， disease， cruelty， terror， when night presents the ecstasy of myriad blazing suns？ What is this chaff we chew in our sleep if it is not the remembrance of fang whorl and star cluster。""When I look down into this fucked-out cunt of a whore I feel the whole world beneath me， a world tottering and crumbling， a world used up and polished like a leper's skull。" 。。。more
Jaeden Palanog
，
The story is powerful， I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Serhiy
，
Епізод， де індус насрав у біде — одне з найсильніших моїх літературних вражень останнього часу
Sheffner
，
Remarkable book。 The smut in it detracts rather but it’s all part of Miller’s intense experience of life and many of the sex scenes are either hilarious or fantasy-realism。 Miller at some point in his life had an awakening experience and found artistic and personal freedom: he could write about anything！ I must admit I didn’t understand much of this novel but the author/narrator’s zest bursts through。 Towards the end， there’s a more relatable episode where Miller gets a job at a boarding school Remarkable book。 The smut in it detracts rather but it’s all part of Miller’s intense experience of life and many of the sex scenes are either hilarious or fantasy-realism。 Miller at some point in his life had an awakening experience and found artistic and personal freedom: he could write about anything！ I must admit I didn’t understand much of this novel but the author/narrator’s zest bursts through。 Towards the end， there’s a more relatable episode where Miller gets a job at a boarding school in Dijon。 Miller’s antipathy to formal education and learning the Western canon is on full display。 A revealing scene: Miller notices that in the rooms where parents are entertained there are busts of Corneille， Racine， Voltaire， but none of Villon， Rabelais， Rimbaud。 As Miller finds the three former boring and is interested in the latter， this tells you all you need to know about Miller and what he thinks of the school and of formal education in general。 。。。more
Alfred
，
Der literarische Wert dieses Buches hat sich mir nicht gezeigt。 Ich fand es ein frauenverachtendes， pseudointellektuelles Geplappers eines selbstverliebten Versagers。 Das Buch war für mich weder unterhaltend， noch zum Nachdenken anregend， sondern einfach nur mühsam und langweilig。
Valeriu Gherghel
，
„E mai bine să faci greșeli decît să nu faci nimic: It’s better to make mistakes than not do anything” （p。274）。 Poți citi romanul lui Miller de la orice pagină înainte （numai de la ultima nu se poate）， eu am început cu pagina 96， am mers vijelios pînă la 105， am sărit înapoi la pagina 33， am urcat pînă la 48 și am sărit din nou la pagina 176， unde e o petrecere în toi cu muzici， dansuri， șampanie， Pernod。 Și tot așa。 Cînd am acoperit toate paginile， mi-am făcut o impresie。 Nu v-o spun。。。Există că „E mai bine să faci greșeli decît să nu faci nimic: It’s better to make mistakes than not do anything” （p。274）。 Poți citi romanul lui Miller de la orice pagină înainte （numai de la ultima nu se poate）， eu am început cu pagina 96， am mers vijelios pînă la 105， am sărit înapoi la pagina 33， am urcat pînă la 48 și am sărit din nou la pagina 176， unde e o petrecere în toi cu muzici， dansuri， șampanie， Pernod。 Și tot așa。 Cînd am acoperit toate paginile， mi-am făcut o impresie。 Nu v-o spun。。。Există cărți， așadar， care pot fi străbătute și în acest chip。 Asta înseamnă că nu au cele trei momente canonice: începutul， cuprinsul și încheierea， ci sînt construite， asemenea romanului lui Italo Calvino， numai din începuturi， fără punct culminant și fără prăbușiri。 Personajele lui Miller au o viață egală， monotonă， repetitivă， toate așteaptă ceva （o epifanie， succesul， o căsătorie cu o prințesă putred de bogată， proaspăt venită din Rusia sau Polonia）， dar pînă la urmă nu se întîmplă nimic semnificativ （nimeni nu moare înjungiat）， existența e o eternă revenire a identicului， ca la Nietzsche。 Ca o boemă。。。Sigur， ceva tot se petrece în carte。 Protagonistul， de pildă， scrie cînd are chef și inspirație， se plimbă pe străzile din Paris， flămînzește， visează， își aduce aminte （pp。37-46）。 Cînd au bani， destul de rar， personajele se pun pe băut și pe mîncat （fiindcă foamea le urmărește necruțătoare）， merg prin baruri， cafenele， taverne， prin stabilimente （unde discută cu patroana doar chestiuni duhovnicești）， sau ajung în pensiuni ieftine pentru o partidă de sex sordid cu o prostituată - Germanine， Claude， Ginette etc。 - sau cu o doamnă din înalta aristocrație americană， al cărei soț e paralizat și nu-i mai folosește la nimic。 Principiul acestei lumi de indivizi mediocri， de exilați la marginea societății， de excluși， de paraziți pare a fi următorul: „Parisul este ca o curvă” （p。188）。Limbajul cărții nu mai este perceput de mult ca obscen （în vremea tipăririi era）。 Din perspectiva noastră， Henry Miller e un pudic。 Astăzi nimeni nu mai bagă în seamă îndrăznelile scriitorilor， treaba lor， ceea ce contează， în fond și la urma urmei， e valoarea și numai valoarea cărții。 Ca să închei， romanul lui Miller e neîndoielnic valoros， chiar dacă nu e pe gustul meu。P。 S。 Am notat trei citate care m-au pus pe gînduri。 Pe primul nu l-am înțeles:„El îi cade în poală și stă acolo tremurînd ca o durere de dinți: He falls on her lap and lies there quivering like a toothache” （p。36）。„Fanny rîde și rîde ca un vierme gras: Fanny is laughing， laughing like a fat worm” （p。37）。„Sena curge atît de lin încît abia dacă-i simți prezența。 E întotdeauna acolo， liniștită și discretă， ca o mare arteră curgînd prin trupul omului: So quietly flows the Seine that one hardly notices its presence。 It is always there， quiet and unobtrusive， like a great artery running through the human body” （p。285）。 。。。more
Ollie
，
The error is to swallow the book literally。 Embrace the tapestry of life woven to form the whole。
Jean Paul Kasse
，
Sexo y bohemia en la primera mitad del siglo XX， un episodio en la vida del propio Miller （¿Bukowski dónde？） un libro interesante pero que puede sentirse cansón por momentos， quizá por la edad， sin embargo， muy relevante por el periodo en que fue escrito y su lenguaje。
Igor Gligorijevic
，
3/10
Wanda Festi
，
Che fatica。 Piccoli sprazzi di considerazioni interessanti tra pile e pile di stronzate （abbastanza letteralmente）。È， diciamo， invecchiato un po' male。L'ennesima gran epopea del maschio bianco etero， non proprio interessante in questo momento storico， sicuramente trasgressivo negli anni '30。Bah， se estrapolato dal contesto di pubblicazione perde il 70% della sua sostanza。 Che fatica。 Piccoli sprazzi di considerazioni interessanti tra pile e pile di stronzate （abbastanza letteralmente）。È， diciamo， invecchiato un po' male。L'ennesima gran epopea del maschio bianco etero， non proprio interessante in questo momento storico， sicuramente trasgressivo negli anni '30。Bah， se estrapolato dal contesto di pubblicazione perde il 70% della sua sostanza。 。。。more
Mark Isaacs
，
I always thought the sexual revolution exploded during the Summer of Love in 1967 。。。 until I read this book。 Miller's faithful account of his debauched， profligate， SEX-SOAKED days in Paris in the early 1930s shows that it had long kicked into high gear then and there， more than 30 years before "free love" became the mantra of coming-of-age boomers eager to make it with every Tom， Dick and Mary who crossed their paths。 Yes， this "autobiographical novel" opened my naive， boomer-centric eyes and I always thought the sexual revolution exploded during the Summer of Love in 1967 。。。 until I read this book。 Miller's faithful account of his debauched， profligate， SEX-SOAKED days in Paris in the early 1930s shows that it had long kicked into high gear then and there， more than 30 years before "free love" became the mantra of coming-of-age boomers eager to make it with every Tom， Dick and Mary who crossed their paths。 Yes， this "autobiographical novel" opened my naive， boomer-centric eyes and is incomparably arousing， titillating and beautifully written to boot， yet I cannot in good conscience give it more than three stars because of vicious debasements of women， Jews and Blacks that Miller litters throughout his luring and lurid narrative。 Other than primitive shock value， there was no need or justification to trash women， Jews and Blacks as he so savagely does—his book would have been just as powerful without casting such vicious aspersions upon them。 It's too bad I feel this way because without the ugly slanders I would have dashed to the library to check out his Tropic of Capricorn and his Rose Crucifixion trilogy， but now I cannot bring myself to read them without feeling like a misogynist， anti-Semite and racist。 A shame。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
This book is simply put， fire。 The language， the style of writing。。。 it's beautiful and shocking to read even now， I can't imagine when it was actually published。 It's a story about nothing and everything， and I most admire the honesty with which it's written （with a little bit of magical whimsy dashed in）。 This book is simply put， fire。 The language， the style of writing。。。 it's beautiful and shocking to read even now， I can't imagine when it was actually published。 It's a story about nothing and everything， and I most admire the honesty with which it's written （with a little bit of magical whimsy dashed in）。 。。。more
Ben Franklin
，
Didn’t get itSupposed to be one of the great novels， it seems more like mindless drivel。 This is a great novel in the same way a Pollack is a great painting。 My apologies if you love Pollock。
Joanna
，
I almost gave up on this book because the main character was so hateful， but in the end Miller manages to make it interesting enough that you actually want to know what happens to that a$$h（）le。
Jerry
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This review is trickier to write than I would have thought。 Tropic of Cancer is one of the works from the Twentieth Century cannon about which one can already form an opinion， positive or negative， simply through osmosis as it were， given the amount of attention that it has generated for itself in the almost ninety years since its publication。 Already my mentioning the book as part of a "cannon" reveals my perception of its status as implicit required reading for anyone who cares about those kin This review is trickier to write than I would have thought。 Tropic of Cancer is one of the works from the Twentieth Century cannon about which one can already form an opinion， positive or negative， simply through osmosis as it were， given the amount of attention that it has generated for itself in the almost ninety years since its publication。 Already my mentioning the book as part of a "cannon" reveals my perception of its status as implicit required reading for anyone who cares about those kinds of things。 Feeling late to the party with my own exploration of Miller， my earlier ignorance of this work gradually morphed into general apathy toward reading it。 Finally， after a few decades of inaction， I broke my stubbornness and decided to give it a slog。The reason this review is tricker to write than I would have thought is because I was unable to finish the book。 I'm posting one based simply on what I know so far。 Apologies to anyone who is annoyed by my burying this fact a paragraph in; however the material reasons why I couldn't finish this book tell me almost more than what I learned by reading it， so please bear with me if you have the patience for an "extra-textual" review。First， what I've learned what I've learned from my reading: Is this book as dated and cringe-worthy as one might expect， just from the reputation that precedes it？ Yes。 For the first hundred pages or so I expected that this would be a 2-star review。 On further consideration， however， and particularly in comparison with solidly 2-star and abundantly more cringe-worthy books like The Possibility of an Island， I came to conclude that Miller had achieved something slightly higher。 I found that Miller is capable of flights of genuinely elegiac prose。Another thing that I was surprised to learn about this book is how much it anticipated the themes and styles of the Beat Generation writers with whom I am much more familiar。 Specifically I am thinking of the passages where the narrative slips seamlessly into hallucinatory scenes of visionary horror -- whether Miller is trying to impart the sense of what it feels to be hallucinating from hunger pangs， or expressing the darkest humor he can bring to bear on an absurd situation in which is participating as a detached observer。 A few of its passages recalled me to the atmosphere of Naked Lunch， which was published two decades after Tropic of Cancer， and is regarded as "revolutionary for its time" by several。Yet the most surprising thing to me about this book is the way that I lost access to it。 It is not about what's in the book， but about the curious circumstances of the public's appetite toward it， and this is what made the review so tricky to write， because I would not want to post a review of the book without mentioning it。A few months in to the pandemic， I am gaining good momentum working through the backlog of novels and literature that I had put off reading while there was other life to be lived。 As mentioned， Tropic of Cancer belongs to vague canon in my mind， and at some point I open the Brooklyn Public Library's app and reserve a copy。 The confirmation message indicates there are seventy or eight holds ahead of mine on the wait list。 I didn't spend too much time thinking it; the BPL online catalog is pretty clunky anyway。 Seven or eight months later， I receive an email stating that Tropic of Cancer is waiting for me at the Central Branch。 A few days later I begin my journey through Miller's magnum opus lackadaisically， consuming a chapter or so every few evenings。 Sometimes I cringe。 Sometimes I smile。 All the while I am lazily forming the sentiments set forth earlier in this review。 Another email notification arrives saying that the book is due in a few days。 I try to renew it， but am unable to; there are too many pending holds from other PBL patrons。Wait a second。 Tropic of Cancer has been in general circulation for sixty years -- once its ban for reasons of obscenity was lifted。 One would expect the geneal excitement to have worn off by now。 There are dozens of branches of the Brooklyn Public Library， several of which have at least one copy of the magnum opus of this native Brooklyn son。 Yet there are so many Brooklynites （or just New Yorkers？） wanting to read this book right now that the wait list wraps all the way around the year and there's a limit of zero renewals per checkout--？ As an immediate point of comparison， there is no wait list for a copy of Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone， and there is no problem renewing the copy that one has checked out if their kids happen to be a lackadaisical audience for contemporary YA fiction。I find this all rather curious， as if the zeitgeist of the lost generation has invisibly returned。After a bit reflection， the most succinct expression of my sentiment toward this work is reflected in a simple matrix of yes/no questions: would I like to finish this book sometime？ Yes， probably。 Is it worth owning a copy just to finish it？ No， certainly no。 Am I willing to wait another year for a library hold to come in？ Nope！ 。。。more
sageshelves
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delicious writing with revolting accounts of gender and sexI would definitely read more from Miller 3。5 stars
Natalia Young
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Four stars if reading while cripplingly depressed， two if reading during a time of emotional stability
Gary Bengier
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While enjoying the Masterpiece Theatre show， The Durrells in Corfu， I was fascinated enough by the portrayal of Henry Miller to pick up a copy of Tropic of Cancer。 This， his first major work， published in 1934， was only available in France for many years， and mainly became famous （or infamous） because it was banned as pornographic in much of the world。 It finally was permitted in the US in 1961 after an obscenity trial deemed it to be literary， and the ruling led to changes in US laws。In the int While enjoying the Masterpiece Theatre show， The Durrells in Corfu， I was fascinated enough by the portrayal of Henry Miller to pick up a copy of Tropic of Cancer。 This， his first major work， published in 1934， was only available in France for many years， and mainly became famous （or infamous） because it was banned as pornographic in much of the world。 It finally was permitted in the US in 1961 after an obscenity trial deemed it to be literary， and the ruling led to changes in US laws。In the intervening years， our conception of pornography and graphic sexuality has so changed that it is difficult to understand the shock effect at publication。 The four-letter vocabulary and explicit sexuality hardly jolts us today。 With that effect missing， I found the work itself an Emperor without clothes， not finding the supposed literary merit。 Instead， what stands out is the misogyny， the anti-Semitism， the racism; the wandering lack of plot and unlovable characters。 And at its heart， I found a fully unlikable Henry Miller （who wrote the novel from the first-person perspective of a character named Henry Miller， so hardly disguising the autobiographical nature）。 He comes across as an amoral leech off everyone around him， a pompous self-absorbed wannabe “artiste。” Save your literary time for another author and book。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Tropic of Cancer
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Tropic of Cancer&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Tropic of Cancer&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0