Reviews

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

robringer's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bradland's review against another edition

Half way through and the realisation that while fluidly written its a bunch of randomness with no overall point. I keep forgetting where I'm up to and realised I won't remember much at all after reading. George Orwell's trip through the lower socio-economic end of Paris in a similar era was far more interesting.

magpie8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

4.0

Henry Miller is one of few writers who seem to be comfortable writing about sex and yet not make the book pornographic. There is very little by way of plot in here but there are a number of bursts of prose (mostly to effect of how the whole world is one giant gutter and we are just worms in it with STDs) which read like written by James Joyce's teenage son high on weed.

notaturnip's review against another edition

2.0

Jesus dude, just get a job.

negusaurus's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely amazing. Masterful and dark.

andotherworlds's review against another edition

DNF // stopped at around 15% of the way through because good god i could not stand this man any longer - for something so highly lauded and even prefaced by the great anais nin, this was unexpectedly disturbing and obnoxious to even trek much less than half of its full length into

matissrv's review against another edition

5.0

Pats īsti nezinu, kas ar mani notika, lasot šo grāmatu. Beidzu lasīt jau pirms kāda laika, bet pagāja laiciņš, kamēr pārrakstīju datorā 17 word lapas ar citātiem. Nekad iepriekš nebiju neko tādu darījis. Tas apziņas plūsmas, asprātīgo un oriģinālo salīdzinājumu, poētiskās prozas un rupjību sajaukums bija kaut kas neredzēts. Šķiet, vēl nebijusi tuva grāmata, ja vien to tā var nosaukt, jo:
"Bet šī? Šī nav grāmata. Šī ir paskvila, ķengas, cieņas un goda laupīšana. Šī nav grāmata vārda parastajā nozīmē. Nē, šis ir izvērsts apvainojums, spļāviens Mākslai sejā, spēriens pa dibenu Dievam, Cilvēkam, Liktenim, Laikam, Mīlestībai, Skaistumam… kā vēlaties. Es jums dziedāšu, varbūt nedaudz greizi, tomēr dziedāšu. Dziedāšu, kamēr jūs izlaidīsiet garu, dejošu virs jūsu smirdošā līķa. "

robert_bethencourt's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dana7878's review against another edition

2.0

Dnf at 50%... I got further into this absolutely bleak fever dream than I expected to. Every once in a while, Miller would indulge me with some good rhythmic grimey descriptions of the city- but there were Copious amounts of rambling and squalor to wade through in exchange. Think I got the gist after 160 pages. I definitely had to cognitively dissociate from the content to read this book at all, but I guess that's to be expected given the uproar it caused. At least now I know how lucky I am to not be living in Paris in the 30s.