Tropic of Cancer details Henry's Miller's take on la vie boheme of artists between Paris and New York, mostly, in the 1930s. It describes how an artist survives taking advantage of dimwitted, sometimes well-meaning, quasi-patrons and their money.
One of the main themes is how the main character and whoever he's running with at the time chase and usually catch women. A good deal of the success of the chase seems to be founded in a broke artist's ability to pay as little as possible to women who can be caught for the right price. I'm not even sure what to make of the manner with which Mr. Miller refers to women.
Most of the time he drops the c-bomb when referring to women. In particular, he drops the carpet c-bombs early in the book. I read on the back of the book that Tropic of Cancer was banned as obscene for 27 years after its publication in 1934 in Paris. I wouldn't be surprised if the rapid fire usage of the c word was a big reason why.
I have a five-year-old daughter and I'll admit that I cringed when I first read it because I felt it was degrading to women. Now that I think about it, given that so many of them were hookers, perhaps the women had beat Mr. Miller to it by degrading themselves. In either case, my judgment is in full swing if I conclude either way.
So I kept reading through the early parts, in many ways because I thought it was "controversial". I proved to myself again that controversial doesn't always mean interesting. I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting. I can't even quite tell you exactly what the book was about.
The best parts for me were nestled in between really long (and long-winded) paragraphs wherein Mr. Miller described people, events and places that didn't engage me into the story. A few of the better parts/quotes I read:
- In describing an artist he wrote: "An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what an artist needs is loneliness." I like the idea, but candidly, the italicized is feels arrogant and if it's not meant to be ironic, it isn't nor is it funny. Continued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2
Article comments
1 - Mohjho
"For me, I wish that I could take a mulligan on my time forever lost reading Tropic of Cancer."
Know what you mean, kind of like reading your review.
2 - Henry Rychlicki
We all Like and Love Hery Miller, Todays The New Living Henry Is Henry Joseph Rychlicki
Author Of Fragments Of My Life A Sex Fiction
3 - Henry Rychlicki
We all Like and Love Henry Miller, Todays The New Living Henry Is Henry Joseph Rychlicki
Author Of Fragments Of My Life A Sex Fiction
4 - Henry Joseph Rychlicki
Henry Valentin Miller Quote
What holds the world together, as I have learned from bitter experience, is sexual intercourse.
Henry Miller
Henry Joseph Rychlicki Quote
If a woman wants you she will have you
Henry Joseph Rychlicki
5 - Janine
Tim Taylor you have an orthographical mistake, its bohème. I disagree with you maybe it is your age showing but I am young and female and I really enjoyed reading Tropic of Cancer. Henry Miller changed the way I thought about things. He has passion and there is a way he sculpts reality with his interpretations of people. Your review should be removed!
6 - bliffle
Miller was a comic writer and nothing is more comic than human sexuality. He was unique.
7 - David
Henry Miller is overrated----does not come close to Fitzgerald, Fante, Bukowski, Hemingway, Woolf, Selby Jr, Easton ellis, or McInerney---it times he's ok--at others---boring.
8 - David
Henry Miller is overrated----does not come close to Fitzgerald, Fante, Bukowski, Hemingway, Woolf, Selby Jr, Easton ellis, or McInerney---at times he's ok--at others---boring.
9 - Sarah Bryan
Miller is not comparable to Woolf, or Fitzgerald. While any of the authors perviously cited are "previous" or "classics", that is their only similarity. The writings, and the life philosophies contained in the previously cited author's works are distinctly separate if not juxtaposing and should under no condition be read with similar criticism. Tropic of Cancer was not a book designed to be read with "love, understanding, and compassion." Such frivolous nonsense belongs perhaps should be left to victorian era works.
10 - stevemister
he is good, when he's good