Who Would Like This Book:
Tropic of Capricorn is a wild, unapologetically raw ride through Miller’s early life in New York. Fans of boundary-pushing, poetic prose and autobiography will be drawn to its vivid, sometimes hallucinatory recounting of life in the 1930s. If you appreciate literary experimentation, candid explorations of the self, and don’t mind a hefty dose of existential reflection, this book might be right up your alley. Writers, fans of Beat literature, or anyone intrigued by the grittier streets of modernist literature should take note.
Who May Not Like This Book:
This book definitely isn’t for everyone! If you’re looking for a tight plot, sympathetic characters, or shy away from explicit content and provocative language, you may find Miller’s style off-putting. The stream-of-consciousness structure, philosophical tangents, and rampant misogyny have left many readers alienated or outright disgusted. Some find the latter half especially meandering, self-indulgent, or just plain dull. If you prefer stories with clear structure and likable leads, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
About:
'Tropic of Capricorn' by Henry Miller is a novel that delves into the life and experiences of the author, exploring themes of disillusionment, sexual escapades, and the rejection of societal norms. Through a stream of consciousness narrative, Miller paints a vivid picture of his early days working in New York and the eventual move to Paris as an expatriate. The book is characterized by detailed descriptions of personal experiences, including relationships, work, and reflections on life in the 1930s.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include explicit sexual content, misogyny, mental health themes, and depictions of abuse.
Has Romance?
While there are romantic and sexual encounters throughout the book, they serve more as exploration of Miller's philosophy than traditional romance.
From The Publisher:
Banned in America for almost thirty years because of its explicit sexual content, this companion volume to Miller's Tropic of Cancer chronicles his life in 1920s New York City. Famous for its frank portrayal of life in Brooklyn's ethnic neighborhoods and Miller's outrageous sexual exploits, The Tropic of Capricorn is now considered a cornerstone of modern literature.
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Tropic of Capricorn?
About the Author:
Henry Miller was born in New York City on December 26, 1891. Miller briefly attended City College of New York, but abandoned his university studies after only two months. In 1930 Miller traveled to Paris, where he stayed until 1940. During this period he was financed by his lover and fellow writer, Anaïs Nin, who helped him obtain a first printing of the celebrated and controversial Tropic of Cancer (1934); the book was banned in the United States at the time Grove Press printed it in 1961, which promptly initiated a costly, but successful, Supreme Court case to overrule the ban.
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