Customer Reviews

Books In My Life

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Having returned to Miller after a long hiatus, I've found him significantly less impressive than in my youth; especially that concerns his essays. Nevertheless, he still is kind of grabbing; even though he very frequently irritates; somewhat paradoxically, I keep reading.

"The Books in My Life" I've found fairly good, interesting -- especially the first half of the book. The second becomes rambling and disconnected; also, the size of essays there grows markedly: in fact, I couldn't stomach it and simply thumbed through, reading a couple of pages here and there. But the first part (almost exactly a half) I did find interesting, partly because of the insight it gives into his own psyche and biographical material, partly due to his coverage of writers I simply didn't know before (Blaise Cendrars, for example; I will probably read something by him and others Miller mentions.)

To Miller fans with a taste for his essays, recommended.

I find some of Henry Miller's books to be wonderful and some to be mediocre or downright boring ("Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch," for instance). This book, however, certainly ranks among the wonderful. Any bibliophile or Henry Miller fan (as I am) will find here a treasure of insight relating to books and Henry Miller and other important things. All of Miller's books are essentially about himself and his experience of life, and this one is no exception. As he states in the preface: "The purpose of this book...is to round out the story of my life. It deals with books as a vital experience."

Miller seeks to revive the meaning of books which inspired him and his development as a writer. He goes back to his childhood and talks about his experiences with the Greek plays, "Robinson Crusoe," Rider Haggard, G.A. Henty, and to his youth and Paris years with his reading of Nietzsche, Doestoievsky, Whitman, Balzac, Celine, Cendrars, Rimbaud, Rabelais and others. He dedicates a chapter each to his two French contemporaries, Cendrars and Giono. Blaise Cendrars (born Frederic Sauser) is one of his great literary heros, a man who wrote tons of books of virile autobiographical prose (and poetry, unlike Miller) but seems still rather unknown. Jean Giono lived his whole life in the French provinces, was a pacifist, and wrote on themes concerning nature and humanity. Like Miller, he was only concerned with "la gloire d'etre vivant".

Two other chapters are dedicated to Krishnamurti and Rider Haggard. The chapter on Krishnamurti reveals somewhat Miller's penchant towards the mystical and themes of emancipation and liberation. In the chapter on Rider Haggard Miller expresses the enthusiam and wonder he felt reading Haggard's mystical tale "She" as a boy. He then goes on to "speak of certain revelations concerning my own character and identity which are connected to it." Here Miller questions himself, "why the emphasis, in my works, on crude repetitious experience of life?" and associates Haggard's fictional heroine, Ayesha, with Miller's first wife and inspiration, June: "How very much there was of 'She' in 'Her'...Why, do we not sometimes ask ourselves, why the fatidical beauty in the great heroines of love throughout the ages? Why do they seem so logically and naturally surrounded by death, bolstered by crime, nourished by evil?".

Miller also has much to say on philosophy, art, education, and simply on "how to read and why," to use the title of one of literary critic Harold Bloom's books. On at least one important point, though I suspect on very many points (including the whole idea of Bloom's "The Western Canon"), Miller would take issue with Bloom and his type; he writes: "And this leads me to say how woefully mistaken are those who believe that certain books, because they are universally acknowledged as 'masterpieces,' are the books which alone have power to inspire and nourish us. Every lover of books can name dozens of titles which, because they unlock his soul, because they open his eyes to reality, are for him the golden books. It matters not what evaluation is made of these by scholars and critics, by pundits and authorities: for the man who is touched to the quick by them they are supreme. We do not ask of one who opens our eyes by what authority he acts; we do not demand his credentials." Miller would certainly agree with Oscar Wilde's witty remark: "Oh, it is absurd to have a hard and fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't. More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read."

This wonderful book has had a tremendous impact on my reading and on my life, mainly because of the list Henry put at the end almost as an afterthought: "The Hundred Books That Influenced Me Most". I have been slowly buying and reading these books, many of which I had never heard of (and/or never heard of the authors). In every single instance, they have been remarkable, incredible, mind-blowing, life-changing, and stupendous. The book itself is great fun, and written with Miller's usual masterful command of language, however I must caution prudes to stay away. His storytelling muse it at the height of its powers here, as he recounts his encounters with books, authors, bookshops and women, not necessarily in that order. It is compelling to hear of how Miller's love affair with books began, gained momentum and turned into a lifelong obsession. I recommend this book to you with the greatest possible enthusiasm. Have fun with it!

The reviews below sound as if they were hastily typed by angry homosexuals in a pique that no one appreciates their framed college degrees.

I have read a number of Miller's books over the years, and they are all sprinkled throughout with his insights on the arts--literature, music, painting, architecture, etc. He is a very opinionated observer and an eloquent sponsor of those artists who inspire him.

I came upon "The Books in My Life" in a little, used bookstore a few years ago and would read at it periodically. I found it useful--sort of like a very-well anotated bibliography--and it led me to read the works of some of those mentioned in his appraisals (eg, Krishnamurti, Hamsun).

If you buy into Miller as I do, this book provides good insight into how much of his philosophy was shaped by writers he respected and enjoyed.

Henry Miller's credo seems to be "you are what you read." In 1950 the author of the infamous Tropic books, TROPIC OF CANCER and TROPIC OF CAPRICORN, set out to explicate his life in terms of the books that influenced him. THE BOOKS IN MY LIFE lunges about, talking about his influences, the writers he championed and his many prejudices (forget Shakespeare and formal education). It's a bit like the film "My Dinner With Andre," which succeeds as long as you think the conversation is brilliant and not overly egocentric. Miller thinks it is brilliant.

To be honest, I spent a lot of time asking myself, Why am I reading this? Why did I think it was a good idea? Why am I reading about someone else reading and not reading for myself and forming my own opinions? I do have a curiosity about what is on others' shelves and lists, I'm always looking for a new door to open and for good conversation, I agree that reading matters and Miller does respond to those impulses. I did get barrels of conversation, there were some brilliant points and his self absorption can be amusing. However, I did not learn anything that made me want to read Miller's fiction or learn more about his life. I was familiar with many of the works he championed but was not sufficiently convinced to run out and try those with which I was not.

Part of my struggle lies in the fact that the print is small and my eyes are over 40. Interestingly, this edition carries a preface by Miller that observes that the original edition had very small print and this was better! I have to wonder if the text is actually a reprint of the first edition, what with some uncorrected typos and misspellings in places and that tiny print which turned a 316 page book into something that felt closer to 450 pages. In some respects, Miller is more open minded than many of his peers, especially about the world's religions, but his language is saturated in the masculine imperative.

Unlike the other reviewers here, whose views I respect by the way, I'm not a big fan of Miller-as-author. I find his writing megalomaniacal and egocentric in the extreme. He never seems to tire of telling us about himself and his exploits. He found himself endlessly fascinating, not unlike Rousseau in that respect. His reputation was built in large part as a result of the obscenity charges he faced after the release of Tropic of Cancer. I can still vaguely recall a 60's movie in which an outraged Jimmy Stewart called Sandra Dee out on the carpet for reading Tropic. Reading Miller was considered risque and slightly delinquent back in the 60's and he was cool because he talked dirty. His books sold because a lot of male adolescents like myself wanted to read the "good parts." In retrospect, Frank Harris wrote on similar subjects, but actually had something to say beyond the bedroom as well. Check out Harris' My Life and Loves, if you don't believe me. Harris wins the Miller-Harris author war hands down, in my opinion.

Even if you share my opinion of Miller, you should nevertheless give this book a look. His comments and recommendations are set forth with humor and wit and I agree for the most part with his assessments. He piqued my interest in Celine and made me want to read more of Dostoevski, two of my favorite authors. I'd never heard of Knut Hamsun before reading Books in My Life, but had to give that author a chance, simply on the strength of Miller's fervid recommendation.

I'm not sold on all these recommendations however. I gave Blaise Cendrars a chance, but feel that he probably hasn't been adequately translated. Henri Charriere (Papillon) is a better writer than Cendrars, and provides a more interesting account of the Paris underworld they both write about. Marie Corelli is a semi-hysterical, semi-literate, outdated abomination. Her novels were uniformly panned by critics of the era, with abundant reason. She was the V.C. Andrews of her day, with about a tenth of the talent. I ordered her "Sorrows of Satan' through Amazon and read it at the same time I was re-reading Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Both novels deal with an earthly visitation on Satan's part. One is a masterpiece of world literature. The other is a piece of melodramatic tripe written by a literary charlatan. Guess which is which? H. Rider Haggard is fine if you have not yet reached the ripe old age of fifteen. One has to bear in mind that Miller was reading Corelli and Haggard when he was very young, and their works wouldn't have appeared as dated then as they do now.

There have been many books written about books and about reading. I would suggest that if you want to explore one of the more absorbing and entertaining accounts on this long list, read The Books of My Life.

Henry Miller may be the greatest American writer of the Twentieth Century. But there is always the question of who bore influence the genius. How many of us want to learn about the work that shaped the mind of the genius writer. Well, to find out, read this book. It will give you a great feel for where Miller was coming from. It touches on Millers entire reading career. You come away with an idea of how this literary genius came to develop and grow. This book is a phenomenal resource for anyone interested in literature and occult and religious writing. I have used this book as a remarkable resource for my own personal literary education. I have spent many hours in bookstores all over America looking for titles that Mr. Miller recommended in this book. I discovered Jean Giono and Blaise Cendrars and Madame Helena Blavatsky through this book. I also learned to put aside literary snobbism and enjoy the boy books by writers like H. Rider Haggard and G.K. Chesterton. Through Miller, I learned about obscure writers like Marie Corelli and John Cowper Powys. I read adventure books like The Unveiling of Timbuctoo. This book is a primer for anyone interested in literature of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. I would recommend this book for dedicated Millerites and literary-minded persons of all persuasions. Miller gave the world a wonderful gift in this book. If you are interested in literature then buy this book and begin the search for yourself.

Have you ever wanted to sit down with one of your favorite authors and gab about books? While most of us can't do this, fans of Henry Miller do have this innovative work as a substitute. In it, Miller lists his favorite authors & books, then expounds on various authors, subjects & points in his reading life. Blaise Cendrars, Jean Giono, Krishnamurti, reading while in the john & more get their own chapters. Miller wanted to write more editions, including a list of over 50,000 titles he has read, but never got the chance to do so. That's okay. I'm very grateful for having this work available!

THE BOOKS IN MY LIFE is simply outstanding. Reading it was like glimpsing the making of a man. I own another book of Miller's in which he wrote an essay about, and entitled, ON TURNING 80. This was a work by the end product, Henry Miller, the man reflecting on life. He was a very different man than the cocky, young, expatriate who wrote TROPIC OF CANCER. Both of these Henry Millers wrote beautiful and insightful prose.

The thing that is so unique about THE BOOKS IN MY LIFE is that the reader is allowed to see the influences that were involved in the shaping of the man. Hearing him speak of the books he read as a child, SHE and AYESHA and ROBINSON CRUSOE, conjure the very essence of childhood. Miller was nurtured by these books and when he became a man and read Celine and Dostoievsky and Walt Whitman, he continued to be nurtured and subsequently, to grow.

Miller was brilliant because when he wrote about a subject, he touched it. He knew how to truly make contact with it. THE BOOKS IN MY LIFE, like everything he ever wrote, I think, is extraordinary