Book Review

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

Tropic of Cancer is set in 1934 Paris. This is a marvelous book of prose. The reading is trifle, struggling and awkwardly random. Yet, it’s this type of writing that Henry embraces. As you engross yourself with Miller's writings you realize just what our founding fathers were striving not to let America become. Although in my opinion using France or any other country as a blueprint of what not to do, it's easy to see why the U.S. misses its mark miserably. America has had no great wars, no great ruins, no great scholars, therefore no great history. Miller shows us why America's great poets like J.D. Salinger and himself were not accepted for their illustriousness until some two decades after their works were released. Millers motto comes off as such, “I will never proof read another line. I write what I write and nothing more.” Or “Every word has been written, every great book published, my efforts are a complete waste of time.” Today the world falls into a haze of “Reality TV”. A reality that is the furthest thing from Reality. But to follow Henry on his adventures opens up the mind to centuries of lost art, lost souls, lost love… To appreciate the works of the 16th to the early 20th century is to appreciate what writing is, a little slice of history before the industrialization era drove mans intellectual promise straight into the ground. Henry Miller. Artist Extraordinaire.