Henry Miller's first published novel is a loose, first-person account of an American writer living in Paris in the early 1930s with little money and a great appetite for food, sex, talk, and ideas. He drifts among cheap hotels, friends' apartments, and cafes, working occasional jobs, including one as a proofreader and one as a teacher, and records his encounters with a freewheeling, sometimes crude honesty. There is little plot; the book is about voice, appetite, and rejection of conventional life. It was not available in the United States for decades because of obscenity laws.
It is for readers interested in the roots of modern confessional writing and the American expatriate scene. Be aware that its language and attitudes toward women are blunt and may bother some readers.
Deep and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1934
- Language
- EN
