La Cruxifiction en rose, tome 1 : Sexus

by Henry Miller, Roger Giroux

book data

1,164 ratings, 4.05 average rating, 79 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		37%
4		36%
3		20%
2		4%
1		0%

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published

January 1st 1987 by LGF (first published 1949)

details

Mass Market Paperback, 697 pages

isbn

225304038X (isbn13: 9782253040385)

description

On a pu dire de son œuvre qu'elle était pornographique et immorale. Et jamais Henry Miller n'aurait démenti ces propos. Aux États-Unis, Henry Mill…more

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Aug 21, 2007

Matt rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

I'm an artist, blah blah blah blah blah, I have promiscuous sex, blah blah blah blah blah, my wife is a lesbian, blah blah blah blah blah, I just got some genital warts, blah blah blah blah blah, banged my wife's lesbian lover, blah blah blah blah blah, I'm a poet, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

3 comments

Jun 11, 2007

Andrew rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: intellectual rebels

This is such a difficult book to write about because it's so expansive and so forthright in its world view. This is my first foray into Henry Miller and lets just say that it has truly altered my perceptions, and affected my world view. Miller is a nutjob, and often times you can't help but loathe his actions and are revolted by his way of thinking, but this is where he succeeds and makes his strongest victories. Miller's writing is the most confessional personal essay one can imagine. He ne...more This is such a difficult book to write about because it's so expansive and so forthright in its world view. This is my first foray into Henry Miller and lets just say that it has truly altered my perceptions, and affected my world view. Miller is a nutjob, and often times you can't help but loathe his actions and are revolted by his way of thinking, but this is where he succeeds and makes his strongest victories. Miller's writing is the most confessional personal essay one can imagine. He never shies away from telling us of his more devious visions in order to create a more likeable personality for himself. He strips himself bare and includes his most bizarre sexual and primal impulses. Obviously there is a strong emphasis on the book's sexual proclivities as it was a pivotal moment in the deconstruction of our country's censorship laws, but Miller (I believe) is not trying to be overtly graphic in his sex writing merely to shock people so he can sell more books. In my opinion he includes the sex scenes in all their detailed glory because he wants to give them as much space in his writing as they exist in his world. Sex is a huge part of most people's lives, be it actually having sex or merely thinking about it. Miller was an especially amorous person, so a book about his life is going to contain a lot of sexual writing. Is this a sensational way to write a book? Damn right. But the beauty of Miller is that he couldn't give two shits. He is driven and unrepentant of any of his beliefs. He wasn't trying to start a revolution here, he was just writing the only way he could. And controversial subject matter aside, it's just worth reading for the poetic style of his prose which contains some of the most aesthetically beautiful sentences, forget content, that I have ever read. There are times I would read paragraphs out loud to myself just to hear the way they sounded coming off my tongue. So yeah, I like Henry Miller. He has won me over as a convert and I'm very excited to delve deeper into his other writings.(less)

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1 comment

Feb 15, 2010

Kristen Shaw rated it:

(review of other edition)

bookshelves: post-modern-novels

Read in March, 2010

It's amazing how predictable the early postmodern aesthetic has become. Sexus reminds me a lot of a pared-down and more accesible version of Beautiful Losers. There are similar themes running through both: sex and the divinity of the body, direct experience taking precedent over intellectualism, the role of the writer in history/as a story-teller, etc. What is funny about this book (and something that also irks me a little bit) is the Bataille-like, self-consciously trangressive tone that reads ...more

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Nov 29, 2009

Randi Hope rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in January, 1991

I have to admit, I read every Henry Miller book when I was in High School, that was a long time ago.

If you want to liberate your repressed sexual appetite- read these books. Although, having done that already, his books seem to be redundant. Sexus seemed to be part of a series of books which are all of HM's books. This book, like many others, describes his sexual escapades, affairs with married women, his incessant mooching and irresponsibility- however, if you are even a little repr...more

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Feb 09, 2010

Greg rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Only a short way into this one, but I just love Miller's writing. He makes you work hard, but it's always worth it. He comes up with ideas and descriptions that are just amazing and always unexpected.

I always feel obligated to point out that there's a lot of racist and sexist language in his books. It can detract from the writing if you let it. Saying "that's how people were back then" doesn't really excuse it, if you ask me, but I just think the writing is so strong that y...more

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Nov 02, 2009

John Story rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

It took me a few novels to realize that Miller is a fool. Some of his later work proves that he got better with age, but we remain the same person throughout our lives. His craftsmanship could also have been improved upon with greater concentration, and he resorts to the same sort of cheap thrills and tropes that are in all the books. However, I find Miller to be invaluable because of Millerism: the live, love, laugh philosophy. In this book, he interprets Millerism very well, and clearly at tha...more

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Jan 14, 2008

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in October, 2007

Henry Miller is one raunchy fella.

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Mar 03, 2009

Michelle rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

bookshelves: 35-as-35, expanding, i-have-an-agenda

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: James

There are sections of brilliance, exposes of truth and not entirely unfounded strains of honest, real thought where I felt both awe of reading genius and simple satisfaction of his acknowledgment of the obvious in people. To Miller sex is not sacred. He describes it with the full detail and all the sentiment of a dentist detailing a root canal or tooth replacement or the innocent physics of the combustion engine. His lengthy treatments of normally taboo topics of conversation as commonplace inte...more

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Nov 22, 2009

Maria Borland rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in January, 2010

'Me and my mates' writing at its best. Autobiographical notes of a sociopath. Miller's objectification of EVERYBODY leads to some remarkably insightful observations on human interaction, as well as some highly graphic yet convincing and frequently arousing sex scenes. Miler does not exclude himself in his clinical dissection of flaws, insecurities and delusions, making his writing peculiarly compelling. Ironically it is the sections (thankfully few) where Miller moves away from specifics in favo...more

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Oct 05, 2007

fbuser552731274 rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in April, 1990

Henry Miller: writer, genius, poet, catalyst, comic, devil, enigma

In this book Henry Miller emerges as a writer, genius, poet, catalyst, comic, contradiction, devil, and ultimately an enigma. In my estimation it is a work of genius... marvel as Henry Miller takes you on a literary roller-coaster ride that will at turns thrill you; sadden you; make you laugh; disgust you; inspire; and finally awaken you to the myriad of possibilities that life offers the brave few that are willing to ...more

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Feb 15, 2009

Mark is currently reading it (review of isbn 0802151809)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in February, 2009

This is the first and last Miller book I will read. I am 50 pages from the end of the book and I am so tired of this self-important, oversexed asshole that I don't think I'm going to be able to finish the damn thing. To the person who told me to read this book--I owe you one. To people considering reading this book, skip it and just go directly to Celine (Journey to the End of the Night, Death on the Installment Plan), where Miller and Burroughs learned how to write.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Feb 09, 2010

Shama rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in February, 2010

I am loving this book so far. Miller paints this picture of a place where peoples characters are so wonderfully vast, unique and intricate (even if they're horrible people, as many of them are); its like this dream world where opportunity, experience and all sorts of relationships fall in the lap of the protagonist..I'd love to be in a place where people were so open and randomness reigned, Miller is a genius.

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Mar 20, 2007

Jared Busch rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

bookshelves: alltimefavorites

Read in January, 2005

recommends it for: dirty devils

Some of Miller's most inspiring writing, I think. This is the kind of book you want to come with a highlighter so you can remember where those amazing passages are to quote again and again. That said, it's not for everybody, especially prudes. The gratuitious sex scenes almost turned me off from this book only for their sheer unbelievability and ridiculous frequency... but it all made sense in the end... or rather once I started reading Plexus, which contains absolutely NO sex scenes at all. ...more

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Sep 24, 2009

Splashconception rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in September, 2009

mad flights of surrealist language, excerises in anarchy, sex and the despair that first touches of the mad life that creates the artist. If you want to be a writer check this book out. All about Henry's tumultuous routines with June and his wife (before June, who he apparently despises) and a mad cast of characters including Kronski: the fat doctor.

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Jan 08, 2009

Jon Torn rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in July, 1981

Miller's best novel, deeper and richer than "Tropic," depicts the decline of his first marriage and his birth as a writer in depression-era New York City. Followed by two sequels but this is the one to read. A great sense of time, place, and the tenderness and violence of relationships sexual or otherwise.

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Jul 24, 2009

eric rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in January, 2000

I do not know if this is a good book book or not. I do know that it had an impact on me. For reasons that are fuzzy to me, it led me to Dostoevsky, Melville, Tolstoy and Nabokov. I have never reread it, but i do recall loving how Miller could put a sentence together.

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Dec 23, 2007

Meika rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

recommends it for: not for the faint of heart

I bought this book as a souvenir for a trip to New York - it seemed more relevant and memorable than picking up one of those $5 I *heart* NY t-shirts peddled at every tourist stop and street stand in the city.
I knew what i was getting myself into, having read portions of the diary of Anais Nin... and Mr. Miller did not disappoint. I'm still reeling from everything that's in the book, most of which i feel was lost on me. But if you read with a certain amount of surrender, not unlike tha...more

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Aug 15, 2009

Casper Borly rated it:

(review of isbn 0802151809)

Read in August, 2009

I really liked this book. The same way I liked "The dice man", "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanance" or "A moveable feast".

The sex descriptions are awesome. The lust for life that Miller has is so contagious.

An eye opener.

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Feb 06, 2010

Jack added it (review of isbn 0802151809)

I am currently reading Sexus. Language only begins at the point where communication is endangered. Everything I do should tie together. and this time period I love, especially the writers. Jack

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Nov 10, 2009

Vogisland added it (review of isbn 0802151809)

A windier, later-in-life rewrite of "Tropic of Cancer". Durrell didn't care for it. Young Miller's sex scenes are certainly punchier, but that is not what I'm after in either case.

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