book data
789 ratings,
3.84
average rating, 52 reviews
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published
June 1973
by Bookthrift Co
(first published 1937)
details
Hardcover
isbn
9997648161
(isbn13: 9789997648167)
description
Continuing the subversive self-revelation begun in Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Henry Miller takes readers along a mad, free-associating …more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,096)
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2 stars (67)
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1 star (12)
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avg 3.84
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in May, 1996
recommends it for:
Miller fans
This book changed my life. No hyperbole. I never looked at the world the same way after reading this. It was also present at the moment of serendipity when I finally "got" modernism. Probably the best birthday gift I've ever received. Thanks Ken.
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Owns a copy
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Read in September, 2008
recommended to Jason by:
probably Dan Lynchrecommends it for: Poets, madmen, cunts, trolls, men, women, angels
In the heat of the late afternoon the city rises up like a huge polar bear shaking off its rhododendrons.
If you can't enjoy this line, you might not enjoy this book. This line is perfect summary, the imagery that needs to be connected is fierce and brilliant. The point is that you are going to be falling into the recesses of Miller's brain, dancing with his Id as a stripper dances with the pole, you'll need to make the connections, you'll need to uncover the brilliance of the geogr...more
If you can't enjoy this line, you might not enjoy this book. This line is perfect summary, the imagery that needs to be connected is fierce and brilliant. The point is that you are going to be falling into the recesses of Miller's brain, dancing with his Id as a stripper dances with the pole, you'll need to make the connections, you'll need to uncover the brilliance of the geogr...more
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Read in March, 2009
The constant present. Each thought, glance, gesture unique and recreated. Continuous time, past being immediately created, future never begins. The past does not end.
Recollection of dreams. Eyes closed--in moment. Stay in dream to recall (like memory).
No singular life. Always multiples. Own story last--fused with lives of others.
(Choosing to sacrifice ones own story for that of others, to allow others into ones own story--to create a shared path--(chem+is)-)
Illusion of a...more
Recollection of dreams. Eyes closed--in moment. Stay in dream to recall (like memory).
No singular life. Always multiples. Own story last--fused with lives of others.
(Choosing to sacrifice ones own story for that of others, to allow others into ones own story--to create a shared path--(chem+is)-)
Illusion of a...more
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Miller Unleashed!
For me, this wraps up the trilogy of novels that Miller wrote for Obelisk Press in the 30’s. It’s really nowhere near the greatness of Cancer and Capricorn, as some parts are completely unreadable, like "Into the Night Life." The book is a conglomeration of unrelated vignettes. Miller takes us on his trademark, first-person adventure narrative through memories of his friends, lovers, and his pessimistic prophecy. We’re taken through his mind, Brooklyn...more
For me, this wraps up the trilogy of novels that Miller wrote for Obelisk Press in the 30’s. It’s really nowhere near the greatness of Cancer and Capricorn, as some parts are completely unreadable, like "Into the Night Life." The book is a conglomeration of unrelated vignettes. Miller takes us on his trademark, first-person adventure narrative through memories of his friends, lovers, and his pessimistic prophecy. We’re taken through his mind, Brooklyn...more
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Owns a copy
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Read in February, 2008
shouldn't have bothered.
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Rupert by:
I did.recommends it for: anyone
Henry in fine spirits, Black Spring is a collection of works seeded together and wrapped up in Miller's later years, the final novel in the Tropics series. Very close in some parts to Lawrence Durrell's The Black Book, which I am to think influenced Miller, as there are some aspects that are too glucose for Henry's regular style.
I just let Millers timeless rants flood me, not worrying too much if my mind wandered, I'd always return back to some part which managed to pull me in deep ...more
I just let Millers timeless rants flood me, not worrying too much if my mind wandered, I'd always return back to some part which managed to pull me in deep ...more
Read in August, 2007
I was I hadn't given John his book back before writing this review, since it's a very difficult book to describe without actually quoting text. "Black Spring" is an interesting read, but one that needs to be approached in a certain way. You have to entirely give up any attachment to narrative - the book is almost pure stream of consciousness. It is a semi-autobiographical jumble, jumping around in time and place without much tying the disparate strings together.
...more
...more
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Read in March, 2010
Don’t know if Mr. Miller would be glad to know that I took his book(s) to toilet, but I must disappoint him and say that I didn’t hear any bells tolling while reading them (there or anywhere else as a mater of fact). The best I can say is that I found some parts to be hilarious (and I mean only some parts), but I’m not sure if that’s not just my sick sense of humor. Anyway it’s enough for me to keep reading his works. For now…
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Read in January, 2009
This one sucked me in the way Miller's books always do. It's hard to wrap your brain around what he's doing, but once you dive in and let go of what you think a novel ought to be, you just can't get enough.
I do get tired of the racial and ethnic slurs, but I guess that's part of his honesty. Still, some of it's pretty shocking by today's standards. And after a while, it's just annoying; we get it, man.
There's a great Web site, millerwalks.com, that is an excellent guide t...more
I do get tired of the racial and ethnic slurs, but I guess that's part of his honesty. Still, some of it's pretty shocking by today's standards. And after a while, it's just annoying; we get it, man.
There's a great Web site, millerwalks.com, that is an excellent guide t...more
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Owns a copy
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Read in April, 2009
A little confused by this, but after a while I started being able to follow it. I heard the Tropic books are better, I'll have to check them out. Very New York poetic, grimy style full of diseases and kids playing a game downstairs in the cellar called "stink finger" kind of humor.
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While packing and shipping the majority of my books this past week I picked this up, started reading it, and did not stop for some time. Finally, without having to search for something, the first winter novel sessions has begun.
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Read in January, 2006
im actually still reading this, but i think i need to start over. ive done this twice. and rereading the first 40 pages has been a pleasure each time. not sure why i can't get passed page 80. intense.
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This is one of my favorites. "The Angel is My Watermark" should be required reading for all art students. "The Tailor Shop" is up there as one of the great short stories.
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Oh, Henry, you terrifically sweet bastard. I'll never understand why I can understand what I understand when I read something you've written...but I do. and I love you.
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Miller. I read one of his books, love it, and at the end I wonder what the hell it was about.
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DAMN, can Henry Miller write!! No doubt he's a total sleaze though.
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I like Henry Miller, and reading this on the lawn by the Eiffel Tower was great, but dude needs to shut the fuck up sometimes. The dream chapter is one of the most boring things I've ever read. I'll stick to his other work.
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Read in February, 2010
I hadn't read any Miller in a while so I got an urge to go and read some more. In hindsight, I think it would have been better to just go back and read one of his other books that I've already read. This one has some great images, some great tumbling language, some great twisting and turning motion that shifts and switches endlessly, but it felt a lot like the other five books of his that I'd read. I guess it's just gotten a little old.
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Read in December, 2009
As with all Henry Miller Black Spring was dark, cole, gritty and real. I would never recommend it because frankly Henry Miller isn't for everyone. It's a great traveling book. Meant, I think, to be read on the road.
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