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27th out of 618 books
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The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934
This celebrated volume begins when Nin is about to publish her first book and ends when she leaves Paris for New York. Edited and with a Preface by Gunther tuhlmann; Index.
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
March 19th 1969
by Harvest Books
(first published 1966)
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Taste shmaste. She is real. A real woman, who lead a free life. The fashion of hating her is as lame as the knee-jerk love of Wilco. It is like putting on a pair of Ugg boots in the city. Though there is certainly plausible cause for doing so (snow), it is generally a blind and embarrassing act of striving. There are several more nuanced alternatives to her, yes. And certainly, there are legitimate reasons to dislike her (her appetite for such words as "ensorcellment" and "elixers...more
I am not certain exactly what I found so compelling about this book but it sucked me right in. It is very dense but I could not put it down and breezed thru it in about a week. There were times when I wanted to yell at Anais to not be so full of herself...but then I remember this is a journal...she's supposed to write her innermost secrets here. I will never think about journaling the same way again.
Spring day: Walking home from the market with the weeks's greens tucked in my canv...more
Spring day: Walking home from the market with the weeks's greens tucked in my canv...more
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It took me about six months to wade through this book; I finally finished the last 20 painstaking pages this week.
I had to digest the book in small chunks, which was a surprise since I enjoyed reading her "Early Diaries." In her previous books she was youthful, hopeful and full of experimentation. This time I felt that her personality was more fixed and that her appetite for new experiences seemed cold and calculating.
Nin relentlessly persues the new and differ...more
I had to digest the book in small chunks, which was a surprise since I enjoyed reading her "Early Diaries." In her previous books she was youthful, hopeful and full of experimentation. This time I felt that her personality was more fixed and that her appetite for new experiences seemed cold and calculating.
Nin relentlessly persues the new and differ...more
Annnnnnaaaaaaiiiiiiisssss (pronounce Anna!!-eeeeeees)
Dear Anais,
So far I have read Volumes 1 and 2 of your diary, Henry & June and that diminutive book of racy short stories, Little Birds. I ordered 11 more of your works online (used) and am compiling a library that will contain everything you've ever written, and then expand to include the books of authors you mention reading in your diary and/or befriended in life.
I guess it's no secret - I love you Anais. Becaus...more
Dear Anais,
So far I have read Volumes 1 and 2 of your diary, Henry & June and that diminutive book of racy short stories, Little Birds. I ordered 11 more of your works online (used) and am compiling a library that will contain everything you've ever written, and then expand to include the books of authors you mention reading in your diary and/or befriended in life.
I guess it's no secret - I love you Anais. Becaus...more
what insight! this woman was my hero until i read the excerpt:
man can never know the loneliness a woman knows. man lies in the woman's womb only to gather strength, he nourishes himself from this fusion, and then he rises and goes into the world, into his work, into battle, into art. he is not lonely. he is busy. the memory of the swim in amniotic fluid gives him energy, completion. woman may be busy too, but she feels empty. sensuality for her is not only a wave of pleasure in which...more
man can never know the loneliness a woman knows. man lies in the woman's womb only to gather strength, he nourishes himself from this fusion, and then he rises and goes into the world, into his work, into battle, into art. he is not lonely. he is busy. the memory of the swim in amniotic fluid gives him energy, completion. woman may be busy too, but she feels empty. sensuality for her is not only a wave of pleasure in which...more
I feel kind of cheated. I'm fascinated with Nin's writing and ideas. I'm interested in her work. I can forgive the solipsism of the diary, since it is, after all, a diary. But I read this collection of writing feeling like I was getting only half the story. Because of legal constraints, the book has been so heavily edited that it makes literally no mention of the man who was her husband for this entire period. Not only does it make for jarring reading (you find yourself reading a gutwrenchi...more
i like these much more than her novels. a beautiful woman. i love her notes about dreams. and one of my favorite quotes: "Anxiety is a woman screaming without a voice," paraphrased because my memory is terrible. ok i'm just going to list some quotes: "But this woman, who could undress at the request of any man, make love with anyone, go to orgies, act as a call girl in a professional house, this Beth told me she found it actually difficult to talk about sex!"
"...more
"...more
I had to stop reading this book, though i did thoroughly enjoy Nin's lengthy ruminations about life and its general contents. It was not helping me take the giant leap of faith necessary to live my artist life. The woman never had to have a job, all she did was roam around doing things she wanted to do all the time, then writing up beautiful philosophical commentary. Certainly not helpful in boosting my morale as I'm leaping off a cliff, living more like Henry.
Anais Nin is absolutely the most fascinating woman I've ever come across. She dazzles intellectuals, has affairs with poets, and becomes psychoanalyst's savior. Nothing about her life was ordinary because she was determined to live, live, live in a big way. And her diary is filled with so much truth. Portraits of people stripped of idealism. Of herself, as well. She describes life as though it is made of poetry and beauty, even its problems. I drank in her every word because I related to ...more
It's her diary. It's all about her. Get over it.
Ciara
rated it
Recommends it for:
diarists, anais nin obsessives, henry miller obsessives, people who like reading diaries
Shelves:
read-in-2007,
autobio-memoir
i bought these books years ago & didn't get around to reading them until the summer of 2007. i mean, i bought them like five years before that & just couldn't get into them. anais nin kept a journal for pretty much her entire life, ever since she emigrated to the united states originally when she was eleven years old. her diary was her life's work, according to her, her publishers, her peers, etc. she actually let her friends read her diaries & sent excerpts around for publication even while she...more
So many tiny truths and intricate details. Anais Nin is such a beautiful writer, and her outlook on the world is a fascinating read.
It is best to read this while sitting in Les Deux Magots in Paris, sipping coffee, and watching the world go by.
CONTAINS SPOILERS
I've only just started this...have finished chapter one but already I can see what a brilliant writer she is. She has such a way with words that makes me just want to roll around in her prose.
It took me longer to complete this book than I initially thought it would. I left this book with two very strong beliefs. First is that I love Anais'style of writing in her diaries. There are no words to describe how evocative her writing is.
The second is t...more
I've only just started this...have finished chapter one but already I can see what a brilliant writer she is. She has such a way with words that makes me just want to roll around in her prose.
It took me longer to complete this book than I initially thought it would. I left this book with two very strong beliefs. First is that I love Anais'style of writing in her diaries. There are no words to describe how evocative her writing is.
The second is t...more
This goes for anything this woman writes, not just volume 1 of her diaries. What I love about Anais is that she makes no apologies for her inner-contradictions. She knows herself well, even in her uncertainties. She knows her strengths and weaknesses and writes passionately about both. We've all had that feeling when someone says something that makes you go, "That is EXACTLY how I feel, but could never quite express it that way". Well, this woman does that with almost every paragra...more
Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (lol wow, 8 names)
Born February 21, 1903 (Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris)
Died January 14, 1977 (Los Angeles, California)
Touching every theme of my life esp. post-college, this is a personal self-help book, an emblem of life-affirmation, a material positive mantra, and with all that I wanted to underline and reactions I wanted to note, this first volume also felt like it was the diary of Vicky Lim: the channel of creative activ...more
Born February 21, 1903 (Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris)
Died January 14, 1977 (Los Angeles, California)
Touching every theme of my life esp. post-college, this is a personal self-help book, an emblem of life-affirmation, a material positive mantra, and with all that I wanted to underline and reactions I wanted to note, this first volume also felt like it was the diary of Vicky Lim: the channel of creative activ...more
Ok, this book caused me to stop reading for awhile. Initially, I really enjoyed it, the stream of consciousness style was cool, but then, I did some additonal reading about the book and author on-line, mid-way between the book, kust because parts of the book were filled with innuendo, and I wanted to understand if I was interpreting this accurately.
As a result, I discovered, this is the edited version, the "saucy bits" were not included, and I felt very ripped off. The subj...more
As a result, I discovered, this is the edited version, the "saucy bits" were not included, and I felt very ripped off. The subj...more
I decided to explore this book since I get some grief for always reading "work" related material. I found a quote on Alanis Morissette's webpage from Anais's diaries and the quote inspired me to learn more. The writing style and book itself starts painfully slow. I was questioning whether or not I should even continue reading. Yet, I found reading it to be like an after dinner place-setting of fruit and candy. Since I had just eaten dinner I wasn't very interested. Yet I tended to snac...more
This was perhaps the most exciting and enrapturing prose I've read all year. Nin was an amazing woman and an amazing writer. Her entries are overflowing with brilliant insight into the fascinating life and mind of an artist and lover. I had never read any Diary writing before, and I can't imagine anyone being better at it. I'm a huge Henry Miller fan, and learning about him from the perspective of a colleague and lover and friend was fantastic.
BUT... BEWARE.... For some reason Nin and he...more
BUT... BEWARE.... For some reason Nin and he...more
Nin's writing style alone deserves 5 stars. I'm only giving 4 stars, however, because of the blatant editing of the diaries. The introduction states that around 50% of her writing was taken out altogether. It made me wonder what exactly was taken out, and what kind of "truth" evoles from this abridgment (the irony is that Nin struggles with her own "truth" throughout the diary.) The diary has to be read with concentration. Nin's language is so beautiful, yet extremely complex...more
I used to read these in college, sneaking away to the library between classes, or skipping classes, or instead of working on my political science term paper, to peruse the copies of her diaries. Which I had discovered while wandering lost and aimless through the library one day.
The meaning of much of it had to have eluded me, or the details have now escaped me, but I remember an interesting look at Paris during that time, at a vision of a literary life that was quite different from ...more
The meaning of much of it had to have eluded me, or the details have now escaped me, but I remember an interesting look at Paris during that time, at a vision of a literary life that was quite different from ...more
God, I can't remember when I read her diaries or how I came about them, but I remember afterwards, looking at my paltry journals, kept through high school and college, and feeling rather let down by my rather pedestrian life. Yes, I've travelled, yes, junior year abroad in Paris, but god, how very boring I was. Don't misunderstand me, I don't want a life a la Nin, heaven forbid, but no one, but no one is ever going to want to print my diaries. Sigh.
i feel a bit obvious putting this in my list, but it is constantly in my memory. I think any woman identifies with nin, and especially any artistically inclined woman. So many people think of anais nin as being a purely erotic writer, however in her journals i find the most meaningful excerpts being about struggling with the arts within your life.
The storytelling is so intimate, she strings worlds together. Worlds of people she admits wanting to be, wanting to bed, wanting to posses without physical possession. She is deliberate and unedited in the admission of criticism. She accepts criticism of herself thoughtfully, and offers it lovingly. An amazing character. I question if any of her original thought was lost in the translation-- though I believe she worked on these translations?? Even so, it seems language differs not only in ...more
I honesty don't remember which volume or volumes I read of Nin. I discovered her when I was in high school. My artistic soul related to her dramatic exploration of self, sexuality and adoration of men. At the time, her unabashed and endless focus on eroticism was less a fascination, than her plunging of her own emotional depths.
I used to sit in coffee shops with my friends while living in Berkeley in the 70s. I often brought on this book along with me to read as I found journal writing fascinating and her life most fascinating. I got as far as finishing volume 2 before finally becoming bored.
I'm expanding my Nin library and I knew diaries are essential part of her. I definitely love it so far. She has the ability to make the ordinary extraordinary through her writing, though it's a bit naive to say she lead an ordinary life, it was anything but. It's impressive to read a diary so well written. It reads like a great novel. It's well developed, interesting, colorful, thoughtful and most importantly sincere and truthful. I also find very fascinating all the writers/artists she knows an...more
This woman really took a bite out of life! She lived passionately, then wrote about it. Really explored her inner life and contemplated virtually everything that touched her. My kind of person! Reading her diaries makes me wish that I had known her.
I read and loved all her diaries. In fact, she influenced me to start my own. Didn’t like her fiction though. Nope, not even the porn. BUT I did love the fact that she hand printed her own books!
You-young
is currently reading it
"Henry called my house a laboratory of the soul" a friend came to visit me and recited this quote, looking at the portraits on the walls of my studio... and I loved it.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Random Bodice Rip...: Anais Nin | 1 | 7 | Aug 22, 2011 03:51pm |
French-born novelist, passionate eroticist and short story writer, who gained international fame with her journals. Spanning the years from 1931 to 1974, they give an account of one woman's voyage of self-discovery. "It's all right for a woman to be, above all, human. I am a woman first of all." (from The Diary of Anaïs Nin, vol. I, 1966)
Anaïs Nin was largely ignored until t...more
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“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
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“You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken.”
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