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31st out of 856 books
—
1,222 voters
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 Mariner 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" being among t...more
Jun 07, 2007
Kecia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who keeps a journal
Shelves:
life_stories
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 canvas bag I stoppe...more
Spring day: Walking home from the market with the weeks's greens tucked in my canvas bag I stoppe...more
Mar 18, 2007
Elizabeth
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Literary Types
Shelves:
france,
autobiographical
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 different. The entries were so visceral...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 different. The entries were so visceral...more
What a diary! Definitely nothing like any diary I’ve ever read or written. Anais Nin is truly engaging. Each diary entry is so candid and shows her deeply introspective and artistic nature.
For the most part I’d say nothing truly remarkable happens in the diary; yet Nin is the kind of person who could turn a normal, everyday event into something magical and profound. This is a woman who really lived, who really experienced life, who aimed to fully understand human relationships, both edifying an...more
For the most part I’d say nothing truly remarkable happens in the diary; yet Nin is the kind of person who could turn a normal, everyday event into something magical and profound. This is a woman who really lived, who really experienced life, who aimed to fully understand human relationships, both edifying an...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. Because of you I started writing...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. Because of you I started writing...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 she is bath...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 she is bath...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 gutwrenching mi...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!"
"Far below a rather pale nature, a s...more
"Far below a rather pale nature, a s...more
This volume, at least, isn't the kind of diary that's filled with details about time and place--in this particular case, Paris in 1831-34. But in terms of character studies--of Henry and June Miller, Anais Nin's father and Nin herself, in particular, along with Nin's two therapists from this time period, and one of her brothers--this is priceless stuff. She is much more interested in the emotional landscape of her world, and the details of what's happening and when it's happening are barely touc...more
Sep 01, 2007
Kate
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
the independently wealthy artist
Shelves:
shelved
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.
Diaries and journals are private things. They are the places where we write about our innermost secrets and deepest desires. They are also like shoes, in a way, I think; you tailor your journal to fit you, fitting it with memories and details specific to you, and only you. If someone else tries to read your thoughts, it won't be an exact fit. That's how I felt about this book: it chafes.
Would you like this book? Well, that depends on whether you would:
(x) wear a fedora.
(x) find the idea of being...more
Would you like this book? Well, that depends on whether you would:
(x) wear a fedora.
(x) find the idea of being...more
This was my introduction to the work of Anais Nin--the very first volume that fell into my adolescent hands. Anais, with her house in the suburbs of Paris in which every room was painted a different color, and she lived with her husband, and met a man named Henry Miller. In which she investigated the possibility of being a woman writer, of writing things that she knew as a woman, a voice which she had not yet seen in print, completely subjective, Piscean, mutable, veiled.
the unexpurgated diarie...more
the unexpurgated diarie...more
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 her sin...more
Anais Nin was a sensitive writer who truly understood that all life is art. I am mezmerized my her descriptions and radical insights. I would have loved to have known her.
It's her diary. It's all about her. Get over it.
Dec 11, 2008
Ciara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
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 ev...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 that the contents of this diary, al...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 that the contents of this diary, al...more
Niente mi rende incapace di scrivere parole sensate quanto un libro meraviglioso. Cosa si può aggiungere a qualcosa che è già perfetto così com'è, che non ha bisogno di spiegazioni? Leggendo il diario ho SENTITO Anais come donna e come artista e ho vissuto con lei nel suo mondo di intellettuali bohemien e nella sua meravigliosa casa di Louveciennes (che deve essere stata davvero uno spettacolo).
E pensare che questo libro l'ho preso a caso in biblioteca, spinta solo dal desiderio di leggere un d...more
E pensare che questo libro l'ho preso a caso in biblioteca, spinta solo dal desiderio di leggere un d...more
This has been such a therapeutic read for me. The fear of being unnatural has always been a great anxiety, a paralysis to my life. After discovering Anaïs, I've felt more natural than I have in many years. It’s the mark of great writers to remind us to reclaim ourselves, and here I’m inspired to recover some of the deepest, most neglected cavities of my discarded self. A tremendous relief. It’s for gems like this I read at all.
Whether you have a poetic or an analytic heart, whether you are a wr...more
Whether you have a poetic or an analytic heart, whether you are a wr...more
This is a timeless classic...a sometimes shocking (always entertaining, the author sweeps you into her world with her unique style of lush flowing narrative, woven in with lengthy quotes from other notable writers) account of 1930s Europe; it was during the time of the expatriate movement...Paris, Berlin, Prague, etc were flooded with disillusioned Americans who wanted to find the promised land and were sick of their own rigid country.
Anais Nin is such an unstoppable force! i almost felt like I...more
Anais Nin is such an unstoppable force! i almost felt like I...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 paragraph for me. It'...more
I started reading this diary after I had read many reviews, so I was aware that it was heavily edited. That fact did not bother me whatsoever, as I found the edited version to be valuable reading in and of itself. Although Anais Nin is famous for her erotica, this edited diary can not be classified as such as it omits explicit details. Readers looking for erotica will have to read her other works. Also, there is an unexpurgated version of the diary, which was commissioned by Rupert Pole (after t...more
"The artist (or the failed artist, the neurotic) takes from the world. He receives impressions, he absorbs colors, pleasurable sensations, he is a witness or a part of experiences of all kinds, he travels, he enjoys beauty, he relaxes in nature; and he feels committed to love this in return, to emulate creation, to celebrate, to worship, to admire, to preserve." -294
I have loved The writing on Anais Nin for over 15 years since taking a class with her biographer Noel riley Fitch at the aup. I lo...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 activity, the reconciliat...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 activity, the reconciliat...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 subject content changed ve...more
As a result, I discovered, this is the edited version, the "saucy bits" were not included, and I felt very ripped off. The subject content changed ve...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 snack a little...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 her editor...more
BUT... BEWARE.... For some reason Nin and her editor...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. I think that certa...more
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| Anais Nin | 7 | 24 | May 04, 2012 12:13am |
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 the 1960s. Today she is...more
More about Anaïs Nin...
Anaïs Nin was largely ignored until the 1960s. Today she is...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.”
—
2,404 people liked it
“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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Nov 27, 2008 07:52pm