Quiet Days in Clichy and the World of Sex: Two Books

by Henry Miller

This tender and nostalgic work dates from the same period as Tropic of Cancer (1934). It is a celebration of love, art, and the Bohemian life at a time when the world was simpler and slower, and Miller an obscure, penniless young writer in Paris. Whether discussing the early days of his long friendship with Alfred Perles or his escapades at the Club Melody brothel, in Quiet Days in Clichy Miller describes a period that would shape his entire life and oeuvre.

Genres: Fiction, Literature

147 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, stream of consciousness, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn, and the trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion, which are based on his experiences in New York City and Paris (all of which were banned in the United States until 1961). He also wrote travel memoirs and literary criticism, and painted watercolors.

Reviews

[Jake]

Warning. Explicit Content. There is a reason Henry couldn’t be read legally in his own country for decades. This isn’t actually a coherent book. It’s a short story (Clichy) and an essay (Sex). Also, I had a horrible bootleg copy with tons of distracting typos. So, Clichy gets 3 stars. Henry could write. And I get the feeling that most of the depravity was autobiographical. But, man. To be that embarrassingly honest makes for an enthralling read. Sade was full of crap and probably crazy, but Henry seems like he meant it… The second part was an essay describing why he was obsessed with sex. Five stars. I think he knew his readers. He said some read to be titillated so they could pretend to be offended afterward, other readers get it (I’m not sure I do, but still). I like dirty old Henry but can’t recommend him to many people I know.

[Ralph Burton]

A Paris postcard of a novel. Absolute filth.

[Marc Macaspac]

An honest work of literature devoid of the limitations of language that society has defined what is vulgar and what is acceptable. Miller's collection of loosely connected stories of his encounters with an eclectic collection of women, as well as his relationship with his roomate Carl caught my attention far more than any other literary work.