Ok so fitting that I chose "Tropic of Cancer" to read next, because we are coming upon book banning week (September 24th-October 1st) which is a celebration of books that were once banned in this country. Well, the way I feel about this book so far is that it should have stayed banned (for the record, I don't believe in book banning, I'm just trying to make a point). This novel is seriously dirty. No wonder it was banned for so long. I get it. I'm going to need several long cold showers after I'm done reading this one.
It is an autobiographical account of Miller's life and his exploits with various women. There is more to it than that, but I'll get there. Reading the forward, I was pretty excited because Henry Miller felt like a kindred spirit. The novel is set in Paris in the 1930s and anyone who knows me knows that that is right up my alley. Awesome, I thought I'm going to love this book! Miller was 36 at the time (same as me) and living with his parents (which I may as well be doing seeing as our in laws are helping us pay our rent) trying to make a living at the only thing he was passionate about: writing. I can relate to all of the things he was going through at the time. As someone who considers herself a creative person, I can understand sacrificing everything for it. When I'm not doing something creative, I feel a little empty inside and all the money in the world won't solve that problem.
It is written a stream of consciousness style which for those of you who don't know ,here is Wikipedia's definition: "In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode that seeks to portray an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions." In other words, it is the author's unedited, uncensored thought process. Some famous authors that are known for writing in this style include James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner. Ask me how I feel about all of those writers? go on ask me, I dare you! (here is a hint: I never finished one of their novels.) Anyway, this style of writing to me feels like a huge cop out. Anyone can dump their thoughts out on a page but that doesn't mean its well written or even interesting. After the first 40 or so pages of "Tropic of Cancer", I was getting aggravated. If you have never read stream of consciousness writing, it is a very annoying experience. There is no flow or continuity. Things are very disjointed and the action is often hard to follow.
Watch, I'll show you how annoying it is. I'm just going to start writing everything that goes through my mind unedited. I have to finish this entry and then when I do that I'm going to make dinner. What do I want for dinner? hmm...I wonder why I have in the fridge, I think i have chicken in the freezer I can defrost maybe I'll make quesadillas with that or wait do I even have tortillas, BRADY - stop scratching that couch. I really need a new couch this one is seriously falling apart. I wish we had money to spend on that stuff. Maybe I'll use the gift card I have from Macy's. shit, where is that gift card anyway? See, you lost interest didn't you? because honestly who the hell cares about every little thought that goes a persons mind? Thus is the experience of stream of consciousness literature. ugh! How long is this book?
It is an autobiographical account of Miller's life and his exploits with various women. There is more to it than that, but I'll get there. Reading the forward, I was pretty excited because Henry Miller felt like a kindred spirit. The novel is set in Paris in the 1930s and anyone who knows me knows that that is right up my alley. Awesome, I thought I'm going to love this book! Miller was 36 at the time (same as me) and living with his parents (which I may as well be doing seeing as our in laws are helping us pay our rent) trying to make a living at the only thing he was passionate about: writing. I can relate to all of the things he was going through at the time. As someone who considers herself a creative person, I can understand sacrificing everything for it. When I'm not doing something creative, I feel a little empty inside and all the money in the world won't solve that problem.
It is written a stream of consciousness style which for those of you who don't know ,here is Wikipedia's definition: "In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode that seeks to portray an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions." In other words, it is the author's unedited, uncensored thought process. Some famous authors that are known for writing in this style include James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner. Ask me how I feel about all of those writers? go on ask me, I dare you! (here is a hint: I never finished one of their novels.) Anyway, this style of writing to me feels like a huge cop out. Anyone can dump their thoughts out on a page but that doesn't mean its well written or even interesting. After the first 40 or so pages of "Tropic of Cancer", I was getting aggravated. If you have never read stream of consciousness writing, it is a very annoying experience. There is no flow or continuity. Things are very disjointed and the action is often hard to follow.
Watch, I'll show you how annoying it is. I'm just going to start writing everything that goes through my mind unedited. I have to finish this entry and then when I do that I'm going to make dinner. What do I want for dinner? hmm...I wonder why I have in the fridge, I think i have chicken in the freezer I can defrost maybe I'll make quesadillas with that or wait do I even have tortillas, BRADY - stop scratching that couch. I really need a new couch this one is seriously falling apart. I wish we had money to spend on that stuff. Maybe I'll use the gift card I have from Macy's. shit, where is that gift card anyway? See, you lost interest didn't you? because honestly who the hell cares about every little thought that goes a persons mind? Thus is the experience of stream of consciousness literature. ugh! How long is this book?
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