Black Spring. [Hardcover]

Henry MILLER (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: see notes for publisher info (1945)
• ASIN: B000MYGH6K
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

More About the Author

HENRY MILLER (1891-1980) was an American writer and painter infamous for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of "novel" that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is distinctly always about and expressive of the real-life Henry Miller and yet is also fictional. His most characteristic works of this kind are "Tropic of Cancer," "Tropic of Capricorn," and "Black Spring." His books were banned in the United States for their lewd content until 1964 when a court ruling overturned this order, acknowledging Miller's work as literature in what became one of the most celebrated victories of the sexual revolution.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary book without time, July 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Spring (Paperback)

Excuse me for my bad English: I'm Italian and I don't speak English. I have found Black Spring completely different from Tropics of Cancer: this is blood, sex and hunger, without thinking (so appear, naturally), that is remember and philosophy, a wondereful mix. Miller is a hard man, and like all the hard men, he is also an hopeless romantic.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Spring -- my first Henry Miller novel, August 12, 2006

By 

Darius Miranda "PoundIt.net" (California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Spring (Paperback)

I just finished reading BLACK SPRING. It blew me away. Henry Miller's storytelling style is so personal, it's kind of like taking an unexpected medium punch in the gut. The geography becomes local, the imagery is rough, obscene and poetic, and goes on for pages at a time. Miller becomes larger than life, powerful through his honesty and vulnerability. I am amazed with his unique ability to effortlessly paint such vivid pictures, wander aimlessly through haunting nightmares, and relive pleasure and passion. From sitting around in the Parisian home of friend Jabberewohl Crondstadt celebrating each other's conquests and madness, to wandering the dark bum-piss hooker-lined streets of forbidden America, I found myself constantly stopping, re-reading and wondering how he took me there. Eventually I stopped raising my hand to ask questions, and just sat back and listened.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating collection by a great American author., August 7, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Spring (Paperback)

One of Miller's earliest books,and considered to be the
second in the Tropics trilogy, this is a collection of
short sketches (for lack of a better term) by a young Henry
Miller using the mature writer's voice that makes him such
a powerful speaker. With pieces like "The Angel is My
Watermark", a hilarious self-portrait of Miller in Paris
suffering an excess of artistic inspiration, to a tender
reminiscence of his father's New York tailor shop, this
book contains a side to Henry Miller rarely seen through
the publicity but known to his careful readers; a side
that is philosophical, spiritual, and funny. It remains
one of Miller's best and most enduring books.