Nexus [Hardcover]

Henry Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 1974

The story of Miller's bizarre second marriage and its development into an extraordinary and legendary menage a trois -- the final installment of the 'Rosy Curifixion' trilogy. 'Goodbye, dear Pocohantas! Goodbye, P.T. Barnum! Goodbye, Street of Early Sorrows and may I never set eyes on you again!' When Henry Miller left America for Paris in the 1930s to lead the life of a literary bohemian, he called this death of his former existence and his resurrection as a writer a 'rosy crucifixion'. This dramatic transformation provided the leitmotif for some of Miller's finest writing, embodying everything he felt about self-liberation and the true life of the spirit. 'Nexus', the final volume in the 'Rosy Crucifixion' trilogy, is a fictionalised account of his last, tempestuous few months in New York. Trapped in a bizarre menage a trois with his volatile actress wife, Mona, and her eccentric lover, Stasia, Miller's life descends into violent and passionate anarchy. Demoralised, exhausted and finally abandoned by the cunning and disloyal Mona, he sails for Paris.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Henry Miller: 'American literature begins and ends with the meaning of what Miller has done.' Lawrence Durrell 'I regard Henry Miller as a master.' Colin MacInne Praise for 'Nexus': 'Scintillating, bewildering, profound, "Nexus" has a kind of brawling magnificence that could only emerge from the mind and imagination of a genuine artist.' Daily Telegraph 'Miller gives full rein to his knowledge of human beings and finds obvious delight in writing about an erotic, disorderly sort of existence.' Guardian --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Henry Miller was born in 1891 in Brooklyn, New York but he soon moved to Paris. His first book 'Tropic of Cancer was published in 1934. It was followed five years later by its sister volume 'Tropic of Capricorn'. In 1940, Miller returned to the US where he wrote the 'Rosy Crucifixion' trilogy which received great praise from the likes of Eliot, Pound and Beckett. Outside of France, however it was universally banned due to its sexually explicit and candid nature and was not published until 1963. Miller died in 1980. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (April 18, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0586020950
• ISBN-13: 978-0586020951
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,359,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely fascinating and engrossing portrait, September 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Nexus: The Rosy Crucifixion, Book 3 (Paperback)

What strikes me about the Rosy Crucifixion (and Nexus in particular) is that, even at its worst, it is unbelievably striking and poignant. Perhaps it is how human every aspect of this book is (down even to the flaws), it writhes and rears its head like the humanity that created it. Miller is, beyond anything, a man that is mired in the mass that constitutes this humanity and, from that vantage point, is a writer that creates pure genius.
Even though the book is loosely based around his tumultuous years with his wife (referred to as Mona in this trilogy) before leaving for Paris, the reader gets far more than that. Miller uses this concrete platform to churn out ideas on most anything else in existence. His writing is lucid, thought-provoking, and intelligent here, some of the best he has ever created.
Overall, a fantastic summation of the points articulated throughout the Rosy Crucifixion and Miller's own life. This is an absolutely amazing writer at his best, not to be missed!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Henry the First, April 19, 2001

By 

Jimena (Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nexus: The Rosy Crucifixion, Book 3 (Paperback)

It is tough describing what is that keeps me so attached to this trilogy, specially this book where Miller describes his pain and his feelings in such a straightforward way. I believe it is his honesty and his bravery to say things one would never even dare to think of. Words come and go smoothly, an so my mind when I read this man. Helps opening up.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex and Philosophy, May 14, 2005

By 

Ronald K. Pendleton (Riverside, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nexus: The Rosy Crucifixion, Book 3 (Paperback)

I owe Henry Miller a great debt. It was his writing, the way he combined sex and philosophy, that really got me into reading all sorts of different things. Now, 50 years later, I am still impressed by what he has written, and I'm still reading all sorts of different things. What we read becomes a part of us, helps define who we are, what we understand of others and of ourself. So what Henry Miller has written is a part of me and when I go back and reread various things he has written, that helps me remember who I am and that I am still continuing to become who I am.