A Devil in Paradise

Very slim book. A quick read. In just a few pages Miller successfully presents the comprehensive problem of dealing with something that outsiders perceive as being so easy--just get rid of that guest of yours.Well, Miller had made an obligation, and knew what it mean to be needy. So, how does one simply say, "GET OUT!"? But more exciting is Miller's ability to give a sober, fair representation of the rude guest. It would have been so easy & bratty to present the guy as thoroughly rotten; but Miller gains credibility as an artist by delineating the complexity of a condition.So, I disagree with a previous reviewer who took this book as a rant. No, no. Miller makes a huge effort to be fair to his nemesis. Rants are one-sided and uninteresting.

From page one of this book Henry Miller exacts his revenge on his unwelcome houseguest. This book is a superb rant, filled with some of Henry Miller's most brilliant and amusing caricatures. Henry Miller deftly swings between sweet admiration and praise for the object of his troubles, and outright disgust. Set in Big Sur, later in his life, it's a short, easy read, and doesn't contain the profanities that cause some people shy away from in Henry Miller's books. Highly Recommended for those who want to laugh out loud at Henry Miller's audacity and want to better understand HM's genius.

We get a glimpse into Henry's life along the California coast, with old friends, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his neighbors. The imagery is unforgettable and seem more real than reality. His ability to detail relationships are superb. It's a fine book, but not as tumultuous in plot as his earlier ones.

Henry Miller is the writer who asks most clearly the question of relationship between art and real life. In his case, art and life are so strongly linked that it is impossible to distinguish one from the other. He is a kind of character quite impossible to ape : as he said in this book, he has made all the possible mistakes, what made him wiser and richer. His appetite for life makes him a pre-socratic writer : in this meaning he is as pure as a child, and as perverse as Sade, and all human contradictions are within him. In this boook he speaks about one of his incredibly funny, absurd parts of life. He was a man who didn't know shame, or ridiculous feelings; despite he has a strong critic spirit. What he said about astrology is very interesting : it shows that rationality is just one way, and maybe not each time the best, to understand human reality.

I love this book! Miller is one of my favorite authors and this work stands out as a favorite. I recommend this book especially to people who have written off Miller as "smut" (or worse). He's a comic genius. And if you've ever had a houseguest from Hell -- this book will show you that you it wasn't *that* bad!!