Quiet Days in Clichy

"When I think about this period, when we lived together in Clichy, it seems like a stretch in Paradise. There was only one real problem, and that was food. All other ills were imaginary. I used to tell him so now and then, when he complained about being a slave. He used to say I was an incurable optimist, but it wasn't optimism, it was the deep realisation that, even though the world was busy digging its grave, there was still time to enjoy life, to be merry, carefree, to work or not to work." This quote was enough to inspire me to quit my awful job and start living my life. Since then I moved overseas myself and I haven't looked back. Quiet Days in Clichy, amazing as it sounds after reading the book, was written originally in 1940. At that time, Henry Miller was 49 years old. He rewrote it 16 years laters. At 65 years old, Miller, was able to recapture with mastery the magic of his youthful adventures with his hilarious and memorable sidekick, Carl, during the Paris years. Even now, some 60 years later, the book is still as relevant and inspiring as it ever could have been. For anyone remotely interested in Miller but have been put off by the intense tangent-rambling in the Tropic books, I would suggest picking up this lesser-known edition. It's straightforward, hilarious, and at times shocking, but undoubtedly it will continue to be an inspiration to those who long to live life to the fullest.

I've been a huge Henry Miller fan since I was a teenager in the late 50s, but his infamous and banned books (the Cancer and Capricorn ones) are not my favorites. I far prefer this one, along with The Colossus of Maroussi and Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch.Quiet Days in Clichy is a memoir, a nostalgic love story of life in Paris before WW II, a celebration of the Bohemian life Miller lived when he was a poor unknown writer. It's wonderful, rollicking, hilarious, and introduces fans to a whole cast of characters who became Miller's lifelong friends, people who influenced his writing and his art forever.

This is one of Miller's shorter works and an excellent companion piece to the earlier books set in Paris. While the sexual content is unmistakably Miller, it is not as lascivious as say, the series "The Rosy Crucifixion", but offers profound sensory images of the period. It's like actually being there. "Quiet Days" was made into a film with Miller's consultation and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. There is an earlier Grove (Evergreen Black Cat) movie tie-in edition. The book highlights the life of the literally often starving writer and his constant search for food, a few francs, and his frolics amongst French prostitutes. In terms of literary value, it falls short of the "Tropic" and New Directions titles, but is a must for every Miller fan. Vintage Miller, originally composed in the early 40s and re-written at Big Sur circa 1956.

Clichy stands alone in the works of Henry Miller. While being another semi-autobiographical romance, it lacks the deep introspection, commentaries on art & literature and the constant "I am an artist, I am an artist. I am! I am! I am!" so often found in these type of Miller works, which makes this short volume so refreshing and enjoyable. It's mostly about sex, food & fun in Miller's Paris days while living with good buddy Alfred "Joey" Perles. It is erotic & stimulating without being pornographic or "filthy". It's more akin to mind candy than food for thought, which is A-OK with me. A very enjoyable, entertaining read.