The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder

Perhaps we're all clowns. The clowns in the circus display exaggerated human ineptitude on stage, and the difference between them and us is that we're invited to laugh at them. By doing that, we learn to laugh at ourselves. "It's not us they applaud, it's themselves." Through Auguste, Henry Miller reveals himself to us and at the same time also reveal ourselves to us. Told from a subjective third person point of view, most of the story happens inside the circus and Auguste's head, but the world that he had created for us is small yet infinite. Miller lives on through his beautiful writing, as he invites us to see and experience that which had been there all along."And then and there it came to him - how simple it was! - that to be nobody or anybody or everybody did not prevent him from being himself." (p. 37)

I read Smile at the Foot of the Ladder today. The feeling of bliss at the end was immediately comparable to that of Siddhartha in short story form. He does an excellent epilogue too on the strangeness of the story in accordance with his usual manner of writing, and how the main character drifts into and out of the blue just as delicately as the story did itself. It was truly a wonderful summation of the philosophical concept that is miller- that very concept of a man which ultimately speaks to us and through us in our own rights. There is nothing like dancing with Henry Miller. My mind will be dancing all night.

As far as a book that'll take you less than an hour to read this is the best! Magnificent!

My daughter read the book on her transcontinental flight and loved it

Amidst millions of words of autobiographical writing, stands this lonely book, or rather a novella, The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder, Miller's one and only composition that drew inspiration "from the blue", as Miller himself put it. However, do not be mistaken...this novella shines with brilliance. Apart from the exceptional writing Miller's readers are accustomed to, this story is far more complicated than any other novella I had read, ever. Auguste, the centerpiece in this intricate work, is the embodiment of human suffering, a man who carries out his duty until the last breath. His duty being to bring a lasting joy to his audience. For Auguste, there is nothing easier than to make his audience smile, for he is a clown, but the brief moment when he on stage, is not what he is after. His aim is far superior -- Auguste's desire is to unite people with endless joy, the kind that comes only through God himself. But this task, this task bigger than any one human, was a difficult one. When Auguste takes his "trick" to a new level, the audience, as humans tend to do when faced with something they do not comprehend, went up against him. Auguste abandoned the circus and took to wandering. Nevertheless, a man can escape his surroundings, but a man cannot escape himself. For Auguste, his shadow was always with him, in him, unsatisfied, longing. And so, after a nightmare where Auguste was faced with end of his life, he stumbles upon a circus on the edge of the town. His past, his shadow, catches up with him and Auguste is given a new chance to fulfill his task -- one of the clowns fell ill and the circus needs a replacement. Auguste agrees, partly because he wants to relieve his old life, partly because he wants to kill his old life off by making his "persona" more famous than he ever was as himself. With great success, Auguste is back in his element, until the clown, whom he replaced, suddenly dies. It is then, that August discovers reality. The reality of himself, the world, the humankind. The reality that joy is much more than the limited experience he allows his audiences within the boundaries of the circus. Auguste dives deep into himself, into the darkness of the world and he finds the light he was searching for all his life, becoming one with it.The intricacy of this story, the world in which we live, filled with suffering and joy, the two primary contradicting emotions, is so wonderfully portrayed here. Auguste, complicated like life itself...a man, strong and weak, but above all, vulnerable for he is too human. One of the most fascinating books ever written. Do not be fooled by its size...it will sneak up on you from nowhere, without warning. One of the best works by Miller.

A strange but wonderful tale, elegantly told. The story of August the clown is full of wonder and a kind of simple and peaceful - I would almost say: Eastern - wisdom. Wholly memorable, and quite different from most of Miller's works. There is also an audio recording of the author's own reading around, which is highly recommendable.

I give everyone a copy of this I meet. Henry Miller does more in a few pages than most authors can do in a lifetime. I'm not even going to attempt to write down my thoughts on what all the symbolism means to me. I will just say this. Get 10 dollars out of your wallet and buy a classic. Whenever I am down I read Smile, when I'm really happy I read Smile. The blood trickling down his face.............

Bought this book in an earlier print at antiquarian book fair. Beautiful design by Merle Armitage, reminding of Black Sparrow Pressbooks from the 80ties.Still this dates back to the late 40ties. Stripes like Daniel Buren. Color circles at the beginning and end of the story. Strange fairytale like short story which could be experiienced as kitsch. I don't know really. With nicely reproduced monochrome clownesk pictures by Picasso, Segonzac, Klee, Rouault etc most from the designers private (!) collection.

This is the story of a clown who drift into despair when his performance is booed. Then comes his downfall, the lose of identity implied in the death of his character, the clown August. Later he is offered a second chance but his search for bliss will never be quite complete ; and in loosing himself in that search he also kills himself. A search of identity and happiness that ends badly. Even though my summary sound sad I enjoyed that reading because there are two levels of reading : first the story, the performance, the dream of a never ending ascension on a tree etc... and, in my opinion, on a second level of reading where the man walks a very rocky path, fighting inner demon, dreaming his death, then struggling to pick himself up with the rebirth into another character, the clown Antoine. At one point the bunderies between the story and the dream are difficult to keep.

Excellent