Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch

I have always been a fan of Miller and count him among the three great writers of my life: Miller, Joyce, and Louis-Ferdinand Céline. All of them influenced and changed my life.What Miller taught me (as a morbid teenager) was that it was possible to say "Yes" to life and to be happy, living life with a fierce will to be fully creatively alive. Or simply to love life.This will to be fully alive and to love life is perhaps what unites all Miller's work, the novels, the memoirs, the essays.This Big Sur "potpourri" appears to be a "lighter" Miller with little of the wild exaltation found in his Greek travel book "The Colossus of Maroussi" a stirring masterpiece. In short it is an eloquent and luminous hymn to Big Sur in its early stages of colonisation and to its varied denizens back then.The last section leaves us with an appaling account of Miller's friend, the Astrologer, Conrad Moricand... which all but brings Miller's paradisical vision of Big Sur to a shuddering halt...But for the most part this book is about how to and what it is to be fully alive and in harmony with one's environment and neighbours. Written in the 1950's it is also a keen reflection of American society and its ills still relevant today. Big Sur is Miller's perfect society, perfect world, his luminous Paradise...The portraits of friends and neighbours are memorable but most memorable of all I found is Miller reflecting on his family life, his wife, his children, and his separation and the subsequent loss of his children...Locked in a bathroom , "weeping like a madman" having lost his beloved Val and Tony, we are presented us with an unforgettably intimate picture of the great man, great writer, and my great Teacher, in a moment of profound heartbreak.

I first read Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch in my early twenties, soon after moving to California from the East Coast. During that first reading, I came to know a Henry Miller I'd never known from his fiction; I was impressed, and inspired. I also met a lot of people that I'd never heard of previously (can you imagine, never having heard of Robinson Jeffers? An east coast woman of 21 years had not!). It was a great read at that time. Many years later (I'm not going to say how many), I've decided to reread it. Once again, I am enjoying this book, and I'm discovering new things (or perhaps rediscovering things I'd forgotten) this time around.It's a ramble, however. There is no plot, there is no consistent train of thought, and there is nothing essentially sensational about it. If you're looking for the Henry Miller of the "Tropics," or any of his other fictional writings, don't look here. This book is broadly philosophical, filled with anecdotes and personal revelations.Quotes that I feel summarize the theme of Big Sur and perhaps Henry Miller's motivation for living there are the following:"Surely every one realizes, at some point along the way, that he is capable of living a far better life than the one he has chosen.""We create our fate everyday."If you're a Henry Miller fan, this is the book to read to come to understand the man and the writer. He also draws a vivid picture of Big Sur era before it became heavily trafficked and overpopulated to the north of it. Definitely worth the time it'll take to read it.

Henry Miller is one of my favorite writers. I love the title of this book and the cover art and I was hoping for something dreamy, imaginative, provocative. Not so. This book is long and tedious and I trudged through it and can't explain why. Besides a few bright and cutting views on the nature of art and being a writer, this book is downright boring. Here's why: Henry Miller struggled through a lot of his life and development as an artist and his adventures early on and the path to his success are exciting. By the time he moved to Big Sur and wrote this book he was in a different mindset. He was looking for some relaxation and good life and especially a sense of community. This is very clear through these insipid pages. So...here it is: Henry Miller moves to Big Sur and every single one of his new neighbors is fascinating to him- one likes to cook, one works on cars, one takes care of the kids. He describes all of his neighbors as if they are the best at whatever they do and they all had a heart of gold and other cliches. I got the impression he was writing this book in order to make better friends with his neighbors so they could see all the nice things he wrote about them when it came out. Instead, there are of course the tropic books, but the rosy crucifixion is a great series- particularly the first half of  Sexus: The Rosy Crucifixion I . Read this instead. He just doesn't have it anymore with Big Sur.

Henry Miller is one of the most brilliant writers I’ve ever read

Had never read Henry Miller before but Big Sur is one of my favorite places in the world so when I found out it was one of his favorite places in the world, too and that he lived there for 15 years, I decided to give the book a try. It is absolutely outstanding! I found myself highlighting, underlining, making notations in the margin and even journaling about many sections. It is truly tremendous and I continue to re-read it, again and again. It may not be everyone's cup of tea or even for most people but it is one of my all-time favorite books.

Everything Henry Miller ever wrote -- and he wrote a lot -- is well worth reading. Here one gets a feel for how Miller allowed his fascination with friends to gull him into being taken advantage of time after time. One comes away from this memoir wishing to have been one of those friends just for the opportunity to share space with a fascinating man.

As in all his books he rambles on a bit too much, going off on tangents...and I have to say I got tired of it and didn't actually finish it. That said, the spirit of the man shines through and it is at times interesting/entertaining/uplifting. Written in a more straightforwardly autobiographical style than some of his more famous works he comes across as older and mellower. As usual with Miller there are some gem philosophical passages in amongst the ramblings - passages that require pencil underlinings and post-its to remind one to go back and read them again. For example there is a great passage on reading and writing starting at the top of page 57 which makes me love the man, and see him as a kindred spirit. Good old Henry. I've just given him another star for that passage.

Very happy with my purchase which arrived well before the due date given. I will definitely use this seller again if possible.Highly recommend. And the book is great as well.

The 'friend' for whom I bought it seems pleased!

Great

Shows a more thoughtful side of Millers complex mind set.