Customer Rating:
Summary: One of Miller's finest
Comment: Henry Miller has influenced me more than any other author ever did. I remember the first time I took to reading one of his books -- The Black Spring. I was only about fourteen -- it seems so long ago -- and, instantly, I was "hooked". There was simply no other writer in the past century that could combine words like Miller did. Eventually, I graduated to his more profound, challenging works, and The Rosy Crucifixion is one of them, Nexus in particular. The finest, most chalenging book in the trilogy, it is filled with not only Miller's so own mumbling, but with something much deeper -- philosophical contemplations on everything from the Western world we live in, to art, relationships, society and suffering. Suffering so typical in America, yet very few authors were able to achive its description as fine as Miller did. Along with The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, Nexus is the must read for any Miller fan. Immortalizing the one woman who made it possible for him to become "the" writer he is, is only a part of the story, enabling us to pull the thorn from our side and see the world with clearer eyes is the best gift he could have given us. Highly recommended, but please read the entire trilogy. Starting with book three would be like eating the cake first, without appreciating what went to the dough.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Sex and Philosophy
Comment: 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.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The sound of no hands clapping.....
Comment: Boy it feels good to finally be done with Henry Miller. And I don't mean just this book - I mean completely done with Henry Miller. No, I haven't read everything by him, but I've read the "essentials" (the two Tropics and the Crucifixion trilogy). And if these are his best books, I really don't want to see what the other ones are like.

My goodness he is tedious. Reading this last installment of The Rosy Crucifixion was like eating the last Pop-Tart in the package. You don't really want to eat it after already having eaten two of them, but you figure you might as well finish the last one so you can throw away the carton. And then about half-way through it you start to feel nauseous.

Henry Miller deserves a fair amount of credit for breaking down barriers in literature that no one really challenged before him. He made it acceptable, even fashionable, to discuss sex explicitly. He made it safe for future writers to be ruthless in their attacks on established societal institutions. And he opened the door for countless pseudo-intellectuals to put their ideas down on paper, even if they weren't trained in the fine art of writing. So with all due respect, I pay my regards to him.

But that doesn't make him a good author. And that doesn't mean we have to read him.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An absolutely fascinating and engrossing portrait
Comment: 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!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Henry the First
Comment: 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.

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