What do you think?
Rate this book
Quiet Days in Clichy
This tender and nostalgic work dates from the same period as Tropic of Cancer (1934). It is a celebration of love, art, and the Bohemian life at a time when the world was simpler and slower, and Miller an obscure, penniless young writer in Paris. Whether discussing the early days of his long friendship with Alfred Perles or his escapades at the Club Melody brothel, in Quiet Days in Clichy Miller describes a period that would shape his entire life and oeuvre.
154 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1956
About the author
Henry Miller
741 books4,889 followersHenry Valentine Miller was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, stream of consciousness, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn, and the trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion, which are based on his experiences in New York City and Paris (all of which were banned in the United States until 1961). He also wrote travel memoirs and literary criticism, and painted watercolors.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews
July 12, 2010
Talented and unabashedly debaucherous, Joey (a fictionalised Miller) and his roommate Carl mostly seem to spend their ‘quiet days in Clichy’ either writing or fucking. Every woman in these two stories exist entirely as sex objects for Joey and Carl, and almost all of them are ready and willing to spread their legs, for money or lust, and occasionally with utter indifference.
Normally, this would lead me to rip the story to shreds for its sexism, but I was completely swayed by Miller’s brilliant writing. There isn’t much of a plot here and there are no admirable (or perhaps even likeable) characters, but I devoured every word. It makes me feel like the parents of Colette, the 15-year old runaway waif who gets taken in by Carl and Joey and becomes their “Cinderella, concubine and cook”. When Colette’s parents eventually find her they naturally want a word with Carl about his illicit relationship with their daughter. But upon finding out that he and Joey are writers who study the likes of Proust and Goethe, they are instantly placated and decide not to press any charges. As Carl interprets it, “The French have a great respect for writers, you know that. A writer is never an ordinary criminal”.
In the same way, the artistry of Miller’s writing makes me forgive, and in fact, thoroughly enjoy the depravity of his content. Should I feel a bit guilty, or perhaps deceived about this? I don’t know, but oh, what a great read!
Read more reviews on my blog Violin in a Void
Normally, this would lead me to rip the story to shreds for its sexism, but I was completely swayed by Miller’s brilliant writing. There isn’t much of a plot here and there are no admirable (or perhaps even likeable) characters, but I devoured every word. It makes me feel like the parents of Colette, the 15-year old runaway waif who gets taken in by Carl and Joey and becomes their “Cinderella, concubine and cook”. When Colette’s parents eventually find her they naturally want a word with Carl about his illicit relationship with their daughter. But upon finding out that he and Joey are writers who study the likes of Proust and Goethe, they are instantly placated and decide not to press any charges. As Carl interprets it, “The French have a great respect for writers, you know that. A writer is never an ordinary criminal”.
In the same way, the artistry of Miller’s writing makes me forgive, and in fact, thoroughly enjoy the depravity of his content. Should I feel a bit guilty, or perhaps deceived about this? I don’t know, but oh, what a great read!
Read more reviews on my blog Violin in a Void
Read
May 7, 2015update: Miller's Quiet Days In Clichy is given the once over in Verbivoracious Festschrift Volume Three: The Syllabus.
Quiet away away
from misogynay
said more to be sexist is he
but after all is done and said
he likes his women most in bed
Quiet away away
from misogynay
said more to be sexist is he
but after all is done and said
he likes his women most in bed
May 5, 2023
" كنت قد كتبت حوالي ثمانى او عشر صفحات من الهذر التام الذى لم يكن بوسع اكثر السرياليين وحشية ان يعرف رأس ماكتبت من ذيله "
وهذا هو ما عليه هذه الرواية صفحات من الهذر التام بلا راس ولا ديل ولا معنى ولا فكرة ولا اى شئ
June 27, 2012
Is there any more overrated author than Henry Miller, other than perhaps other writers in his inner literally (pun intended) incestuous circle? Or a more prototypical crustpunk/freegan patronizing pretentious self-absorbed dippy douchebag? Or a better example of an annoying shit who thinks just because he's in another country he's interesting?
The difference between Miller and generic porn is the fact that Miller isn't profoundly stupid. He's smart enough to know that just having sex and self-consciousness in a novel makes it interesting and literary to New Yorker subscribers, just as he's not smart enough to know just because he's "honest" and writes "honestly" about sex doesn't mean he's a genius. A satire about pretentious assholes done by pretentious assholes is still pretentious and full of assholes.
When he's not annoying me for being a smug snot-nosed shit, though, Miller is fun to read, and he does have some oh-so-French lines. He's essentially a writer of romance novels (fantasies) for writers, virginal librarians and others who yearn for the Good Old Days of Debauchery.
But nothing takes me out of a sex scene more than the word "boobies."
A lot of people seem to be under the impression that this and other Miller is written by an old man reminiscing about his young and carefree days. But by my estimation, if Miller was born in 1891, and these stories take place in the early 30's, he'd be a 40-year old banging 14-year old chicks, among other casually creepy and misogynistic things. So take it or leave it if that floats your boat, but stop picturing him in your head as a harmless naif or innocent freshman.
The difference between Miller and generic porn is the fact that Miller isn't profoundly stupid. He's smart enough to know that just having sex and self-consciousness in a novel makes it interesting and literary to New Yorker subscribers, just as he's not smart enough to know just because he's "honest" and writes "honestly" about sex doesn't mean he's a genius. A satire about pretentious assholes done by pretentious assholes is still pretentious and full of assholes.
When he's not annoying me for being a smug snot-nosed shit, though, Miller is fun to read, and he does have some oh-so-French lines. He's essentially a writer of romance novels (fantasies) for writers, virginal librarians and others who yearn for the Good Old Days of Debauchery.
But nothing takes me out of a sex scene more than the word "boobies."
A lot of people seem to be under the impression that this and other Miller is written by an old man reminiscing about his young and carefree days. But by my estimation, if Miller was born in 1891, and these stories take place in the early 30's, he'd be a 40-year old banging 14-year old chicks, among other casually creepy and misogynistic things. So take it or leave it if that floats your boat, but stop picturing him in your head as a harmless naif or innocent freshman.
September 27, 2012
إما أن تتقبل هنري ميللر كما هو فيروق لك و تجد نفسك من أنصاره الذين يهتفون بحماسة و دون حياء أو تبغضه إلى الأبد و تعاديه دونما هوادة و تصب اللعنات - كل اللعنات - على هذا الوغد . راقت لي بعض التعليقات في الموقع من بعض القراء الأجانب حيث كانت إحداهن منصفة إلى أبعد حد حين قالت أنه لا شك كاتبٌ رائع و إن بدا خنزيراً . هناك رأي آخر يتسائل لماذا لا يقلع الجميع عن قراءة هنري و هو الذي لا يتخلى عن البذاءات و سردها بكل الطرق البشعة و مع ذلك يلاقي نجاحاً مسعوراً - إن صح التعبير - و علل ذلك بصوته السردي البارع و العفوي جداً .
العنوان مضلل بالمناسبة أو أن ميللر يقصد الهدوء الذي لا بد أن يعقب الصخب ! ليس ثمة الكثير من الأحداث و هذه عادة لم يقلع عنها الكاتب أبداً و عشاق الحبكات الروائية على موعد مع خيبة كبيرة إن ترقبوا شيئاً من هذا القبيل . و الكتاب فيه كاتبان يقدسان حياة اللهو و الشراب فاليوم خمر و غد ٌ كذلك و ما بعد الغد و على مدار الأسبوع الأول و الثاني و الثالث و من الواضح أن امرؤ القيس كان سيصبح صديقهما المفضل . لا شيء سوى أصناف النبيذ و العاهرات ! تقريباً لا شي آخر . هذا يدعو للتقزز غير أن للحقيقة زوايا أخرى من الممكن أن تصنع فارقاً فاللغة هنا ت��لح كل ما أفسده الكاتب عن عمد . و لعلني أقتبس ما يوضح الفكرة بشكل أكبر .
" إن كارل عبقري في التورط بالمشاكل . كانت المشكلة أو ربما الفضيلة أنه لا يستطيع أن يقول لا . إن معظم الناس يقولون على الفور لا ، بدافع غريزي أعمى أما هو فيقول نعم باستمرار . إنه يعيش حياته بدافع اللحظة و لا يتوقف عن مغازلة الخطر لا بدافع الشجاعة بل لأن ذلك يمنحه فرصة لشحذ ذكائه ! "
October 9, 2021
قبل از هرچیزی، شیفتهی اسم کتاب شدم...
«روزهای آرام در کلیشی» ...
انگار ناآرامی از سر و روی کتاب میبارد ...
و درست حدس زدم.
این عنوانی که در بازار کتاب ایران هست، متشکل از یک لانگ شورت استوری ( روزهای آرام در کلیشی )، یک سالشمار از زندگی میلر و تعدادی اظهار نظر درباره میلر از طرف عدهای هنرمند و نویسنده هست که به انتهای کتاب ضمیمه شده است.
و اما خود داستان...
میلر یک تجربینویس بود و غالب آثار داستانی منتشر شده از میلر، اتوبیوگرافی از مقاطع مختلف زندگی او هستند.
روزهای آرام در کلیشی، به دورهای برمیگردد که میلر همراه با همخانهی نویسندهش، در میدانی موسوم به میدان کلیشی در پاریس اقامت داشت و مشغول نوشتن کارهای اولیهاش، از جمله بهار سیاه بود.
میلر در کلیشی، روزهای عجیب و غریبی گذرانده. با فقر دست به یقه بوده و با نشمهها و آدمهای عجیب و عادات غریبی زندگی کرده و چکیدهای از اتفاقات به یاد ماندنی و تجارب زندگیش را در این کتاب کوتاه گنجانده که به جد خواندنی است.
در خصوص سبک و سیاق میلر هم برای کسانی آشنایی زیادی با میلر ندارند، در همین حد بگویم که روان و خطی و بی شیله پیله مینویسد و تکنیکهای داستانسرایی چندانی بلد نیست، در نتیجه، آثارش چندان در فرم پیچیده نیستند. نوشتههای او، به دو همکار آمریکاییاش، چارلز بوکوفسکی و جان فانته بسیار نزدیک هستند و از همان حال و هوای عیاشگونِ بی دغدغه و دم را غنیمت دان برخوردارند.
این کتابها جان میدهند برای تورق در اتاقهای انتظار، اتوبوس، قطار و مترو که زمانی از خستگی یا کسالت از همهچیز سیریم، متن روان و بدرد بخوری باشد، که ما را دوباره به ذوق آورد.
مهر ۱۴۰۰
«روزهای آرام در کلیشی» ...
انگار ناآرامی از سر و روی کتاب میبارد ...
و درست حدس زدم.
این عنوانی که در بازار کتاب ایران هست، متشکل از یک لانگ شورت استوری ( روزهای آرام در کلیشی )، یک سالشمار از زندگی میلر و تعدادی اظهار نظر درباره میلر از طرف عدهای هنرمند و نویسنده هست که به انتهای کتاب ضمیمه شده است.
و اما خود داستان...
میلر یک تجربینویس بود و غالب آثار داستانی منتشر شده از میلر، اتوبیوگرافی از مقاطع مختلف زندگی او هستند.
روزهای آرام در کلیشی، به دورهای برمیگردد که میلر همراه با همخانهی نویسندهش، در میدانی موسوم به میدان کلیشی در پاریس اقامت داشت و مشغول نوشتن کارهای اولیهاش، از جمله بهار سیاه بود.
میلر در کلیشی، روزهای عجیب و غریبی گذرانده. با فقر دست به یقه بوده و با نشمهها و آدمهای عجیب و عادات غریبی زندگی کرده و چکیدهای از اتفاقات به یاد ماندنی و تجارب زندگیش را در این کتاب کوتاه گنجانده که به جد خواندنی است.
در خصوص سبک و سیاق میلر هم برای کسانی آشنایی زیادی با میلر ندارند، در همین حد بگویم که روان و خطی و بی شیله پیله مینویسد و تکنیکهای داستانسرایی چندانی بلد نیست، در نتیجه، آثارش چندان در فرم پیچیده نیستند. نوشتههای او، به دو همکار آمریکاییاش، چارلز بوکوفسکی و جان فانته بسیار نزدیک هستند و از همان حال و هوای عیاشگونِ بی دغدغه و دم را غنیمت دان برخوردارند.
این کتابها جان میدهند برای تورق در اتاقهای انتظار، اتوبوس، قطار و مترو که زمانی از خستگی یا کسالت از همهچیز سیریم، متن روان و بدرد بخوری باشد، که ما را دوباره به ذوق آورد.
مهر ۱۴۰۰
December 6, 2022
TW: rape, rape of a minor, sexism, extremely graphic language and descriptions of sex (basically porn), sexist slurs, racist slurs => all unchallenged bc Henry Miller is toxic af, so beware!
I have no idea what the fuck just happened. I picked up this German edition of Quiet Days in Clichy a couple of days ago. I found it in the free little library at my local gym and fell in love with its cover. Seriously, it's one of the best cover designs I've come across in a minute. I love the color choices and the unique font. I've wanted to read this little fragment of auto-fiction years ago, I toyed with the idea of picking up its Penguin Modern Classics edition, because I was (and still am) obsessed with Paris and I do love me a pretentious little read, but I never got around to it.
Looking back, I am actually glad that I didn't read it back in 2016, or whenever I first came across this story. I would've been appalled. I would've been too young to read and assess it for what it is. And, it's a nice bonus to now have a gorgeous hardback edition that I didn't have to pay a single dime for.
I personally think I read Quiet Days in Clichy at the perfect time in my life, without even knowing it. I am sick (yet again... this autumn/winter season is NOT treating me well) and I felt very down. October and November were some rough months for me and it showed in my reading as well. I barely read anything. And even though I discovered some gems I wasn't as enthralled or excited about my reads like I usually am. Feeling down and unproductive I picked up Quiet Days in Clichy yesterday evening. It was around 9 PM and I didn't think much of it. I thought I'd read 20 pages and get bored – something that frequently happened over the past months. But no! For some weird reason, Henry Miller had me in his grip from the first page. I read this 200-page book in two hours, in one single sitting... without even getting up. I quite literally flew through this book. Whenever I checked the page number I was shocked to see that I had read 20 or more pages.
Quiet Days in Clichy will be one of the more memorable reading experiences of 2022 with me. The book is scandalous and problematic af but it was so delicious reading it. The book is full of sex (and rape!, so beware of that!), porn, nudity, obscenity, and overall fucked up toxic shit, I knew it was A LOT but I didn't fathom it'd be that graphic. For the first time, I kinda understand why US-American publishers initially refused to publish it lmao. Had I run a publishing house this book would've stayed in the drafts, bitch, no fucking way would I have sent it to a printing press.
It's just sex, sex, rape, sex, sex. This fragment/novella is apparently based on Miller's own experiences as a Parisian expatriate in the early 1930s, when he and Alfred Perlès shared a small apartment in suburban Clichy as struggling writers. Imagine the power that men hold that they can basically confess to raping a 15-year-old girl on paper and facing ZERO legal consequences. It is absolutely wild.
Figures like Miller, in all their toxic masculine glory, can hold a lot of fascination for people. I am not exempt from that. I wanna look into his biography and watch some interviews with him, because damn, how fucked up can a person be??? Like, seriously. Was he ever in prison, or???
Quiet Days in Clichy follows Joey (= Miller), an American expatriate, in and around Place Clichy and is divided into two parts. In the first, "Quiet Days in Clichy", Joey and his equally destitute roommate Carl search for food and navigate "relationships" with various women. Chiefly, Joey with Nys, a prostitute he meets at the Café Wepler near Montmartre, and Carl with Colette, a fifteen-year-old runaway who moves in with them before eventually being retrieved by her parents.
To my "shame", I have to admit that I actually loved that first part. Had it not been for the "relationship" (aka RAPE) of the 15-year-old Colette I would've given it 5 stars. Simply because it is so brutally honest and gripping. I just couldn't stop reading about Miller's crude ways. He euphemises nothing in his relationships/transactions with prostitutes. He gives you the nitty-gritty of being poor and destitute in Paris, e.g. having to eat bread out of trash cans etc. His roommate's "relationship" with Colette is the only thing that constantly pulled me out of the story bc it's just so fucking disgusting and it makes me really uncomfortable and angry to think of how many grown ass men desire girls. It makes me sick to my stomach and I'll never "enjoy" reading about that.
The second part, "Mara-Marignon," describes Carl's volatile love affair with the married Eliane, and Joey's relationship with Mara, a prostitute he meets on the Champs-Élysées. Mara reminds Joey of a previous lover, the married Christine, whom he regrets not marrying himself. This leads to a recollection of an evening he and Carl spent at their home with an acrobat named Corinne and a Danish woman named Christine. The four of them have a spontaneous orgy, which upsets Christine, who then flees the apartment. (You can't make that shit up.)
Personally, that second half didn't do much for me. It was boring af and pretty repetitive when you have just read the first part. There are no new insights and the shock factor is lost because Miller already revealed it all. Overall, the book could've been easily improved by simply omitting the second story, it is completely unnecessary and the final orgy (lmao) was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read.
All in all, Quiet Days in Clichy can be compared with stuffing yourself with candy. It feels great when you start. It's delicious and you start craving more. But once you do it for a while and especially when you look back on what you just did you cannot help but hate yourself. This is a book that I would never recommend to anyone. I am happy that I read it (Miller is one of those "classic" authors I want to have read) but I am equally happy it's over. Guess I'm too much of a prude to properly enjoy erotica, I was simply gasping left and right at the audacity of it all.
I have no idea what the fuck just happened. I picked up this German edition of Quiet Days in Clichy a couple of days ago. I found it in the free little library at my local gym and fell in love with its cover. Seriously, it's one of the best cover designs I've come across in a minute. I love the color choices and the unique font. I've wanted to read this little fragment of auto-fiction years ago, I toyed with the idea of picking up its Penguin Modern Classics edition, because I was (and still am) obsessed with Paris and I do love me a pretentious little read, but I never got around to it.
Looking back, I am actually glad that I didn't read it back in 2016, or whenever I first came across this story. I would've been appalled. I would've been too young to read and assess it for what it is. And, it's a nice bonus to now have a gorgeous hardback edition that I didn't have to pay a single dime for.
I personally think I read Quiet Days in Clichy at the perfect time in my life, without even knowing it. I am sick (yet again... this autumn/winter season is NOT treating me well) and I felt very down. October and November were some rough months for me and it showed in my reading as well. I barely read anything. And even though I discovered some gems I wasn't as enthralled or excited about my reads like I usually am. Feeling down and unproductive I picked up Quiet Days in Clichy yesterday evening. It was around 9 PM and I didn't think much of it. I thought I'd read 20 pages and get bored – something that frequently happened over the past months. But no! For some weird reason, Henry Miller had me in his grip from the first page. I read this 200-page book in two hours, in one single sitting... without even getting up. I quite literally flew through this book. Whenever I checked the page number I was shocked to see that I had read 20 or more pages.
Quiet Days in Clichy will be one of the more memorable reading experiences of 2022 with me. The book is scandalous and problematic af but it was so delicious reading it. The book is full of sex (and rape!, so beware of that!), porn, nudity, obscenity, and overall fucked up toxic shit, I knew it was A LOT but I didn't fathom it'd be that graphic. For the first time, I kinda understand why US-American publishers initially refused to publish it lmao. Had I run a publishing house this book would've stayed in the drafts, bitch, no fucking way would I have sent it to a printing press.
It's just sex, sex, rape, sex, sex. This fragment/novella is apparently based on Miller's own experiences as a Parisian expatriate in the early 1930s, when he and Alfred Perlès shared a small apartment in suburban Clichy as struggling writers. Imagine the power that men hold that they can basically confess to raping a 15-year-old girl on paper and facing ZERO legal consequences. It is absolutely wild.
Figures like Miller, in all their toxic masculine glory, can hold a lot of fascination for people. I am not exempt from that. I wanna look into his biography and watch some interviews with him, because damn, how fucked up can a person be??? Like, seriously. Was he ever in prison, or???
Quiet Days in Clichy follows Joey (= Miller), an American expatriate, in and around Place Clichy and is divided into two parts. In the first, "Quiet Days in Clichy", Joey and his equally destitute roommate Carl search for food and navigate "relationships" with various women. Chiefly, Joey with Nys, a prostitute he meets at the Café Wepler near Montmartre, and Carl with Colette, a fifteen-year-old runaway who moves in with them before eventually being retrieved by her parents.
To my "shame", I have to admit that I actually loved that first part. Had it not been for the "relationship" (aka RAPE) of the 15-year-old Colette I would've given it 5 stars. Simply because it is so brutally honest and gripping. I just couldn't stop reading about Miller's crude ways. He euphemises nothing in his relationships/transactions with prostitutes. He gives you the nitty-gritty of being poor and destitute in Paris, e.g. having to eat bread out of trash cans etc. His roommate's "relationship" with Colette is the only thing that constantly pulled me out of the story bc it's just so fucking disgusting and it makes me really uncomfortable and angry to think of how many grown ass men desire girls. It makes me sick to my stomach and I'll never "enjoy" reading about that.
The second part, "Mara-Marignon," describes Carl's volatile love affair with the married Eliane, and Joey's relationship with Mara, a prostitute he meets on the Champs-Élysées. Mara reminds Joey of a previous lover, the married Christine, whom he regrets not marrying himself. This leads to a recollection of an evening he and Carl spent at their home with an acrobat named Corinne and a Danish woman named Christine. The four of them have a spontaneous orgy, which upsets Christine, who then flees the apartment. (You can't make that shit up.)
Personally, that second half didn't do much for me. It was boring af and pretty repetitive when you have just read the first part. There are no new insights and the shock factor is lost because Miller already revealed it all. Overall, the book could've been easily improved by simply omitting the second story, it is completely unnecessary and the final orgy (lmao) was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read.
All in all, Quiet Days in Clichy can be compared with stuffing yourself with candy. It feels great when you start. It's delicious and you start craving more. But once you do it for a while and especially when you look back on what you just did you cannot help but hate yourself. This is a book that I would never recommend to anyone. I am happy that I read it (Miller is one of those "classic" authors I want to have read) but I am equally happy it's over. Guess I'm too much of a prude to properly enjoy erotica, I was simply gasping left and right at the audacity of it all.
January 12, 2023
У часи тотального панування смерті випадкові знахідки і прояви нестримної жаги до життя зачаровують і вражають.
Пригоди в Парижі між двома світовими війнами не можуть бути цнотливими, відтак і різноманітні гедоністичні авантурники злітаються на світло нічних ресторанів та барів і тепло розпусних жіночих тіл з усього світу. І літератори з пуританських Сполучених Штатів Америки серед таких – не пасуть задніх. Як і Ернест Гемінґвей в "Святі, яке завжди з тобою" вони часто не мають, що їсти. А з іншого боку – якось знаходять достатньо ресурсів і фантазії на користування послугами повій.
"Тихі дні в Кліші" Генрі Міллера це ностальгійна і відверта розповідь про старі добрі розпусні дні від уже немолодого письменника.
Було скандально і шокуюче відверто, місцями потворно, але, дивним чином, в певному сенсі романтично вештатися з alter ego автора Джоуї та його приятелем Карлом, бухати, розкидатися грошима (коли вони раптом падають з неба) і спати (ну тобто як спати...) з одними і тими ж жінками, влаштовувати невдалі оргії, тікати від божевільних повій, лікувати венеричні болячки – зовсім не те, чому можна було би позаздрити, але ж і неможливо не захоплюватися такою невтомною жагою до життя.
Читаючи "Тихі дні в Кліші" я не просто відчував, як розпуста дихає мені в спину (якщо ви розумієте, про що я) – нєєє, розпуста дихала мені у вухо та шию, кусала за плече і вишкрябувала нігтями криваві руни на лопатках.
Пригоди в Парижі між двома світовими війнами не можуть бути цнотливими, відтак і різноманітні гедоністичні авантурники злітаються на світло нічних ресторанів та барів і тепло розпусних жіночих тіл з усього світу. І літератори з пуританських Сполучених Штатів Америки серед таких – не пасуть задніх. Як і Ернест Гемінґвей в "Святі, яке завжди з тобою" вони часто не мають, що їсти. А з іншого боку – якось знаходять достатньо ресурсів і фантазії на користування послугами повій.
"Тихі дні в Кліші" Генрі Міллера це ностальгійна і відверта розповідь про старі добрі розпусні дні від уже немолодого письменника.
Було скандально і шокуюче відверто, місцями потворно, але, дивним чином, в певному сенсі романтично вештатися з alter ego автора Джоуї та його приятелем Карлом, бухати, розкидатися грошима (коли вони раптом падають з неба) і спати (ну тобто як спати...) з одними і тими ж жінками, влаштовувати невдалі оргії, тікати від божевільних повій, лікувати венеричні болячки – зовсім не те, чому можна було би позаздрити, але ж і неможливо не захоплюватися такою невтомною жагою до життя.
Читаючи "Тихі дні в Кліші" я не просто відчував, як розпуста дихає мені в спину (якщо ви розумієте, про що я) – нєєє, розпуста дихала мені у вухо та шию, кусала за плече і вишкрябувала нігтями криваві руни на лопатках.
June 9, 2018
Quiet Days in Clichy is a novella about nothing. It tells the story, barely at that, of a few days in the lives of two starving writers in Paris. It's supposed to be semi-autobiographical, based on Miller's own experiences of living a destitute life in Clichy neighbourhood of Paris in 1930s.
Both the central characters are made out to be crass misogynists yet cannot live without women. Miller writes marvellously as long as he is not writing about sex. When he turns to sex, which is almost on every page, he engenders feeling of disgust in the reader. Problem is not over-abundance of sex, it is the way sex and characters' thoughts on sex and women have been depicted.
Don't, for a moment, believe that this is erotica. It has truck loads of sex in it but none of it is erotic. It may have shocked the pre-1964 readers but today, it remains oafish and despicable drivel.
Having said all this, I would still want to read all that Miller has written.
Both the central characters are made out to be crass misogynists yet cannot live without women. Miller writes marvellously as long as he is not writing about sex. When he turns to sex, which is almost on every page, he engenders feeling of disgust in the reader. Problem is not over-abundance of sex, it is the way sex and characters' thoughts on sex and women have been depicted.
Don't, for a moment, believe that this is erotica. It has truck loads of sex in it but none of it is erotic. It may have shocked the pre-1964 readers but today, it remains oafish and despicable drivel.
Having said all this, I would still want to read all that Miller has written.
November 28, 2015
E ciudat cât de impudici pot fi unii oameni, dar e culmea cum impudicitatea lor este atât de fecundă. Nu-l pot înţelege pe Miller pentru că nu mă pot pune în pielea lui. Nu pot concepe să-mi schimb "curvele" de pe o zi pe alta, nu pot concepe cum un bărbat poate propaga atât dispreţ la adresa unei femei.
Că tot am cartea în faţă, spun acum pentru că n-am făcut-o niciodată: MI-E SILĂ DE "VORBELE DE DUH" ALE CRITICILOR DE PE COPERTA DIN SPATE! Unde-i Tudor Vianu? Unde-i Titluescu şi unde-i Ibrăileanu? Acum numai "senzaţional", "unic", "literatura americană de azi începe şi se sfârşeşte cu sensul pe care i l-a dat Miller". Fix...
Apreciez eroticul, dar nu orgia... Şi, totuşi, într-o oarecare măsură sunt invidios pe indiferenţa lu Miller. Un spirit existenţialist, dar unul exhibiţionist...
Că tot am cartea în faţă, spun acum pentru că n-am făcut-o niciodată: MI-E SILĂ DE "VORBELE DE DUH" ALE CRITICILOR DE PE COPERTA DIN SPATE! Unde-i Tudor Vianu? Unde-i Titluescu şi unde-i Ibrăileanu? Acum numai "senzaţional", "unic", "literatura americană de azi începe şi se sfârşeşte cu sensul pe care i l-a dat Miller". Fix...
Apreciez eroticul, dar nu orgia... Şi, totuşi, într-o oarecare măsură sunt invidios pe indiferenţa lu Miller. Un spirit existenţialist, dar unul exhibiţionist...
September 18, 2024
Wie ein Guckloch in eine andere Welt: die beiden jungen Männer Carl und Joey leben in den 30ern in Paris, mittellos, ziellos, ihren sexuellen Interessen nachgehend und von Tag zu Tag lebend. Dabei steht weniger das, was passiert im Vordergrund (Permutationen von Sex, Hunger, an Geld kommen), sondern die Art und Weise, in der Miller die Geschehnisse erzählt. Vollkommen ungefiltert, schamlos offen wird sowohl die Armut der beiden als auch ihr sexuelles Erleben geschildert. Mit Sicherheit wegweisend für die Zeit, in der es entstanden und veröffenlicht wurde; auch heute hat diese schonunglose, aber sich dabei nicht selbst sensationalisierende Erzählweise noch viel für sich. Trotz allem Abscheulichen, was Joey und Carl machen, um sexuell und finanziell auf ihre Kosten zu kommen, wohnt der Erzählung eine grundsätzliche Menschenfreundschaft inne. Mit großer Empathie blickt zum Beispiel der Erzähler ganz am Anfang auf Montmatre, bevor wir dann in seine Straßen und Gassen abtauchen.
Das größte Problem des Textes ist seine notwendige Beschränktheit. Mehr, als aufzurühren, ein realistisches Bild der Stadt und des Sexuallebens zu zeichnen, ist ihm nicht möglich. Insofern entseht selbst auf die kurze Distanz eine gewisse Redundanz, und mit dem Buchdeckel klappt auch das Guckloch zu.
Das größte Problem des Textes ist seine notwendige Beschränktheit. Mehr, als aufzurühren, ein realistisches Bild der Stadt und des Sexuallebens zu zeichnen, ist ihm nicht möglich. Insofern entseht selbst auf die kurze Distanz eine gewisse Redundanz, und mit dem Buchdeckel klappt auch das Guckloch zu.
June 17, 2017
Ενας υπέροχος Χένρι Μίλλερ μ' ένα έργο που γράφτηκε πριν στη δεκαετία του '30 και ξαναγράφτηκε στη δεκαετία του '50 (1956).
Δεν είναι ο μύθος που λατρεύεις στο συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, είναι οι περιγραφές του Μίλλερ, είναι η διάχυτη σεξουαλικότητα, είναι το α-ρομαντικό και συνάμα τόσο θελκτικό. Αν τις "Ησυχες μέρες στο Κλισί" διαβάσει ένα νεαρό παιδί (15-20), τότε στα σίγουρα θα στιγματίσει τη ζωή του, ίσως και την κοσμοθεωρία του για το τι είναι έρωτας, σεξ, ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, πραγματική καθημερινή ζωή.
Για έναν ενήλικο είναι μια γερή γροθιά πιο κάτω από το στομάχι.
Δεν είναι ο μύθος που λατρεύεις στο συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, είναι οι περιγραφές του Μίλλερ, είναι η διάχυτη σεξουαλικότητα, είναι το α-ρομαντικό και συνάμα τόσο θελκτικό. Αν τις "Ησυχες μέρες στο Κλισί" διαβάσει ένα νεαρό παιδί (15-20), τότε στα σίγουρα θα στιγματίσει τη ζωή του, ίσως και την κοσμοθεωρία του για το τι είναι έρωτας, σεξ, ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, πραγματική καθημερινή ζωή.
Για έναν ενήλικο είναι μια γερή γροθιά πιο κάτω από το στομάχι.
November 20, 2014
أيام هادئة في كليشي
لازلت أبحث عن هنري ميلر الذي يتحدث عنه الجميع، لم تعجبني طريقته ولا أسلوبه ولا موضوعاته، لا يبدو لي مجيداً سردياً، ولا حتى ايروتيكياً، هكذا كان كتابه هذا على قصره ثقيلاً علي، بدا لي صعلكة وجنس لا أكثر، بلا أي لمحة أدبية.
لازلت أبحث عن هنري ميلر الذي يتحدث عنه الجميع، لم تعجبني طريقته ولا أسلوبه ولا موضوعاته، لا يبدو لي مجيداً سردياً، ولا حتى ايروتيكياً، هكذا كان كتابه هذا على قصره ثقيلاً علي، بدا لي صعلكة وجنس لا أكثر، بلا أي لمحة أدبية.
August 9, 2019
Το μικρό αυτό βιβλιαράκι αποτελεί την πρώτη μου επαφή με το έργο του Χένρι Μίλερ. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι θα μπορούσα να τον γνωρίσω με το "Ο Τροπικός του Καρκίνου" που πιάνει σκόνη στη βιβλιοθήκη μου εδώ και κάτι χρόνια, όμως δεν ήθελα να πέσω κατευθείαν στα βαθιά, ενώ επίσης ήθελα να διαβάσω κάτι μικρό και σχετικά γρήγορο. Νομίζω ότι έκανα την ιδανική αρχή, πήρα μια καλή εικόνα από τη γραφή και τον τρόπο σκέψης του συγγραφέα, γνωρίζοντας βέβαια ότι μπορεί να φτάσει σε πολύ υψηλότερα επίπεδα ποιότητας στα πιο μεγάλης έκτασης έργα του. Οι δυο ιστορίες που περιέχει το βιβλίο, είναι ουσιαστικά αυτοβιογραφικές, από τις εμπειρίες του Μίλερ κατά τη διαμονή του στο Παρίσι, εμπειρίες γεμάτες εφήμερους έρωτες, διάφορες σεξουαλικές καταστάσεις και κάθε είδους τρέλα. Με λιτές και σε σημεία ωμές περιγραφές, ο Μίλερ παρουσιάζει χαρακτήρες κάθε φυράματος, γρήγορες σεξουαλικές σκηνές, αλλά και ένα Παρίσι μιας άλλης εποχής. Δεν μπορώ να ξέρω πόσο χαρακτηριστικό του στιλ και του ύφους του Μίλερ είναι το συγκεκριμένο βιβλιαράκι, πάντως δηλώνω εξαιρετικά ικανοποιημένος.
January 4, 2018
Henry Miller her gün karşımıza çıkan yazarlardan değil. Başyapıtı 'Yengeç Dönencesi'ni okurken 'hayatımda okuduğum en dürüst yazar bu' diye mırıldanıp durmuştum. Sonrasında da bu hissim hiç azalmadı. Hayatı ve yazdıkları arasındaki muhteşem ilişki, kurşun geçirmez inadı, yasaklara karşı senelerce direnmesi, kendini istemediği hiçbir çarka sokmama konusundaki başarısı, yoksulluk ve sefaletten mutluluk damıtması, haz damıtması... O kadar ilham verici ki, kendimi daha güçlü hissediyorum onu her okuduğumda. O yüzden ilk okuduğum günden bu yana seneler geçti, hala en sevdiğim yazarlardan biri. Özellikle herkesin tabu saydığı şeyleri arsızca, olduğu gibi anlatması; birilerinin yüzünü kızartan konuları şov haline getirmeden, estetize etmeye çalışmadan aktarabilmesi; bir yazar olarak kitaplarında kendini bu kadar şeffaf ve bütün halinde gözler önüne sermesi... Hayranım anlayacağınız.
Bu söylediklerim 'Clichy'de Sessiz Günler' için değil, yazarın kendisi için. Çünkü bütün eserlerinde ana karakter zaten Henry Miller'dır. Hep kendi hayatından kesitler anlatır. Eserleri üst üste koydukça Miller'ı da artık yakından tanımaya başlarsınız.
Bu kitap da yazarın Paris günlerini bize aktarıyor. İki tane novella var içerisinde. Bu ikisinde de Clichy zamanlarında Carl ile yaşadıkları konu alınıyor. Bana kalırsa 'Yengeç Dönencesi'ni okumamış bir okurun, yazarın diğer kitaplarını okuması anlamsız. Oradan başlamanızı ve sonrasında, Miller'ın hayatı da ilginizi çekerse diğer kitaplarına devam etmenizi öneririm. Tek başına Miller'dan bağımsız çok fazla bir şey ifade etmeyebilir zira bu kitap. Ama benim için yazarla başka bir randevumdu.
Tabuları olmayan, kapı arkasında ağlamayan, hazzından utanmayan ve Miller'ın 'Dönence'lerini okumuş okurlara tavsiye ederim.
İyi okumalar.
7.5/10
Bu söylediklerim 'Clichy'de Sessiz Günler' için değil, yazarın kendisi için. Çünkü bütün eserlerinde ana karakter zaten Henry Miller'dır. Hep kendi hayatından kesitler anlatır. Eserleri üst üste koydukça Miller'ı da artık yakından tanımaya başlarsınız.
Bu kitap da yazarın Paris günlerini bize aktarıyor. İki tane novella var içerisinde. Bu ikisinde de Clichy zamanlarında Carl ile yaşadıkları konu alınıyor. Bana kalırsa 'Yengeç Dönencesi'ni okumamış bir okurun, yazarın diğer kitaplarını okuması anlamsız. Oradan başlamanızı ve sonrasında, Miller'ın hayatı da ilginizi çekerse diğer kitaplarına devam etmenizi öneririm. Tek başına Miller'dan bağımsız çok fazla bir şey ifade etmeyebilir zira bu kitap. Ama benim için yazarla başka bir randevumdu.
Tabuları olmayan, kapı arkasında ağlamayan, hazzından utanmayan ve Miller'ın 'Dönence'lerini okumuş okurlara tavsiye ederim.
İyi okumalar.
7.5/10
August 11, 2024
أيام هادئة لصديقين في مدينة السحر والعطر باريس في فرنسا بين ليالي من التسكع في الأزقة من أجل إستدراج إحدى العاهرات للمنزل والاسهاب في الوصف و السرد الذي في الكثير من الأحيان كان ممل جدا ! ومكررا جدا في الكثير من الأجزاء هي ليست إيروتيكية بل تثير الغثيان لإحتواءها و وصفها مشاهد الجنس أكثر من الأحداث اللتي كانت شب�� منعدمة ، تتلخص في دخول و خروج فتيات حياة البطلين المملة
رواية عن شابين ليس لديهما عمل قار ولا حبيبة حقيقية ولا حياة مستقرة ، بين اللهو و التسكع و القمار يقضيان أيامهما دون مبالاة أو هدف حقيقي ، في بعض الليالي هما جائعان و في ليالي أخرى يحتسيان الخمر و يصطحبن عاهرات بمختلف أنواعهن.
رغم أنها ليست رواية طويلة لكنني استغرقت وقتا طويلا حقا لإنهاءها لأنني و كأني كنت أقرأ مشهد جنسي أو عاطفي يتكرر بتفاصيله في كل عشر صفحات مع فتيات مختلفات
!
لا أحداث ولا حبكة تشد الإنتباه أو تثير الرغبة في إنهاء قراءتها، رواية رتيبة الإيقاع مملة التفاصل شحيحة الأحداث ! مملة و مبتذلة.
رواية عن شابين ليس لديهما عمل قار ولا حبيبة حقيقية ولا حياة مستقرة ، بين اللهو و التسكع و القمار يقضيان أيامهما دون مبالاة أو هدف حقيقي ، في بعض الليالي هما جائعان و في ليالي أخرى يحتسيان الخمر و يصطحبن عاهرات بمختلف أنواعهن.
رغم أنها ليست رواية طويلة لكنني استغرقت وقتا طويلا حقا لإنهاءها لأنني و كأني كنت أقرأ مشهد جنسي أو عاطفي يتكرر بتفاصيله في كل عشر صفحات مع فتيات مختلفات
!
لا أحداث ولا حبكة تشد الإنتباه أو تثير الرغبة في إنهاء قراءتها، رواية رتيبة الإيقاع مملة التفاصل شحيحة الأحداث ! مملة و مبتذلة.
November 2, 2013
ميللر ميللر ميللر الرذيلة حين تمشي على الأقلام و فوق الأوراق لا شيء هادئ في كليشي لا شيء بتاتا يمت للهدوء بصلة ليالي صاخبة حمراء و بكل ألوان النبيذ التي تعرفها فرنسا بين أحيائها السفلية و الخلفية ..هذا هو ميللر يجيد الحديث الجاد كما يجيد الكلام الملغم بالآثام..يتجرد من الحياء تجرده من الاستعارات ليوضح الأمور كما هي بدون تجميل ..المثير أن ميللر لا يدري أننا نتعامل مع كتبه نفس تعامله مع العاهرات نحبها في وقتها و نحتفظ بذكراها معنا لكننا نضعها في الرف و نتناول التالي...أيام هادئة في كليشي توقع الأخبث منها.
February 8, 2017
Interesting book to read if you are familiar with Montmartre and Parisian hotspots, and also wonderful to see an author who really doesn't care what he says or who he might offend with his shocking use of language. Enjoyable offering from Henry Miller.
June 1, 2007
This has been my favorite Henry Miller, especially for lines like "I was that peppery, I could have raped a nun."
June 28, 2017
""Šta bih radila?" ,začuđeno je ponovila." Ništa ne bih radila Samo bih živela."
Kakva ideja! Kakva zdrava ideja! Zavideo sam joj što je takva flegma, što je tako nemarna i bezbrižna. Terao sam je da mi priča o tome kako ništa ne bi radila. To je bio ideal o kokavome nikad nisam sanjao. Da ga ostvari, čovekbi morao da bude savršeno prazan, ili veoma bogatog duha.Bolje je, smatrao sam, biti prazan."
Kakva ideja! Kakva zdrava ideja! Zavideo sam joj što je takva flegma, što je tako nemarna i bezbrižna. Terao sam je da mi priča o tome kako ništa ne bi radila. To je bio ideal o kokavome nikad nisam sanjao. Da ga ostvari, čovekbi morao da bude savršeno prazan, ili veoma bogatog duha.Bolje je, smatrao sam, biti prazan."
December 3, 2018
المشكلة أنه لا يوجد قصة .. لو طلبت مني أن أعيد لك سرد ما قرأت لن أستطيع .. هناك كاتبان لا يفعلان شيئاً سوى جرع الخمر ولقاء العاهرات .. لو جلست مع بلطجي سيحكي لك ما هو أفضل.
March 31, 2021
Дві повісті, що видаються на викинуті з фінальної редакції «Тропіку Рака» шматки
Read
February 21, 2017قرات من فتره طويله صفحات من روايه مدار السرطان وما قدرت اكملها كانت ممله
وبعدها جربت اقرا هالروايه وصلت 40 صفحه ولا كملتها ممله جدا
وما زلت ابحث عن مفتاح لاعماله **
***الروايه المفتاح لكل روائي مفتاح تدخل به إلى عالمه الروائي، ويختلف هذا المفتاح من قارئ لآخر، فبعض القراء لم يفلحوا في قراءة «يوليسس» لجيمس جويس إلا بعد أن أحبوا مجموعته القصصية «أهالي دبلن»، والبعض لم يفعل إلا بعد أن قرأ «صورة الفنان في شبابه»، والبعض الآخر لم يجد له مفتاحا حتى الآن، وأنا من هؤلاء» اقتباس من مقال لبلال فضل
وبعدها جربت اقرا هالروايه وصلت 40 صفحه ولا كملتها ممله جدا
وما زلت ابحث عن مفتاح لاعماله **
***الروايه المفتاح لكل روائي مفتاح تدخل به إلى عالمه الروائي، ويختلف هذا المفتاح من قارئ لآخر، فبعض القراء لم يفلحوا في قراءة «يوليسس» لجيمس جويس إلا بعد أن أحبوا مجموعته القصصية «أهالي دبلن»، والبعض لم يفعل إلا بعد أن قرأ «صورة الفنان في شبابه»، والبعض الآخر لم يجد له مفتاحا حتى الآن، وأنا من هؤلاء» اقتباس من مقال لبلال فضل
May 7, 2011
I would put a spoiler alert up here, but does anyone NOT know what they're going to find in a Henry Miller novel? Well, if you don't . . .
"Quiet Days in Clichy" is Miller's tale of being young in Paris in the 30s, a tale he re-worked and published in 1956. It's the usual raconteur's delight of meals, whores, sex, spiritual insight, mysticism and scenery that makes Henry Miller Henry Miller.
Miller was famously dissected by Kate Millet in her 1970 book "Sexual Politics" -- torn to shreds, with each shred pinned like a butterfly -- and people STILL like reading him. Women included.
So why?
As a writer I'm going to say it's his voice.
Voice is the hardest and the most subtle element of writing to teach, to understand, or to accomplish -- and he just had it. He wrote with an ease; he went from scene to scene in such a natural way that people just like reading him. I would compare his writing to Isaac Singer's in that way (and that way only). Additionally, there's the outrageous sexual point of view present in Miller's writing, a POV that still has power in our age, as "sex workers" form unions.
Isaac Singer? So where's Henry's Nobel Prize?
(Ahh, I guess it's too late now.)
ps. If you like Henry Miller track down a photograph of him taken in Big Sur. It shows him playing ping pong, naked, with two beautiful naked young women. Not salacious; it might make you smile.
"Quiet Days in Clichy" is Miller's tale of being young in Paris in the 30s, a tale he re-worked and published in 1956. It's the usual raconteur's delight of meals, whores, sex, spiritual insight, mysticism and scenery that makes Henry Miller Henry Miller.
Miller was famously dissected by Kate Millet in her 1970 book "Sexual Politics" -- torn to shreds, with each shred pinned like a butterfly -- and people STILL like reading him. Women included.
So why?
As a writer I'm going to say it's his voice.
Voice is the hardest and the most subtle element of writing to teach, to understand, or to accomplish -- and he just had it. He wrote with an ease; he went from scene to scene in such a natural way that people just like reading him. I would compare his writing to Isaac Singer's in that way (and that way only). Additionally, there's the outrageous sexual point of view present in Miller's writing, a POV that still has power in our age, as "sex workers" form unions.
Isaac Singer? So where's Henry's Nobel Prize?
(Ahh, I guess it's too late now.)
ps. If you like Henry Miller track down a photograph of him taken in Big Sur. It shows him playing ping pong, naked, with two beautiful naked young women. Not salacious; it might make you smile.
June 12, 2021
Imagine you’re an aspiring writer and everything is possible. Each of your fantasies about bohemian Parisian life, every fin de siecle dream you ever had, all that longing for good old times suddenly comes to hit you in the face. You make up for the lack of money with attitude and, strangely, that works. And so does the book. It’s more of a series of sketches, that only provide brief outlines of the characters, without prying too much, a literary one-night stand if you like.
"Quiet Days in Clichy" is a textual encounter that stimulates your imagination and makes you laugh at the awkward and ridiculous that only happens in bed. Sometimes it almost feels like you’re rummaging through Henry Miller’s stash of polaroids or a guestbook, filled by the people who only existed for a moment and left without a trace, save for a whiff of cigarette smoke and a crazy poem written in red lipstick on a bathroom mirror.
"Quiet Days in Clichy" is a textual encounter that stimulates your imagination and makes you laugh at the awkward and ridiculous that only happens in bed. Sometimes it almost feels like you’re rummaging through Henry Miller’s stash of polaroids or a guestbook, filled by the people who only existed for a moment and left without a trace, save for a whiff of cigarette smoke and a crazy poem written in red lipstick on a bathroom mirror.
May 31, 2010
I always enjoy Henry Miller. Here's a passage that I liked: "There are hotels in the side streets leading off the boulevard whose ugliness is so sinister that you shudder at the thought of entering them, and yet it is inevitable that you will one day pass a night, perhaps a week or a month, in one of them. You may even become so attached to the place as to find one day that your whole life has been transformed and that what you once regarded as sordid, squalid, miserable, has now become charming, tender, beautiful."
December 2, 2008
Sometimes I can't separate the work from the morals/actions. But Henry Miller is just too charming to not forgive (ignore?) his objectification of women and revel with him as he fucks every girl that walks by and treats them like shit. Maybe it's just too romanticized in my mind--a starving writer in Paris going on bender after bender. Whatever it is, he's a beautiful writer. Even if he is a pig.
January 23, 2016
لمْ تكنْ أيامُ ميللر هادئةً كما يُشعِرُ عنوانُ كتابِه بل كانتْ صاخبةً زاعقةً. ميللر هنا هو هو كما في رواياتِه ليسجلَ شيئًا من يومياتِه عندما كان يعيشُ حياةَ التشردِ في باريسَ، ما زلتُ أعتقدُ حتى بعدَ أن أنهيتُ الكتابَ أنَّ الجنسَ هنا "ما هو إلا قشرةٌ خارجيةٌ" ويبقى غوصُه في تحليل الطبيعةِ البشريةِ لضحاياه أمر يدعو للتقديرِ وفيه عمق كبيرٌ جعلَ منْ كتابِه الصغيرِ تحفةً رائعةً
April 29, 2012
Henry Miller is my most hated writer. Sir, I'm glad you had a chance to bang so many chicks. Very radical.
December 30, 2020
I hate men oh my god
Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews