Read long ago and adored it then. We are all creatives. ( )

This is no longer the bad boy Henry Miller of the Tropics, but the aging sage, with dollops of metaphysical equanimity. There are still echoes of the log shack ethos he eulogizes at Big Sur, although much has changed in the ensuing years. An enjoyable read ( )

Henry Miller moved to Big Sur after WWII when it was relatively inaccessible and housed a bohemian colony of artists and writers. He captures the physical beauty of the place and fills the book with the memorable eccentric characters who are his neighbors. If you ever dine at Nepenthe on the outdoor deck (highly recommended) you can gaze directly south to Partington Ridge where he lived. ( )

I picked up this book at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco. Although I was not headed for Big Sur on that trip, I felt like I visited it in this book. Miller lived there for many years and accurately describes the area and more importantly the people in the area in a very realistic manner. He writes with a tone that is both admiration and at times disgust which makes him seem just as realistic as the people he is describing. The book was written in 1955 and it is interesting to imagine life in a rural environment where the postman delivers the mail, supplies and gossip three times a week provided that his truck is functional. Miller describes a simpler time that many of us in this modern world yearn for. His description of the sheer ridiculousness of selling a barrel of oil for one dollar seems like a breath of fresh air in a world where oil is close to a hundred dollars a barrel. Even if you never make it to Big Sur, this book is an excellent description of human nature which transcends location. ( )

One of my favorite Henry Miller works. I would recommend it for anyone who thinks of Mr.Miller as the self indulgent author who focuses solely on his sexual exploits. This work is much more human as he describes his family, friends, and neighbors living in Big Sur. ( )