The devil at large : Erica Jong on Henry Miller.
Title:
The devil at large : Erica Jong on Henry Miller.
Author:
ISBN:
9780394584980 |
Edition:
1st ed.
Publication Information:
New York : Turtle Bay Books, 1993.
Publisher:
Turtle Bay Books,
Format:
Regular print
Physical Description:
337 p. ; 25 cm.
Subject Term:
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Shelf Location | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Hazel McCallion Central Library | Adult Book | Adult Non-Fiction | 818.5209 MILLE | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Syndetics ICE Summary:
<b>Fearless, iconic poet, novelist, and feminist Erica Jong offers a fascinating in-depth appreciation of the controversial life and work of American literary giant Henry Miller</b><br /> Henry Miller (<i>Tropic of Cancer</i>) and Erica Jong (<i>Fear of Flying</i>) are true literary soul mates. Both authors have been, in equal measure, lauded for their creative genius and maligned for their frank treatment of human sexuality. So who better than Erica Jong to offer an expert appraisal and appreciation of Henry Miller, the man and his art?<br /> At once a critical study, a biography, a memoir of a remarkable friendship, and a celebration of the life and work of the author whom Erica Jong compares to Whitman, <i>The Devil at Large </i>explores the peaks and valleys of Miller's storied writing career. It examines his tumultuous relationships--including his doomed marriage to June Mansfield and his lifelong tenuous bond with his mother--and confirms his standing as a creative genius. <br /> Jong, a renowned feminist, courageously answers critics who accuse her subject of degrading women in his fiction, suggesting instead that he sought to demystify them by means of the "violent verbal magic of his books." With grace, wit, warmth, and intelligence, Jong brings readers close to the man and his writing. There has never been a more incisive and insightful analysis of this exceptional American master.<br /> This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erica Jong including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection. (Publisher 2021-04-05)
Reviews (2)
Syndetics ICE LJ Review:
Henry Miller was an enthusiastic fan of Fear of Flying ( LJ 10/1/73) and subsequently befriended its young author, who repays the favor in this lively study--one of the best yet written about Miller. Jong probes the author's love/hate relationship with his mother and his tumultuous marriage to the enigmatic June Mansfield. She offers insightful comments on Tropic of Cancer , ``a book blocked off to readers by its incendiary reputation,'' and praises The Colossus of Maroussi (1941) as Miller's ``central work.'' Perhaps most important, Jong parries the attacks leveled on her friend by feminist critics. If you must limit yourself to one book on Miller, this is the one to have.-- Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (Library Journal 2010-09-22, (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.) |
Syndetics ICE PW Review:
In 1974 Jong received a letter from Henry Miller in which he praised her novel Fear of Flying ; she befriended the 83-year-old novelist and saw him intermittently until his death in 1980. In Jong's view, Miller was a misunderstood prophet, a shaman, a transcendentalist in the tradition of Thoreau and Whitman, and a provocateur whose pagan embrace of sexuality was a potentially liberating force. In this gushing panegyric--part biographical sketch, part literary analysis--Jong argues that Miller, though ``trapped in a misogynistic world-view,'' grasped the spirituality in women and honestly confronted the imaginary rapist in himself. Readers familiar with Miller's virulent anti-Semitism in his early novel Crazy Cock will not be impressed by Jong's belabored attempts to explain it away. She also psychoanalyzes Miller, calls him a great literary innovator (he ``invented spiral time , structured like the DNA molecule, time that curves back on itself'') and presents an imaginary dialogue between Erica and Henry, a mawkish ending to a cliche-ridden book. Author tour. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved (Publishers Weekly 2010-10-04, (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved) |
Jong's biographical tribute to Henry Miller provides an occasion for her wider reflections on sex and literature. ( May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved (Publishers Weekly 2010-10-09, (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved) |
SD_ILS:1439
9780394584980
Jong, Erica.
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