2 posts tagged “anais nin”

Usually, I don't like authors who kind of ramble on. I love well-thought out structures and simplicity in choice of words. I also suspect the authors who only write about their own lives may not have the real talent of making up good stories out of thin air (I realize every author takes her own life as material, and their lives will always be a part of their works, but you know what I mean).

So I feel a bit irritated to read Henry Miller (although I think Marguerite Duras is a fantastic writer- she did write a lot about her own life, but she manages to filter it down to create a good fiction). He clearly has a lot of talent, he's funny and describes things in very original way. But overall impression I get is that he probably won't end up on my list of favorite writers (funny as Anais Nin, his muse, mentor, lover and sexual obession, will be on it).
For me, Henry Miller is emotional even when writing rationally about his telegraph company job or whatever; Anais Nin is rational even when writing about the most intimate details of her hyperactive sex life. Her diaries see life, her own and in general, in cold, detached observation. And her style suits me better. I'm not saying Miller is a bad writer, I am enjoying reading him, but I keep finding myself wishing he wrote a bit more like his muse.

"Our love is like a kiss of two long shadows, without any possibility of ever coming true."
Anais Nin