Tropic of Cancer

By: Henry Miller

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Now hailed as an American classic, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller's masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for 27 years after its first publication in Paris in 1943. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller's famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto, the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the 10 or 20 great novels of our century".

©1961 Grove Press, Inc. (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Loved it.

I liked the story, the performance, everything. The tone of the book and Campbell mix so nice. It was an amazing experience.

Steam of Consciousness revealing the Unconciousness

Henry Miller is an acquired taste and if you favor a slice of the vicissitudes of Life with no beginning, middle, or end, then some of the insightful gems on the sexual mores of France and the psychological struggle of a young writer trying to survive and find his true inner voice could be to your liking. This infamous book, though bawdy in its language and banned in many of the pretentious places by those who think this way, but their elitist class won’t let them be so forthright and boldly audacious, is tame by contemporary standards. This book was what supposedly launched Miller’s career, but is not his best work. I enjoyed reliving this experience from the once shocking affect ruled by hormonal youth to sensible sediment of later maturity and the release from sexual dictates and bondage. Like Miller says in the book, one’s ideas never seem to mesh with the disparities of life. Campbell Scott is simply superb in bringing forth both pathos and bathos with his stellar performance to a book overflowing with it. I’m on the way next to the Tropic of Capricorn, which I never read in my youth. Recommended but Caveat Lector or Caveat Auditor!! Enjoy.

Wow Tropic of Cancer

Henry Miller novel is raw, relevant, racist, x-rated, misogynistic, and extremely entertaining; Just sit back and listen. You will know why the book was banned in US at that time.

Fun writing style boring story

The story line revolving solely around a pathetic young man led through life by his cock didn’t really hold my interest. The writing style was more entertaining than the plot. Entertaining as far as surrealism goes but needed more substance.

That drive to quell drive

A tale of a cad, a fairly week human, these follies that make up the vast majority of us. Ignore the course writing style and it, Tropic of Cancer, could supply the pieces that are left out of those masterpieces that cloak and suggest or allude to what drives all of us.

So much poetry, so little plot

I had read this decades ago. I wasn't all that impressed. But hearing it read aloud makes the poetry come through. There is a lot of musing on life and Paris and friends: and that is lovely to listen to. There really isn't any plot, just some extended narrative and a few anecdotes. I thought the narrator did a good job of playing the observer that Henry Miller was. My only complaint was that it needed more chapter breaks.

Miller's Paris

Good listen. The recording cuts off at the last word of every chapter... It sounds like it should continue, but when I checked my copy, I was reassured—It is unabridged. Overall would reccomend.

A Vulgar Love Letter to Paris

This one was tough for me. Wildly vulgar (which doesn't bother me too much) and misogynistic (which bothers me very much) and yet also, in parts, a beautifully written love letter to Paris with many spot-on observations about expat life as an American abroad that feel as real now as when they were written in the '30s.

I'm not sure I would recommend it exactly but if you can get past the misogyny--I don't know if I would have been able to except that I had just finished American Psycho which is much much worse--maybe. I did find the last third less interesting that the first two-thirds but it was still worth finishing. Although the performance was very good.

Landmark in literature— not for everyone

I’m not the right audience for this book. It’s well-written, meaning the prose is outstanding and remarkable. But the narrative is a bit hard to follow, the characters are hard to get a grip on, and it’s... well I understand the prose is the point. I didn’t love it. I didn’t love the performance either. Sounds like he’s whispering the whole time kind of and they have a bunch of music stings that are in strange places in the text— mid paragraph for example.

henry miller is a master storyteller.

campbell scott couldn't match Henry's enthusiamsm and disgust with parisian life, but still, one gets used to it. i was saddened the story ended, but thank audible there's more!