the colossus of maroussi by henry miller

After returning to America, he was gradually accepted as a major figure in the fight for literary and personal freedom. His other works include Tropic of Capricorn. What Henry Miller considered his greatest work, The Colossus of Maroussi is an impressionist travelogue, written in 1939 and first published in 1941 by Colt. His autobiographical novel Tropic of Cancer, a frank account of an artist’s adventures in Paris, was published with the support of his lover Anaïs Nin but banned for decades in Britain and the USA. Henry Miller, one of America’s most controversial authors, was born in New York in 1891, and left for Europe in 1930. 'Read it, fall in love with Greece - then with the book in your luggage, visit the country and experience the power of truly great travel writing.' - Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald Like the ancient colossus that stood over the harbor of Rhodes, Henry Millers The Colossus of Maroussi stands as a seminal classic in travel literature. His classic narrative is peppered with fabulous portraits of poets and artists, including friend Lawrence Durrell. Henry Millers landmark travel book, now reissued in a new edition, is ready to be stuffed into any vagabonds backpack. Miller's beautiful and passionate prose perfectly captures the splendour and magic of the country, concentrating not only on the landscape but also the people. For a little while yet there would be peace and men might still behave like human beings.Ī memoir of a Greek holiday the great American novelist Henry Miller took immediately before World War 2. This lyrical classic of travel writing represented an epiphany in Miller's life, and is the book he would later cite as his favourite.I felt the war coming on - it was getting closer and closer every day. In The Colossus of Maroussi he describes drinking from sacred springs, nearly being trampled to death by sheep and encountering the flamboyant Greek poet Katsumbalis, who 'could galvanize the dead with his talk'. As long as we refuse to think in terms of world good and world goods, of world order, world peace, we shall murder and betray one another. 'Out of the sea, as if Homer himself had arranged it for me, the islands bobbed up, lonely, deserted, mysterious in the fading light'Įnraptured by a young woman's account of the landscapes of Greece, Henry Miller set off to explore the Grecian countryside with his friend Lawrence Durrell in 1939.

The colossus of maroussi by henry miller