Miller's journey to Greece before the outbreak of the Second World War is a rough, poetic, cultural, philosophic hommage to Greece. It took me quite some time to grasp and comprehend what Miller wanted to say. His descriptions of Greece, of its people, of its art and of its past really compell the individual to ask himself/herself some important questions, like who we are, where are we going, what is our purpose in life. I have never experienced that in such a strong way like in Miller's Colossus of Maroussi. But what touched me the most is the feeling of passing, as Miller talks about Greece as it is (at the time when he was writting the Colossus of Maroussi) and how it it is going to change forever because of the war!!

Beautifully captures the feeling of travel/human experiences/freedom etc. Some bits were so nicely written and floaty, for me maybe too much so as I often realised I wasn’t paying attention and had to re read.
Loved his outlook on life. Would 100% read his other stuff.
He has strong opinions of the English, of which are often true.
Makes me want to go to Greece and shut off from all responsibilities for a while.

I read every book Miller mentioned in this memoir. Following his excellent taste was a great starting point for me as a young reader. (I read it in the spring of 1974.)

Φανταστικό!
Ειλικρινά, το αγάπησα! Όχι επειδή ο Μίλλερ μιλάει με τα καλύτερα λόγια για την Ελλάδα και τους ανθρώπους της, αλλά γιατί η γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιεί είναι υπέροχη, με όμορφες εικόνες κι έξυπνες ιδέες. Το βιβλίο αυτό αποτελείται ουσιαστικά από τις σκέψεις του συγγραφέα, μοιάζει με ημερολόγιο και τείνει να γίνεται πολύ προσωπικό σε ορισμένα σημεία. Επιπλέον, είναι αρκετά ενδιαφέρον να διαβάζεις τις εντυπώσεις κάποιου για τη χώρα σου και για τα άτομα που συναναστράφηκε, ανάμεσα τους ο Σεφέρης, ο Ντάρελ, ο Γκίκας κι εννοείται ο Κατσίμπαλης, για τον οποίο έγραψε ο Μίλλερ τον Κολοσσό του Μαρουσιού.
Βαθμολογία: 4.5 αστέρια

Милър или е бил постоянно дрогиран/пиян или просто е бил много луд.

Прехласването му по гръцкото и гърците е абсолютно необосновано, комично и ми дотегна бързо.

Тази книга доказва, че думите за Милър са най-великото изразно средство, което той владее безупречно добре – небрежно, сякаш върти клечка за зъби между зъбите си, и същевременно виртуозно, сякаш е репетирал ден и нощ, за да превърне една магия в реалност. А всъщност при него нещата като че ли се получават от само себе си, без да се напряга, думите просто се появяват на белия лист и овършават всичко по пътя си.
Този път вълшебството, което Милър пресъздава, е свързано с Гърция. През 1939 г. той отива на пътешествие в страната по покана на английския писател Лорънс Даръл. Накратко, романът разказва за духовно пътуване.
Факт е, че „Колосът от Маруси“ е доста по-различен роман от известните му „Sexus“, „Plexus“, „Nexus“, „Тропика на рака“ и „Тропика на козирога“. Книгата е възвишен и възторжен пътепис за една държава, която очевидно е останала в сърцето на писателя завинаги. В романа не присъства еротиката, на която почитателите на Милър са свикнали, но има много споделени мисли и философски разсъждения – в типичния пълноводен и преливащ стил на Милър.

I don’t think books should be published just because the author is famous. “The Colossus of Maroussi” did to a large extent capture the Greek spirit and the wonderful ways of the Greek people but I had expected a lot more depth from a great writer with a great love for a great country. I particularly liked some of Miller’s descriptions of the Greek's sense of destiny and danger, and his ranting on Americans and the English is quite amusing. There is however too much rant, too little direction, and the great moments and stunning passages are too scattered and scarce. I am not sure if it is worth the read unless you are particularly interested in Henry Miller’s life. I found the book overly self-centered, and it suffers from inconsistency in focus and quality. Probably 3.5 stars rather than 3.

In 1939 as war threatened, Henry Miller left Paris to go stay in Greece for a while. The result is an ecstatic travelogue written in his characteristic torrential prose.

The titular Colossus is apparently the Greek poet George Katsimbalis, who he befriends and mythologizes. Katsimbalis not being someone the average 21st century American knows anything about, I guess Miller can say whatever he wants!

A lot of his observations and opinions rely on sweeping cultural generalizations about the Greeks, the French and every other nationality he encounters - there are times and places where people might get a little impatient with that, but it is pretty much part of the territory in this case.

The Colossus of Maroussi, Henry Miller
The Colossus of Maroussi is an impressionist travelogue by American writer Henry Miller that was first published in 1941, by Colt Press of San Francisco. Set in pre-war Greece of 1939, it is ostensibly an exploration of the "Colossus" of the title, George Katsimbalis, a poet and raconteur. The work is frequently heralded as Miller's best.
عنوانها: پیکره ماروسی؛ دیدار با کلوسوس؛ مجسمه ی ماروسی؛ تندیس ماروسی؛ نویسنده: هنری میلر؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1999 میلادی
عنوان: دیدار با کلوسوس؛ نویسنده: هنری میلر؛ مترجم: غلامرضا خواجه پور؛ تهران، انتشارات فکر روز 1377؛ در 277 ص؛ شابک: 9645838789؛ چاپ دیگر با عنوان: مجسمه ی ماروسی؛ تهران روزگار، 1391 در 272 ص، شابک: 9789643742850؛ موضوع: سیر و سیاحت یا همان جهانگردی؛ و یونان داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 20 م
عنوان: پیکره ماروسی؛ نویسنده: هنری میلر؛ مترجم: مهبد ایرانی طلب؛ آبادان، پرسش، 1384، در 225 ص، شابک: 9646629881؛ چاپ دیگر با عنوان: تندیس ماروسی؛ تهران، نشر قطره، 1397؛ در 286 ص؛ شابک: 9786001199998؛
سفرنامه‌ ی نویسنده به سرزمین یونان است در زمان جنگ جهانی دوم و بازگو کردن مسائلی که در این سفر برای او رخ نموده، مسائل جنگ آن روزگار اروپا و برخورد با افراد مختلف، او که خود از زندگی در آمریکا، شیوه‌ ی زندگی در این کشور و بی‌خانمانی‌‌هایی که بشر مدرن در آنجا به آن‌ها مبتلاست، خسته شده، این کتاب را در قالب سفرنامه و در اصل، «حدیث نف»، نگاشته است. رمانی در سه بخش و یک پیوست، نقل از آغاز رمان پیکره ماروسی: «اگر به خاطر دختری به نام بتی رایان نبود که در پاریس با من در یک خانه زندگی میکرد، هرگز به یونان نمیرفتم.» پایان نقل؛ ا. شربیانی

If you love Greece, read this book. Or, read it anyway, regardless of what your opinion of Greece is and it'll help you understand it better. A marvelous book.

Nėra labai lengva autorių priimt tokiu, koks jis yra, bet ir neturi būt. Skaitant neapleido jausmas, kad nemažai jo išsakytų minčių paliečia giliai ir stipriai - ne apie pačią Graikiją, bet apie žmogiškumą, besikartojančią istoriją, mitus, kuriuos ir dabar kuriame, laiko pojūtį.

BOOOORING