not one of millers best, but it takes place in the U.S which is a little different

At the start of this book I was thinking it'd be a solid 4. Ended up 3.5
This book is Miller as travel journalist. His ideas on America are still as relevant and poignant today as they were when he left Europe as an ex-pat to travel NY-California in the 40s--nothing to scoff at.

Miller's sardonic humor kept me amused as I read this ranty book that's heavy on pretension and slight on meaning. I had to dock a star, though, for the pathetic, inhumane attempt at the end to justify slavery based on the grandeur of Southern ruins and memories.

Cause I thought this was some preachy dragging blah.

"My cynical soulmate" was a thought as I read through the first few chapters. I immediately noticed his wonderful vocabulary (vitiate, sagacious are a couple words I remember) and I appreciate that as I learn. The last half of the book was less cynical as he spoke about his interaction with a young child, the south and some characters he met in it, and as he fondly described Stieglitz and John Marin's personalities and Marin's work. I enjoyed the book much more as I read through the second half and will seek out more of his work.

I purchased this book on my honeymoon to Big Sur/Carmel/Napa Valley area. It was a literary tour of Steinbeck and Henry Miller country. Not the cheery book you want when starting a life with someone....but, a good road book. Better than Kerouac.

I picked up this book again last night. And again, I stumble over Miller's negativity. But he has great insight into the country.

هنري ميللر قد يكون أول الكارهين لأمريكا يعري وجهها من تبرجها المبالغ فيه يعري أطروحة أمريكا الحلم الجنة، بالنسبة لميللر أمريكا ليست سوى وليد مشوه من الأم الجميلة أوروبا استطاعت أن تصنع لنفسها صرحا قائم على اسس واهية و لكي تحمي هذه الأسس تبتدع ما تشاء من حروب و تقنيات في جوهرها فارغ.بالنسبة لميللر لا شيء حقيقي في أمريكا كل شيء سطحي عديم النفع بلا روح حتى جمال الجغرافيا يسقط أمام تاريخ الدماء التي بنت أمريكا عليها قوتها ،ميللر يجرد أمريكا من كذبة الحضارة فهي بالنسبة له تبيع فقط الوهم" قد ينتهي بنا الأمر أن نصير على اربع نبربر كالسعادين" يقول ميللر .
كابوس مكيف الهواء توقفت كثيرا لأفهم المقصود من هذا العنوان و لم اجد الا تفسير واحد و قد أكون مخطئة ربما قصد ميللر أن حتى في الأشياء التي تسعدنا و تخفف معاناتنا شيء يخيف و يفقدنا روحنا و ماهيتنا ,أظن ميللر بعد زيارته لأوروبا العجوز فهم أن الحضارة لا تأتي بالتقنية بل بالتاريخ و الخبرة فمقارناته الدائمة بين باريس و أمريكا تظهر مدى تفاهة الفن الأمريكي الذي يعتبر مجرد باحث عن المال الى جانب الفن الأوروبي و مع ذلك يرحل ميللر في أمريكا باحثا عن أمل يعيد له ايمانه ببلده الأصلي فيجد بعض الرجال المغمورين و ينفض عنهم التراب و يعرف بهم العالم و ربما يكون هذا الأمر ما يجعل من هذا الكتاب تكريم لرجال يرفضون بقعة الضوء التي تعشقها أمريكا.

الهجاء الأكثر راديكالية لأمريكا

Not quite "Old Dog" at his "Old Dog" best (Stand Still Like the Hummingbird, Wisdom of the Heart, Night of the Assassins), but still a great little read. What starts out as a makeshift travelogue, as the inimitable Henry Miller ventures by car across America in 1939, during the advent of WWII, soon devolves, or evolves, depending on how fond you are of the Milleresque rant, into a breezy, wake-up-and-smell-the-roses opinion piece of all things God, Art and "Anaesthesia" in the good old U.S. of A. -- "you know what I'm saying?"

Fantastic is a word that comes to mind when thinking of this book, but this word does not help to describe the disappointment I feel to know that this book might as well have been published yesterday!

So much has changed in this country since 1941. But to experience it through Henry Miller's words, that which has is hardly recognizable set beside all that remains the same!

Read this book!

This books about a road trip through America in the 40’s and he’s all like waa waaa I miss Paris and America is a dumpster and I am so artsy watch me describe everything in metaphors waaa waaa generalizations and and and and nothing compares to paris waa waa

A friend gave me this book the day before my 5 week long trip to the West Coast. I tried and tried but I just couldn't finish. Essentially it's a 250 page rant by Henry Miller about why the US sucks and France is awesome. I'm not all shocked and offended or anything; it was just kind of repetitive and didn't seem relevant.

That being said, I hope someone some day pays me money to take a road trip and write a 250 page rant about it. That'd be sweet.