This journal was penned in New York in 1940 after Nin had fled Paris and the Nazis.

Surprisingly, she doesn't offer much commentary on the war, seemingly residing in an ivory tower.

Now and then, there is a glimmer of a brilliant insight, but for the most part, I find this journal pretentious. It feels like a self-conscious posturing on Nin's part, as if she is insecure about her standing as a writer.

Consequently, it reads more like an exam paper than a genuine journal. Frequently, she resorts to abstractions to convey her thoughts.

Moreover, she comes across as rather vain regarding her generous nature and talent, and appears reluctant to admit any darkness or negativity within her character.

This means that I didn't truly gain much understanding of her, aside from how she wished to be superficially perceived.

Based on the evidence presented in this journal, I cannot claim to be inspired to read any of her fiction.

It seems that her true self remains hidden beneath a layer of artifice.

In this volume of Ms. Nin's memoirs, she took a significant step. She left her Parisian home, which she was accustomed to, and plunged into the completely different world of Manhattan, experiencing a major culture shock.

There, she found herself in the company of some truly remarkable figures. She hung out with Greenwich Village legends such as Edgard Varese, the queer poet Robert Duncan, the actress Luise Rainer (who was Mrs. Clifford Odets!), Max Ernst, and the infamous Dr. Max Jacobson.

However, reading this memoir also brought some disappointments. I was crushed to learn that my poetry hero Kenneth Patchen was described by Nin as a rude prick. According to her account, he was also a worker's comp fraud in every classic sense of the word. If he could climb a fire escape and slip through a transom into Anais' flat to hustle her for cash, then his claim of being a bedridden cripple seemed like a load of slacker bullshit.

The second half of the volume had its drawbacks. It dragged at times and even relied too much on transcribed letters from Henry Miller and his love for California, which I never knew before. Despite these issues, I still found enjoyment in reading this memoir. But there were indeed moments when I felt that Nin lost her way in trying to prepare a linear narrative of events.

Interesting as a personal testimonial and a historical document, this work offers a unique perspective. It tells the story of a free woman who arrives in the United States and finds herself struggling with the new environment. The challenges she faces are not only practical but also emotional and psychological. In the midst of this, she discovers a way to earn money by writing erotic tales. These tales not only provide a source of income but also serve as a form of self-expression for her. Through her writing, she is able to explore her own desires and fantasies, as well as those of the society around her. The combination of her personal struggles and her erotic writing makes this work a fascinating read, one that offers insights into both the individual and the historical context in which she lived.

Anais has officially entered her ivory tower era.

I don't mean that I think she's spoiled. In fact, she has managed to escape Paris and the chaos of the Second World War. However, her new life in America is not without its challenges. She struggles not only with the impersonal nature of the country and the fact that New York never quite seems to open up to her, but also with herself, her artist "children", and her place in this ever-unfolding world.

Like her, I too feel a tinge of sadness that she didn't experience this transition into maturity in Europe. She herself has expressed similar sentiments, highlighting America's love for youth and the concept of tabula rasa. She longs for the appreciation that she and her friends would have received in pre-war Paris simply because of their age.

Her diary becomes a curious blend of the diluted and the pointed. She makes many false starts at building a community, meeting a whole new cast of American friends who are powerful and strange in their own ways. But none of them are able to hold her in their shiny nets for long. She always retreats, back into Henry Miller's letters from California, back into her printing press with her number one mystical son Gonzalo, and back into the safety of her diary.

She is still an incredible person, and it is truly wonderful fun to sit on her shoulder as she bypasses social conventions and strikes like a silver arrow at the heart of the people she is interested in. It is fascinating to enter one social underworld after another (such as high-class orgies at fancy country houses, New England artist beachtown summers, and the pressed-flower fragrant parties of the Haitians) with Anais as our eyes. The people she meets seem to glow under her intense attention.

I will now take a little break from reading her diaries, but I am already eagerly looking forward to volume four.

Review here: https://corridoiolaterale.wordpress.c...

This review takes us to a specific link on the Corridoio Laterale website. The page features an entry about Anais Nin's diary, specifically the third volume covering the years 1939 - 1944. Anais Nin is a renowned writer, and her diaries offer a unique and intimate perspective into her life and the times she lived in. By clicking on the provided link, readers can explore this particular volume of her diary. It's likely that the review on the website delves into the contents of the diary, perhaps highlighting some of the most interesting or significant entries. This could include her thoughts, feelings, and experiences during a tumultuous period in history. Overall, the review serves as an invitation for readers to discover more about Anais Nin's diary and gain a deeper understanding of her as a person and a writer.

I began from the very start and have perused all of Anaïs Nin's diaries up until now. However, it is increasingly becoming a laborious task to get through them.

Previously, she possessed some profound insights into her own and others' psychology and motivations. Her life, thoughts, and the individuals within it were captivating.

Yet, in this particular volume, there is an abundance of name-dropping, gossip, and self-aggrandizement. Her writing style is also starting to irritate me. She writes as if she is compiling a list: words, phrases, and sentences lined up, revealing her thoughts, musings, and opinions.

Moreover, I derive no pleasure from reading about other people's dreams, which she records regularly. They hold no meaning for me. This volume also consists of numerous transcriptions of other people's letters. Since Henry was traveling, she kept him informed in this manner.

The entire thing feels rather disjointed and abstract, making it difficult to gain a genuine understanding of her. Perhaps she didn't truly have any profound insights herself. Her claim that "If you cannot control your demons, whoever or whatever they are, you do harm to others. I found the way to cage mine, that was all. Anger, jealousy, envy, revengefulness, vanity. I locked them up in a diary" makes me think that maybe she should have kept them locked up, as I can't really see the purpose of reading about all that.

I still have three more volumes that I purchased when I thought it would be a great idea to read all of her published diaries. But now, I'm beginning to think that it wasn't such a wise investment after all.

Nin's accounts pre-WW2 are truly riveting. They offer a first-hand perspective of an artist who found herself trapped in the very onset of war. Her multi-national background, combined with her remarkable artistry in writing, enables her to capture a vivid and detailed account of the pre-war trepidation and the mounting sense of doom that was palpable during that time.

One can almost feel the anxiety and fear that Nin and those around her must have experienced as they witnessed the events leading up to the war unfold. Her descriptions bring to life the atmosphere of the era, painting a picture of a world on the brink of chaos.

These accounts not only provide a fascinating insight into the mind of an artist during a tumultuous period but also serve as a valuable historical record. They remind us of the importance of understanding the past and the impact that war can have on individuals and society as a whole.

Anaïs Nin is pure yin.

Her works are like a humble brilliance that spills forth from every page.

In her writing, she repudiates all the calling cards of egoic male literary and artistic achievement.

She has the courage to break free from the traditional norms and expectations, and creates something truly unique.

Her works are not only a celebration of femininity but also a source of inspiration for girls everywhere.

She shows that women can have their own voices, their own perspectives, and their own ways of expressing themselves.

Anaïs Nin's writing is a testament to the power of the feminine spirit and a reminder that we should never limit ourselves by the constraints of gender or society.

Her works will continue to inspire generations of women to come and to create their own unique paths in life.

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Read her letters to Miller with the book.

It truly adds a very interesting other perspective.

As you peruse through those pages, you can't help but feel a sense of voyeurism creeping in.

It's as if you're peeking into a private world that was once hidden from view.

The words on the paper seem to come alive, painting a vivid picture of their relationship.

You get to see her thoughts, her emotions, and her deepest desires.

It's a fascinating experience that makes you feel like you're a part of something special.

And, hha, that feeling of being a voyeur only adds to the allure.

It makes you want to keep reading, to uncover more secrets, and to understand their connection on a deeper level.

Overall, reading her letters to Miller with the book is an adventure that you won't soon forget.

When I first picked up the book, after reading just a few pages, I was firmly convinced that it could potentially be my new favorite book of the year. The writing was simply beautiful, with picturesque language and rich metaphors that Anaïs would frequently employ.

However, as I continued reading, my perspective gradually shifted. Although the book is presented as a diary and is thus expected to be one-sided or egocentric, over time, my interest began to wane. The language remained beautiful, but the repetitiveness, Nin's narcissism, and her approach to certain issues and situations, such as World War II which was raging in Europe while she was writing her diaries, made the reading experience less enjoyable.

The book had the potential to be a great work, but as I turned the pages, it transformed from a wonderful, introspective story into a list of constant, repetitive complaints from that one annoying friend. Unfortunately, I would not recommend it.

Reading Anais Nin is always like a homecoming to me. It's as if I am returning to a place within myself that I might have forgotten or neglected. When I read her words, I reconnect to my emotional self in a very strong way. I become more in tune with my feelings and am able to access the beauty in the world more deeply. I love delving into her accounts of her struggle and learning process. She writes about how she relates to the world as both a woman and an artist. I am fascinated by how she understands the different modes of describing what surrounds her and what is inside of her. In her diary, she has one way of expressing herself, while in her novels, she creates in a different mode. This is something that I also struggle with in my own writing. But when I read Anais's work, I feel more able to see the balance between living naturally and living artfully. It's as if she shows me the way to find that delicate equilibrium in my own life and writing.