Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Short summary

5 seconds

A semi-autobiographical work set in 1928 in France. It describes the life of a poor writer, Henry Miller, living in the territory of Paris.

1 minute

Young American Henry, disappointed in his countrymen, who, in his opinion, had mercantile views, moved to live in Europe. Two years later, the hero lived in Paris, where he rented a cheap furnished apartment in Montparnasse. He barely had enough money to live on.

Henry was waiting for another remittance from the United States. His ex-wife, Mona returned to live in her native America. Together with the hero lives emigrant writer Boris. The latter gets by on casual earnings and is forced to constantly look for ways to get money for his subsistence.

The hero gets into numerous everyday problems, from which he gets out of common sense and ineradicable thirst for life. He does not think about the future and lives only in the present. Henry dwells in his natural environment of brothel keepers, whores, pimps and adventurers. He quickly fits into the life of the Parisian «bottom», without any sadness or regrets.