Reviews
"The best book ever written about my father." --Tony Miller " The Unknown Henry Miller is a fascinating book, filled with insight and revelations. If you are passionate about Miller's work, this book will deepen your understanding. And if you aren't very familiar with Miller's life and writings, Hoyle will make you want to rush to read him now." --Will Schwalbe, author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club " The Unknown Henry Miller is a must read for those who thought they knew--and those who know nothing--about the shocking Tropic of Cancer genius who pushed the censorial envelope to make readers think about what is obscenity and why. Arthur Hoyle has expertly penetrated the Miller myth to analyze his prodigious body of work and the underpinnings of Miller's attitudes toward women, beginning with his ruinous mother." --Myra MacPherson, author of the award-winning All Governments Lie and the forthcoming The Scarlet Sisters: Sex Suffrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age . "Arthur Hoyle has written an excellent introduction to Henry Miller, the great liberator. He knew that one has to go through the body to find the soul." --Erica Jong, best-selling author of Fear of Flying "Arthur Hoyle has delivered on his promise to reveal the 'unknown' Henry Miller. On every page there is unexpected data, nuggets of facts unearthed by his deep and extensive research (especially about Miller's time here in Big Sur), wonderful new insights, or familiar insights freshly turned. Above all, this is a smart biography. Written with a passionate drive, The Unknown Henry Miller is a page-turner, and I look forward to the discussions and commentary that are sure to follow. Thank you, Arthur!" --Magnus Torn, Executive Director, Henry Miller Memorial Library Inc. "Comprehensive . . . An in-depth and original exploration of the insecurities behind [Miller's] famed bravado . . . The Unknown Henry Miller is at its most revealing when it weighs Miller's Whitman- and Thoreau-inspired philosophy against this vulnerability, and particularly his struggle to cope with the demands of domestic adult life. . . . Miller appears in real rather than canonized form, impressive for his commitment to a rare aesthetic and philosophical vision but necessarily a source both of frustration and affection for his friends, lovers and readers." -- Times Literary Supplement "Miller's oeuvre is available for the seeker bold enough to venture beyond the boundaries of convention. . . . And Hoyle's The Unknown Henry Miller: A Seeker in Big Sur is the perfect trailhead." -- Santa Barbara Independent "A refreshing biography . . . Hoyle offers generous interpretations of Miller's work." -- Kirkus Reviews "An admiring biography of the novelist, who turned the events and people of his life into fiction." -- Library Journal "Ultimately, it is [his] messy, arduous quest to discover himself, rather than the groundbreaking use of sexuality, the surrealist flights, or the acerbic social criticism, that cements Miller's reputation as one of the giants of American literature. A seeker in the cosmos, Miller deserves to be known, and Arthur Hoyle's biography is an essential introduction." --From the foreword by James M. Decker, editor of Nexus: The International Henry Miller Journal , author of Henry Miller and Narrative Form: Constructing the Self, Rejecting Modernity , and co-editor of Henry Miller: New Perspectives, "The best book ever written about my father." --Tony Miller " The Unknown Henry Miller is a fascinating book, filled with insight and revelations. If you are passionate about Miller's work, this book will deepen your understanding. And if you aren't very familiar with Miller's life and writings, Hoyle will make you want to rush to read him now." --Will Schwalbe, author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club " The Unknown Henry Miller is a must read for those who thought they knew--and those who know nothing--about the shocking Tropic of Cancer genius who pushed the censorial envelope to make readers think about what is obscenity and why. Arthur Hoyle has expertly penetrated the Miller myth to analyze his prodigious body of work and the underpinnings of Miller's attitudes toward women, beginning with his ruinous mother." --Myra MacPherson, author of the award-winning All Governments Lie and the forthcoming The Scarlet Sisters: Sex Suffrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age . "Arthur Hoyle has written an excellent introduction to Henry Miller, the great liberator. He knew that one has to go through the body to find the soul." --Erica Jong, best-selling author of Fear of Flying "Arthur Hoyle has delivered on his promise to reveal the 'unknown' Henry Miller. On every page there is unexpected data, nuggets of facts unearthed by his deep and extensive research (especially about Miller's time here in Big Sur), wonderful new insights, or familiar insights freshly turned. Above all, this is a smart biography. Written with a passionate drive, The Unknown Henry Miller is a page-turner, and I look forward to the discussions and commentary that are sure to follow. Thank you, Arthur!" --Magnus Torén, Executive Director, Henry Miller Memorial Library Inc. "Comprehensive . . . An in-depth and original exploration of the insecurities behind [Miller's] famed bravado . . . The Unknown Henry Miller is at its most revealing when it weighs Miller's Whitman- and Thoreau-inspired philosophy against this vulnerability, and particularly his struggle to cope with the demands of domestic adult life. . . . Miller appears in real rather than canonized form, impressive for his commitment to a rare aesthetic and philosophical vision but necessarily a source both of frustration and affection for his friends, lovers and readers." -- Times Literary Supplement "Miller's oeuvre is available for the seeker bold enough to venture beyond the boundaries of convention. . . . And Hoyle's The Unknown Henry Miller: A Seeker in Big Sur is the perfect trailhead." -- Santa Barbara Independent "A refreshing biography . . . Hoyle offers generous interpretations of Miller's work." -- Kirkus Reviews "An admiring biography of the novelist, who turned the events and people of his life into fiction." -- Library Journal "Ultimately, it is [his] messy, arduous quest to discover himself, rather than the groundbreaking use of sexuality, the surrealist flights, or the acerbic social criticism, that cements Miller's reputation as one of the giants of American literature. A seeker in the cosmos, Miller deserves to be known, and Arthur Hoyle's biography is an essential introduction." --From the foreword by James M. Decker, editor of Nexus: The International Henry Miller Journal , author of Henry Miller and Narrative Form: Constructing the Self, Rejecting Modernity , and co-editor of Henry Miller: New Perspectives, "The best book ever written about my father." --Tony Miller " The Unknown Henry Miller is a fascinating book, filled with insight and revelations. If you are passionate about Miller's work, this book will deepen your understanding. And if you aren't very familiar with Miller's life and writings, Hoyle will make you want to rush to read him now." --Will Schwalbe, author of the New York Times bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club " The Unknown Henry Miller is a must read for those who thought they knew--and those who know nothing--about the shocking Tropic of Cancer genius who pushed the censorial envelope to make readers think about what is obscenity and why. Arthur Hoyle has expertly penetrated the Miller myth to analyze his prodigious body of work and the underpinnings of Miller's attitudes toward women, beginning with his ruinous mother." --Myra MacPherson, author of the award-winning All Governments Lie and the forthcoming The Scarlet Sisters: Sex Suffrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age . "Arthur Hoyle has written an excellent introduction to Henry Miller, the great liberator. He knew that one has to go through the body to find the soul." --Erica Jong, best-selling author of Fear of Flying "Arthur Hoyle has delivered on his promise to reveal the 'unknown' Henry Miller. On every page there is unexpected data, nuggets of facts unearthed by his deep and extensive research (especially about Miller's time here in Big Sur), wonderful new insights, or familiar insights freshly turned. Above all, this is a smart biography. Written with a passionate drive, The Unknown Henry Miller is a page-turner, and I look forward to the discussions and commentary that are sure to follow. Thank you, Arthur!" --Magnus Torén, Executive Director, Henry Miller Memorial Library Inc. "Comprehensive . . . An in-depth and original exploration of the insecurities behind [Miller's] famed bravado . . . The Unknown Henry Miller is at its most revealing when it weighs Miller's Whitman- and Thoreau-inspired philosophy against this vulnerability, and particularly his struggle to cope with the demands of domestic adult life. . . . Miller appears in real rather than canonized form, impressive for his commitment to a rare aesthetic and philosophical vision but necessarily a source both of frustration and affection for his friends, lovers and readers." -- Times Literary Supplement "Miller's oeuvre is available for the seeker bold enough to venture beyond the boundaries of convention. . . . And Hoyle's The Unknown Henry Miller: A Seeker in Big Sur is the perfect trailhead." -- Santa Barbara Independent "A refreshing biography . . . Hoyle offers generous interpretations of Miller's work." -- Kirkus Reviews "An admiring biography of the novelist, who turned the events and people of his life into fiction." -- Library Journal
