Added by 1 member
Children of the Albatross
(1947)(The second book in the Cities of the Interior series)
A novel by Anaïs Nin
This new authoritative edition of Anaïs Nin’s second full-length novel, Children of the Albatross, contains an introduction culled from Nin’s own words about the writing of the book, character sketches, a complete publishing history, and the author’s chronology.
Children of the Albatross is considered by many to be one of Anaïs Nin’s most beautiful books; it is also a groundbreaker in that it eloquently addresses androgyny and homosexuality, which few literary works dared to do in 1940s America. We are introduced to three of Nin’s most significant characters: Djuna, Lillian, and Sabina, all of whom represent different aspects of Nin’s character—serenity, earthiness, and the femme fatale, respectively.
In the first part of the novel, “The Sealed Room,” we witness Djuna’s developing perception of sexuality as we follow her from when, as an adolescent, she has learned to fear powerful, masculine, potent men, to her search for love in young, sexually ambivalent men—the “transparent children”—finally fusing with an airy teenage boy to whom she introduces the world of love and sex.
In the second part, “The Café,” Nin reveals the psychological truth of her relationship with her lover and mentor, Henry Miller, via her main characters’ interactions with the powerful, omnipotent Jay, whom Nin fashioned after Miller.
Children of the Albatross offers the reader Anaïs Nin’s sense of “inner reality” perhaps more beautifully and effectively than in any other work.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Children of the Albatross is considered by many to be one of Anaïs Nin’s most beautiful books; it is also a groundbreaker in that it eloquently addresses androgyny and homosexuality, which few literary works dared to do in 1940s America. We are introduced to three of Nin’s most significant characters: Djuna, Lillian, and Sabina, all of whom represent different aspects of Nin’s character—serenity, earthiness, and the femme fatale, respectively.
In the first part of the novel, “The Sealed Room,” we witness Djuna’s developing perception of sexuality as we follow her from when, as an adolescent, she has learned to fear powerful, masculine, potent men, to her search for love in young, sexually ambivalent men—the “transparent children”—finally fusing with an airy teenage boy to whom she introduces the world of love and sex.
In the second part, “The Café,” Nin reveals the psychological truth of her relationship with her lover and mentor, Henry Miller, via her main characters’ interactions with the powerful, omnipotent Jay, whom Nin fashioned after Miller.
Children of the Albatross offers the reader Anaïs Nin’s sense of “inner reality” perhaps more beautifully and effectively than in any other work.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Anais Nin's Children of the Albatross