Henry Miller is undeniably a skilled writer but the way he applies those skills does nothing for me. It's interesting comparing this with Anaïs Nin's  Delta of Venus which despite its vulgarity had many moments of tender human insight that made it feel worth reading to me. Tropic of Cancer on the other hand is just miserable. The misogyny of the characters was also just exhausting. A certifiable Favourite Book of the Absolute Worst Guy You Know.

(3 stars may seem too high of a rating for this review lol but these days I tend to reserve 1 or 2 stars for books that are actively, incompetently bad; my star rating is about more than my personal enjoyment level reading the book.)