by Henry Miller
First published 1971
Augusto sits at the base of a ladder stretching toward the moon, his smile frozen in place as his thoughts drift far away. This simulation of ecstasy, perfected through countless performances, never fails to captivate his audience with what appears to be the height of theatrical madness. Night after night, this brilliant yet desperate clown takes the stage to enact what Miller calls "the drama of initiation and martyrdom." Augusto exists as Miller's sole creation born purely from imagination rather than drawn from real life experiences. Through this fictional character, Miller explores the artist's difficult journey and the nature of creative suffering. The clown's nightly performances become a meditation on what it means to be a true artist, caught between the demands of entertaining others and the internal struggle for authentic expression. Augusto embodies the tension between public persona and private anguish that defines the artistic temperament.
Genres: fiction, drama, art, literary-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, internal-conflict, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th Century
61 pages · Hardcover · Hallmark Editions