This tender and nostalgic work dates from the same period as Tropic of Cancer (1934). It is a celebration of love art and the Bohemian life at a time when the world was simpler and slower and Miller an obscure penniless young writer in Paris. Whether discussing the early days of his long friendship with Alfred Perles or his escapades at the Club Melody brothel in Quiet Days in Clichy Miller describes a period that would shape his entire life and oeuvre.