Books like The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 3: 1923-1927

At the beginning of this volume, Nin is 20 years old and newly married to Hugh Guiler. Because of Hugh's career the couple decides to move to Paris in 1924 where Nin would spend the next 10 or so years of her life. The first half of this volume was hard to get through. Nin complains a lot about Paris - the dirt, the vulgarity, the rawness. She tries to be the perfect wife, and a lot of entries are gushings over her husband, how perfect he is, how much they are in love etc. It is hard to believe this was written by the same person as The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934 a few years later. About halfway through the book she starts to admit to herself that she is not entirely satisfied with her life and marriage, and this is where things get interesting. This "awakening" is happening slowly and is very fascinating to witness. One can feel that Nin is longing for something, but she doesn't know yet what it is.Another topic in this diary is Nin's struggle with her writing - while she starts some attempts at writing novels, her diary is the only form of expression that she turns to constantly and with ease, and her fear that she will one day only be known for her diaries looms large over her head. This is of course what happened in the end (the exception being her erotic short stories which have gained a certain popularity). To me this is not a bad thing at all and I don't think it means she failed as an artist. I know that some people think differently though (maybe herself included).I can't wait to read the next volume, which closes the gap between her early diaries and her meeting with Henry Miller which would change her life forever.