Basically, if you can get past the terse text you will find a very, very out-dated system of thought. Andre Breton may have been revolutionary then, but now it is just a re-hash of an old, dilapitated art school that has nothing more to say.

It is hard to exaggerate the importance and the relevance of this book and the greatness of it's author, Andre Breton. Although a flawed and decidedly ambivalent man, Breton was the first out and out surrealist worthy of the name, seeking the spirit of magic and 'immanent transcendence' of a sort in the marvelous, a sense of mysticism and wonder in no way supernatural or otherworldly. Breton exhorts us to break the sterile and suffocating chains of rationalism and logic, and to realize the relativity of perspectives and perceptions of reality, thereby freeing both our intellect and the supreme weapon of the human mind, the imagination. The surrealist lifestyle is nothing if not a furious attempt at total liberation, and Breton knows that this cannot be said often enough. The mad, the imaginative, the dreamy and the alienated are true 'surrealists' and unwittingly live this defiant philosophy of rebellion through their resolute refusal to conform to society's norms and to replace their own thoughts with those of the uninspired, the average, the ordinary. The literary and poetic precursors Breton cites are absolutely perfect and in accordance with the ideology he is formulating:anyone who has deeply felt the power of imaginative art has felt the spirit of surrealism, and Breton was possessed by it. He once screamed furiously, "I AM SURREALISM!"--and far from seeing it as arrogant or pompous, I think he was right.

Breton's work is one of the seminal classics of twentieth century art and literature and deserves to be read, if for no other reason, purely for historical ones. However, the intersted historian will quickly be transported beyond the realm of antiquarian curiosity and into an embodied philosophy of life that profoundly critiques and challenges the status quo. In many ways, the critiques/alternatives offered by Breton and the surrealists are more desperately needed now in the beginning of the 21st century than they were in the beginning of the 20th.

As to the previous reviewers rather shallow critique, I can only say that Breton (still read in France as one of their major 20th c. poets) has written these as witty, playful, often beatiful sometimes even rambling texts. To call them terse is to either radically misuse the word or to lack an aesthetic sensibility, or perhaps both. As for the supposed rehashing of an "old, dilapitated art school that has nothing more to say", such an unsupported critique reveals far more about the reviewer than about Breton.

Enjoy this book.

As far as pure information about Breton goes, this book is an absolute must have, and I immediately bought it myself. But I personally feel that Mark Polizzotti is far too prejudiced in the negative direction as regards Andre Breton, and every admirer of his should keep this in mind. He is an excellent translator and an undeniably well informed scholar with respect to Dada and Surrealism, but if he was so determined to bash Breton and take shots at him left and right, maybe he should have written another book called "I'm Pissy and Cynical:Why I Hate Andre Breton". Yes, it is true that Breton had contradictions in his character and attitudes, but all great men do. Breton's relentless campaign against all forms of coercion and institutional authority (indeed, authority of any kind) more than makes up for the flaws that he had, the flaws which we all have in one way or another. (A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, Mark.) And let's keep in mind, not to be mean, who is writing the biography and who is getting the biography written about them. Polizzotti makes sure to magnify Breton's admittedly dubious and perhaps even downright hypocritical stance on homosexuality to the point where you would think that Surrealism was about gay bashing. Without Andre Breton Surrealism would never have even gotten off it's feet. His so called 'ex communications' were botched but at the same time basically well intentioned attempts to keep the surrealist rebellion genuine and authentic, and his supposed 'dictatorial personality' was simply his passionate nature translated into action. Like all great leaders he wanted to adhere to the principles he had set for himself and the friends who accompanied him on the great spiritual adventure of poetry and 'the marvelous' that was Surrealism. Hate him or love him, what Breton himself said of Rimbaud's drinking buddy Germain Noveau can be said of the arch surrealist himself:"Absolute non conformism ruled his life from beginning to end."

This book is entertaining as well as informative. I noticed one review on this site with the subtext of 'I prefer baguettes to burgers/Americans are bad' so I thought I'd weigh in. Also the critic in question cannot even READ in Breton's language then lambasts Americans in general for not appreciating his chosen magus.

I'll try and do better and focus on the book.

The book's intellectual/social millieu is well described. You can drop in on almost any page and be immersed in what the times were about and who the major figures were.

True, Polizotti really gives it to Breton. However-most of the 'bad' stuff is given to us in quotes or writings OF Breton or his contemporaries. Can we really fault an author for telling us things we may not WANT to know about a public figure?

Also, the book has a comic aspect. Everytime Breton pulls some tomfoolery or a writer for instance snipes at how controlling this figure in bright green suits was, you can't help but laugh at the pretentiousness involved. IN this sense, Breton is a great comic. He courts Freud, Freud prefers Dali. He courts some woman, she prefers another man. He wants to lecture to the Americans, they put Dali on the cover of Time Magazine. He raises some fuss somewhere and Eluard-yet, again-gets beaten up like a child on a playground. The clothing, that arch-high language, the situations-he is extremely funny. Not fake funny like Jerry Lewis, but bust a gut, deflate the persona funny. Not unlike old movie farces where the joke is on a dowager or banker.

I gave the book an extra star for making me laugh several times. It's really a four star book in other ways.

k

When Aube (Breton's only child) was very young, Breton told her that someday he will tell and teach her anything she wants to know about "life, love and revolution". Indeed these can be described as the essence of Breton's colorful, and dramatic life. Plozzotti has not only told us aboiut the history of Surrealism, but also told us about how Breton started, and eventually controlled every aspect of this movement. Excellent book. Highly recommended.

Here is Breton exploring landscapes that remind him of where he is in relation to humanity and all that is dear to him. He has left a 'failed' relationship behind in Paris, and begins a final chapter in 'Surrealist Imagery' with a new found love in Canada. The underlying heartbeat of this book is the will to endure the ectstatic highs and lows that create the emotion-memories and presence of love. There is a treasure in this book, perhaps even a gift; no one word can explain the gift--which is much like a powerful monolith the size of a needle's eye. To be more precise though, I recognized a sort of strategy in this book: Love is infinite; it does not end with the loss of a beloved; through the mind, one can relate to the particle-images of one's memory and consistantly love people who were loved in the past (who have passed beyond presence), extending and introducing a past that was both beautiful and disastrous to a presence that becomes more vivid, more intricate, more loving with each connection made to the memories of persons who shared time and created space like children on a familiar playground.

I could not make it through the first chapter of this book. I am not an English teacher, but the run-on sentences and atrocious sentence structure drove me crazy! The author tries to provide a political context for the Constellations, both paintings and poetry. However, he jumps from year to year and place to place without transition. I found this extremely confusing and also incomplete. I was also disappointed in the black and white illustrations. I don't think the paintings can be appreciated at all in this book. Don't buy it!