A handbook for surrealism, this book explores the origins and characteristics of French 20th Century surrealist aesthetics both in literary and fine art. As an aficionado of surrealism, Henry Miller employs metaphor to reflect "alchemical experimentation." His surreal imagery depicts the entropy of our time. Miller offers salvation through immersion in the elemental, primal, and sexual.
"Gay Balliet's enlightening study of surrealism in American fiction is original in approach, imaginative in its uses of specific illustrations, and dynamic in its fresh and often startling cross-references."
- James R. Frakes, E.W. Fairchild Professor of American Studies, Lehigh University
"What is so useful about Gay Balliet's book is her deft use of interdisciplinary sources, especially fine arts and literature, to weave a valuable study of surrealism. Dr. Balliet's study also brings in Miller's American contemporaries and his literary descendants, clarifying his relationship to both and his position in American literature."
- Dr. Elizabeth Fifer, Professor of English, Lehigh University
