Paris and the Surrealists

by George Melly

George Melly narrates the history of Surrealism and describes his love affair with the movement and its native city.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art History, Art

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer; he also lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.

Reviews

[Roniq · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful photography book with text by George Melly and images by Michael Woods. Melly transports us back in time discussing his time in Paris and the Surrealists accompanied by the beautiful black and white images of Paris at it's most Surreal. Max Ernst and Andre Breton are two of the artists discussed here.

[robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weirdly easy to read, perhaps because I like to fetishize places I've been and fantasize about inhabiting extinct eras and scenes just as Melly does. An escapist page turner. I also love the idea of shooting photos in the present that make us feel like we are back in time. Unfortunately, the images are inferior to the words and fail to evoke the surrealistic past.

[Tristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted this to be better. The images just didn't move me at all.