Paris Peasant
by Louis Aragon
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Description
Paris Peasant (1926) is one of the central works of Surrealism. Unconventional in form and fiercely modern, Aragon uses the city of Paris as a framework interlacing text with the city's ephemera: cafe menus, maps, monument inscriptions, newspaper cuttings and the lives of its citizens. No one could have been a more astute detector of the unwanted in all its forms; no one else could have been carried away by such intoxicating reveries about a sort of secret life of the city...' Andre Breton'Tags
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Member Reviews
I usually find Surrealist writers, at least in translation, to be dreadfully boring & wooden & forced. The best "Surrealist" writing is by people who were either never Surrealists or were only peripherally associated w/ Surrrealism - like Raymond Roussel & Raymond Queneau. Of course, you have to be named Raymond to be a good Surrealist writer - except for Antonin Artaud.. However, I liked this Louis Aragon bk. On the other hand, contrary to what the back-cover blurb says, I wdn't call this bk Surrealist either, so..
Slightly more appealing than Breton's Nadja, which isnt saying much. Read it for the evocative descriptions of Paris back streets and hidden corners. Otherwise, nothing to see here, move along.
moments of brilliance, beauty, and humor. some of the more metaphysical wanderings made my head hurt.
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Author Information
219+ Works 3,059 Members
Louis Aragon was born in Paris, France. He had a varied professional life that included experimentation with numerous writing styles. Initially planning on a career in medicine, Aragon studied at the University of Paris. During World War I and World War II, he was mobilized as an auxiliary doctor. Dadaism and surrealism influenced many of his show more early works, including Nightwalker. In 1919 he co-founded the Surrealist magazine Literature, but he soon broke away from dadaism and surrealism and joined the Communist Party. Among his best-known works are Residential Quarters and The Bells of Basel, which reflect this Communist influence. His later works, such as Holy Week (1958), seem to turn away from some of his more controversial ideas. In the 1940s Aragon reintroduced rhyme in his work and was interested in ideas of automatic writing and freedom of the unconscious. Aragon wrote under numerous pseudonyms including Albert de Routisie, Arnaud de Saint Roman, and Francois La Colere. He died on December 24, 1982. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Gallimard, Folio (219-782)
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Paris Peasant
- Original title
- Le Paysan de Paris
- Alternate titles
- Nightwalker
- Original publication date
- editions Gallimard, 1926 (Jonathan Cape ∙ [1971]) (Jonathan Cape ∙ [1971]); 2002
- People/Characters
- Kay Bartholdy; Jonathan Shields; David Royle; Marco Bartholdy
- Important places
- Paris, France
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 611
- Popularity
- 47,584
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.72)
- Languages
- 8 — Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 17
- ASINs
- 9
