Absence of Myth: Writings on Surrealism

A collection of 25 short pieces by French novelist and philosopher Bataille (1897-1962) on surrealism displays its centrality to his thought from 1945 to 1951. Among the titles are The Castrated Lion, the Surrealist Revolution, and Poetry and the Temptation of the End of the World. Only names are indexed. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
For Bataille, the absence of myth had itself become the myth of the modern age. In a world that had lost the secret of its cohesion, Bataille saw surrealism as both a symptom and a beginning of an attempt to address this loss. His writings on this theme are the result of a profound reflection in the wake of World War Two.The Absence of Myth is the most incisive study yet made of surrealism, insisting on its importance as a cultural and social phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. Clarifying Bataille's links with the surrealist movement, and throwing revealing light on his complex and greatly misunderstood relationship with Andre Breton, The Absence of Myth shows Bataille to be a much more radical figure than his postmodernist devotees would have us believe: a man who continually tried to extend Marxist social theory; a pessimistic thinker, but one as far removed from nihilism as can be.
One of the most provocative and controversial writers of his time, these essays comprise George Bataille's most incisive study of surrealism.