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FDU PRESS
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| Scholarly Review |
 | Alfred Jarry: An Imagination in Revolt
ISBN# 0838640079
Reviewed by: J. P. Cauvin, University of Texas at Austin
Choice, November 2005 |
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Ever since Andr Breton conferred canonic status on his work, Jarry (1873-1907) has been considered a pivotal transitional figure in France. An important protosurrealist figure, the creator of pataphysics, and one of the first systematic practitioners of Humour noir, Jarry made many contributions to the aesthetics of modernism. Fells thoughtful, comprehensive, well-illustrated study encompasses the many facets of Jarrys oeuvre his literary output, of course, but also his graphic work, his contributions to cabaret chanson, and his work in dance. Best known for his subversive, marionette-inspired play Ubi Roi (1896), Jarry had unusually diverse interests that reflected his irreverence for bourgeois conformity and received values, the ludic, parodic, and often transgressive quality of his imagination, and his penchant for experimentation. In six chapters that are interrelated but could equally well stand alone, Fell investigates Jarrys visual language; his confrontational treatment of science, poetry, and mysticism; his innovations in illustrating books; his flouting of artistic orthodoxy; the use of puppetry in the making of Ubu; and the sexual underpinnings of dance and writing in his novel Messaline. Scholars interested in 19th- and 20th-century French literature and the arts will want this book.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and above.
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