Dark Spring is an autobiographical coming-of-age novel that reads more like an exorcism than a memoir. In it author Unica Zurn traces the roots of her obsessions: The exotic father she idealized, the "impure" mother she detested, the masochistic fantasies and onanistic rituals which she said described "the erotic life of a little girl based on my own childhood." Dark Spring is the story of a young girl's simultaneous introduction to sexuality and mental illness, revealing a different aspect of the "mad love" so romanticized by the (predominantly male) Surrealists. Unica Zurn (1916-1970) emigrated in 1953 from her native Berlin to Paris in order to live with the artist Hans Bellmer. There she exhibited drawings as a member of the Surrealist group and collaborated with Bellmer on a series of notorious photographs of her nude torso bound with string. In 1957, a fateful encounter with the poet and painter Henri Michaux led to the first of what would become a series of mental crises, some of which she documented in her writings. She committed suicide in 1970--an act foretold in this, her last completed work.
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Preadolescent sexuality merges with depressive fantasy--to devastating (if ineffably morbid) effect in this once-notorious novel by a German writer and artist (1916–70) who, like this novel's young protagonist, took her own life shortly after its (1967) publication. She's a nameless suburban girl who's provoked, by her slovenly mother's indifference, her beloved father's long absences from home, and her own claustrophobic self-absorption, into masturbatory daydreams and tentative baby steps toward adult sexual expression. The story's (expertly caught) tone and rhythm are indeed hypnotic (though one nowhere senses the complexity attributed to it by translator Rupprecht's labored introduction), and Zürn caps it with a marvelously bleak, brisk final scene. Unusual and memorable fiction. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful,
By
This review is from: Dark Spring (Exact Change) (Paperback)
The ending of this book will I believe haunt me for days to come...One of the best novels I have ever read though not for all tastes. I found Zurn's writing hypnotic and mystifying. A dark and honest german tale of innocence tarnished, love lost, suicide, dreams, sex, violence, domestic hell all seen through the eyes of a lonely twelve year old girl. Beautiful, sad and and unfortunately prophetic - spoiler-(Unica Zurn, the author killed herself in real life). Anyone interested in psychology or stories dealing with youthful angst must read this gripping literary work of art. A masterpiece.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly Haunting Imagery,
By Megan A. Burns "meganaburns" (new orleans, louisiana United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Dark Spring (Exact Change) (Paperback)
This is an incredibly vivid and haunting book by a very talented writer. As a result of her life, her work seems to not receive the recognition that it should. The writing in this book is beautiful. She deals with the fractured feminine psyche piling on surreal images that create a nightmare echo that resounds from cover to cover. Brilliant.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a sad tale well told,
This review is from: Dark Spring (Exact Change) (Paperback)
Unica Zurn had her problems, no doubt about it, but she was also a talented writer who had the ability to turn her pain and suffering into art. This sort of reminds me of that other gem on the same topic entitled THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath. I suggest you get it. Unica Zurn deserves to be read and remembered.
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