Ghost Ships: A Surrealist Love Triangle [Hardcover]

Robert McNab (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2004

Travel and exploration fascinated the Surrealists, who crossed continents marveling at their diversity. This riveting book retraces one of their most important and exciting voyages, made on the eve of the birth of Surrealism in 1924. It describes the secret journey made by an extraordinary ménage à trois: the painter Max Ernst, Paul Eluard (cofounder of Surrealism with André Breton), and Eluard’s wife Gala.
Robert McNab unravels the story of Ernst’s love affair with Gala, Eluard’s disappearance, Ernst and Gala’s pursuit of him, their meeting in Saigon, where the love triangle came apart, and the resulting departure of the Eluards, who left Ernst to explore the jungles of French Indochina alone. The impact of the journey on the work of both men was profound: what Eluard saw of European colonial life turned him into a radical political writer, while the oceans, tropical jungle, and ruins at Angkor Wat had a lasting effect on Ernst’s painting and sculpture. As for Gala, she eventually dropped both her lovers for Salvador Dali, breaking Eluard’s heart and inspiring Ernst to paint more than one hundred furious portraits of her.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book tells the story of a secret journey made by three significant figures in the Surrealist movement--the painter Max Ernst, Paul Eluard (cofounder of Surrealism), and Eluard's wife Gala--exploring their menage a trois and the impact of the trip on their work.

About the Author

Robert McNab is a television documentary maker. He worked with Kenneth Clarke, and with Robert Hughes on his groundbreaking series The Shock of the New.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (October 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300104316
• ISBN-13: 978-0300104318
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dry, thorough and essential, April 24, 2011

By 

Stuart Pearson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Ships: A Surrealist Love Triangle (Hardcover)

If you're looking for details on the love triangle between Ernst and the Eluards, this is most likely the best source you'll have. The unexpected bonus is in the full-color repros of Ernst's artwork of the era, many of which I haven't seen before.

The downside is the book is rather dry ad goes into WAY too much detail on different ships and boats they travelled on. There is no way to document much of this (or any) era of Ernst's personal life, so the detective work the author did on this is greatly appreciated. And it reads like a detective wrote it. There are times it's very engrossing, but the sheer weight of ancillary detail robs the book of much of it's "zing"

Still, I'm glad I have it and would recommend it for students of Ernst's life.