The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington

Carrington, Leonora & Carrington, Pablo Weiss (illustrator). The Hearing Trumpet, Boston : Exact Change, 1996.

An elderly woman is given a hearing trumpet, and is shocked to learn that her family are planning to commit her to an otherworldly institution where the gates to the underworld are open, the fantastical buildings are constructed like birthday cakes, where the mystery of a recent murder looms. The hearing trumpet is a darkly humorous work of surrealist fiction told through unconventional narrative form, contrasting bizarre fairytale fantasy with feminist themes, ageism and the concept of normalcy. This is a character-driven work that uses humour, albeit morbid, to discuss underlying motifs.

     

Surrealist Texts (Absurdist Texts & Documents #23)

Prassinos, Gisèle. Surrealist Texts

(Absurdist Texts & Documents #23), San Francisco, California : Black Scat Books, 2014.

Gisèle Prassinos was a prodigy discovered as a teen who is widely considered as one of surrealism's most gifted and influential voices. This is a collection of 20 short stories and poems, accompanied by 8 watercolour paintings, and is the sole English translated collection of Prassinos' work. Her tone is described by mentor and surrealist icon Andre Breton as “unique: all the poets are jealous of it.” She uses a writing style that veers away from traditional narrative structure and logic, often described as childlike in nature, while offering compelling critique of societal constructs and norms. An example of this is Water Drama, which examines the the familial and societal pressure upon a young girl from a “respectable family” who's fiancee has passed away. This is a fast-paced, character driven story, with leaps in logic and tone and a special focus on societal norms.