Nadja (Folio Plus Classique)

André Breton's "Nadja" begins with a fundamental question: "Who am I?" This inquiry sets the stage for a unique exploration of identity and the nature of reality within the streets of Paris. The narrator, André, recounts a ten-day period marked by a chance encounter with a young woman who calls herself Nadja. She explains her name signifies "the beginning of the word hope" in Russian, "and because it's only the beginning."

This autobiographical narrative intertwines the everyday with the enigmatic, as Nadja's unpredictable perspective challenges conventional understanding. Their intense, brief relationship becomes a vehicle for examining surrealist principles, the power of coincidence, and the elusive boundary between sanity and a different form of perception. "Nadja" stands as a foundational work of the Surrealist movement, inviting readers to question their own reality and the unseen forces that shape experience.