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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I must say I got quite a lot more out of this on the second reading. I was more able to appreciate Proust's style this time around; his absurdly long sentences, and his long musings on the nature of memory and recollection. It's not really the story that is remarkable in Swann's Way, it's the way the story is told.
This annotated edition by carter is i think the best way to read this masterpiece, not the least for its corrections to scotts exceptional translation, but also for its highly helpful notes taken from french editions of past decades that only this edition comprises.
And oh, i could highly relate to the narrator's diagnosis of his oedipal moments in Combray, which greatly added to my attachment to the text. When the narrator's mother reads to him books and one of which is described as(according to the notes) "François le Champi (1848) has strong Proustian resonances. In the Berry dialect, champi means an infant abandoned in the fields. François falls in love with and later marries his adoptive mother, whose name is Madeleine." that was a moment fr fr, or Swanns madness, onto which proust ends up describing extremely well; manic episodes and the sudden onset of incurable changes in mood, flowered by curiosity which leads swann to ridiculous actions.
And oh, i could highly relate to the narrator's diagnosis of his oedipal moments in Combray, which greatly added to my attachment to the text. When the narrator's mother reads to him books and one of which is described as(according to the notes) "François le Champi (1848) has strong Proustian resonances. In the Berry dialect, champi means an infant abandoned in the fields. François falls in love with and later marries his adoptive mother, whose name is Madeleine." that was a moment fr fr, or Swanns madness, onto which proust ends up describing extremely well; manic episodes and the sudden onset of incurable changes in mood, flowered by curiosity which leads swann to ridiculous actions.
I went into this book expecting to love it. Philosophical musings on the inner workings of human memory—that's right up my street. I will say I set my expectations a little too high. While the aforementioned musings were fascinating to read, this book was also heavy on descriptions of nature, people's clothing, and their houses, which made it a little boring at times.
That being said, this might be the first classic I've read in which I could actually relate to the characters. Characters in older books are already unrelatable on a surface level due to them existing in a vastly different time period and having completely different mannerisms, rules and customs. It doesn't help if their thoughts and emotions are also written unrealistically. I found the characters in this book to be very realistic—likely because "In Search of Lost Time" is basically a memoir. The author portrayed experiences that still happen today, like the disorienting feeling of waking up at night, someone making up excuses to see the person they like, being reminded of a person you were once close to by a piece of music. As a result of this relatability, I was extremely invested in Swann's love story. As for the parts about the author's childhood, they were interesting at first, but quickly became repetitive.
Even though I'm not rating this book above four stars, I am open to reading other parts of "In Search of Lost Time" in the future, as well as re-reading this one.
That being said, this might be the first classic I've read in which I could actually relate to the characters. Characters in older books are already unrelatable on a surface level due to them existing in a vastly different time period and having completely different mannerisms, rules and customs. It doesn't help if their thoughts and emotions are also written unrealistically. I found the characters in this book to be very realistic—likely because "In Search of Lost Time" is basically a memoir. The author portrayed experiences that still happen today, like the disorienting feeling of waking up at night, someone making up excuses to see the person they like, being reminded of a person you were once close to by a piece of music. As a result of this relatability, I was extremely invested in Swann's love story. As for the parts about the author's childhood, they were interesting at first, but quickly became repetitive.
Even though I'm not rating this book above four stars, I am open to reading other parts of "In Search of Lost Time" in the future, as well as re-reading this one.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really adored the writing style. So many thought and reflection to take from this book. We could almost call Proust a linguist from how well he controls language and punctuation. The first part of the book is a 4/5 the second part is 3/5 and the third part is 5/5. The ending was absolutely brillant.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Last year I picked Moby Dick as my tough reading project and found it to relate to everything I did. I talked about it constantly and would reread chapters.
By the end of Swann’s way I would sometimes not have caught much on a page but didn’t go back and reread.
That being said, there are some wonderful passages and the book does divorce itself from linear plot and time in brilliant ways.
This was more of a thinker than a feeler for me. I am very glad I’ve read it.
By the end of Swann’s way I would sometimes not have caught much on a page but didn’t go back and reread.
That being said, there are some wonderful passages and the book does divorce itself from linear plot and time in brilliant ways.
This was more of a thinker than a feeler for me. I am very glad I’ve read it.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A