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attytheresa 's review for:
In Search of Lost Time
by Marcel Proust
I had this in digital so actually switched between the Silver Edition paperback and this quite frequently. Hence posting both as 'read'. And here, I can review the entire work, not just each of the 3 volumes separately.
This was a bucket list read. As a french major, I read Swann's Way, Book 1 of Vol 1, in French. While a student in Paris I bought and read in French A L'hombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur, Book 2 of Vol. 1. I remember little of those readings except the madeleine and tea and how difficult reading the french was due to the long sentences and paragraphs. Or at least I thought that was all I remembered. Turns out not true, although that may also be in part to my also reading in college an English translation of Swann's Way for another class. I always had it in mind to read, and even have a hardcover set of the English translation published in 1982, and several of the books in French, picked up in my travels. All unread.
A couple years ago, I heard about a 2 year discussion group reading of it at the Center for Fiction in NYC. I could not do that at the time, but kept my eye open for an opportunity to participate in a similar group read, not so much because I wanted the group discussion but because I knew that if I had to read a certain amount by a specific date, I would do so whereas I was unlikely to be that disciplined on my own. Turns out I am not alone in that. Last summer, a 9 month reading for first timers was announced, I decided I could fit it in and here we are! It worked. I did enjoy the group discussions too of course.
Overall, it is an astoundingly relevant work, even timeless. It's deeply philosophical and theoretical, but it is also just a coming of age as an artist story. It is also filled with brilliant social satire and portraiture, painting a picture of the Belle Epoque, WWI and society in the aftermath that is wickedly brilliant.
It's funny. It's touching -- and heartbreaking -- the sections where he describes the narrators grief at his Grandmother's death, even her death herself, required a box of kleenex. It's incredibly lyrical, often overly descriptive of nature, but it's also fascinated with modern inventions - - the descriptions of the first uses of the telephone, the advent of motor cars, seeing aeroplanes, indicate an awe and intrigue with all these modern inventions, at the same time he has a long passage about how women's fashions in the early 20th Century are so inadequate compared to the fashions of the Belle Epoque.
His descriptions of Venice - should be mandatory reading of anyone who is a tourist in Venice. Then there is the glorious 'orchid and bee' scene -- where he uses the 'birds and bees' imagery so to speak to mirror the illicet homosexual encounter between two aging men that the narrator witnesses secretly. Definitely one of the most erotic passages I've evern read! Although erotic writers need to read some Proust!
Proust has a gift for 'set pieces' that are very visual -- the role in front of the reader's mind as if you are watching on a screen. One example is when narrator is in Donciere and his friend Saint-Loup comes back into the crowded bar with a coat to wrap around the frail narrator who is chilled - and is leaping across tables and along backs of chairs.
Are the characters likeable? Many are, not everyone likes the same ones. I personally find the narrator himself a very questinable character -creepy, immature, something of a sadist - kind of a nasty little twerp. Others found him sympathetic and maybe just being overly harsh on himself. Again, that's a pretty amazing feat -- that everyone who reads it comes way with a slightly different perception of the main characters.
So what is it about? Ask me in a few years and maybe I will have figured it out. As I mentioned, it's about an artist coming into his own which is in fact the writing of the book we just read, which we only find out at the very end. It's also about a time that is past but is also very much present. And it's about a man named Swann whose influence seems so tangential and unimportant on the narrator. Yet something else happens by the very end.
Read it. Do it slowly - you can read it a few pages at a time, maybe 5 or 6 a day even. I bought my copies of the paperback Silver editions used online for about $15 total all 3 volumes. I found reading the paper print editions far easier and more pleasant than in digital for some reason. In part I think that was being able to tab and mark up my copy -- which I did freely as if it were a college text book. Did I always make sense in my comments or remember why I thought that passage needed highlighter? No, but it somehow seemed the way to read it.
Merged review:
I had this in digital so actually switched between the Silver Edition paperback and this quite frequently. Hence posting both as 'read'. And here, I can review the entire work, not just each of the 3 volumes separately.
This was a bucket list read. As a french major, I read Swann's Way, Book 1 of Vol 1, in French. While a student in Paris I bought and read in French A L'hombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur, Book 2 of Vol. 1. I remember little of those readings except the madeleine and tea and how difficult reading the french was due to the long sentences and paragraphs. Or at least I thought that was all I remembered. Turns out not true, although that may also be in part to my also reading in college an English translation of Swann's Way for another class. I always had it in mind to read, and even have a hardcover set of the English translation published in 1982, and several of the books in French, picked up in my travels. All unread.
A couple years ago, I heard about a 2 year discussion group reading of it at the Center for Fiction in NYC. I could not do that at the time, but kept my eye open for an opportunity to participate in a similar group read, not so much because I wanted the group discussion but because I knew that if I had to read a certain amount by a specific date, I would do so whereas I was unlikely to be that disciplined on my own. Turns out I am not alone in that. Last summer, a 9 month reading for first timers was announced, I decided I could fit it in and here we are! It worked. I did enjoy the group discussions too of course.
Overall, it is an astoundingly relevant work, even timeless. It's deeply philosophical and theoretical, but it is also just a coming of age as an artist story. It is also filled with brilliant social satire and portraiture, painting a picture of the Belle Epoque, WWI and society in the aftermath that is wickedly brilliant.
It's funny. It's touching -- and heartbreaking -- the sections where he describes the narrators grief at his Grandmother's death, even her death herself, required a box of kleenex. It's incredibly lyrical, often overly descriptive of nature, but it's also fascinated with modern inventions - - the descriptions of the first uses of the telephone, the advent of motor cars, seeing aeroplanes, indicate an awe and intrigue with all these modern inventions, at the same time he has a long passage about how women's fashions in the early 20th Century are so inadequate compared to the fashions of the Belle Epoque.
His descriptions of Venice - should be mandatory reading of anyone who is a tourist in Venice. Then there is the glorious 'orchid and bee' scene -- where he uses the 'birds and bees' imagery so to speak to mirror the illicet homosexual encounter between two aging men that the narrator witnesses secretly. Definitely one of the most erotic passages I've evern read! Although erotic writers need to read some Proust!
Proust has a gift for 'set pieces' that are very visual -- the role in front of the reader's mind as if you are watching on a screen. One example is when narrator is in Donciere and his friend Saint-Loup comes back into the crowded bar with a coat to wrap around the frail narrator who is chilled - and is leaping across tables and along backs of chairs.
Are the characters likeable? Many are, not everyone likes the same ones. I personally find the narrator himself a very questinable character -creepy, immature, something of a sadist - kind of a nasty little twerp. Others found him sympathetic and maybe just being overly harsh on himself. Again, that's a pretty amazing feat -- that everyone who reads it comes way with a slightly different perception of the main characters.
So what is it about? Ask me in a few years and maybe I will have figured it out. As I mentioned, it's about an artist coming into his own which is in fact the writing of the book we just read, which we only find out at the very end. It's also about a time that is past but is also very much present. And it's about a man named Swann whose influence seems so tangential and unimportant on the narrator. Yet something else happens by the very end.
Read it. Do it slowly - you can read it a few pages at a time, maybe 5 or 6 a day even. I bought my copies of the paperback Silver editions used online for about $15 total all 3 volumes. I found reading the paper print editions far easier and more pleasant than in digital for some reason. In part I think that was being able to tab and mark up my copy -- which I did freely as if it were a college text book. Did I always make sense in my comments or remember why I thought that passage needed highlighter? No, but it somehow seemed the way to read it.
This was a bucket list read. As a french major, I read Swann's Way, Book 1 of Vol 1, in French. While a student in Paris I bought and read in French A L'hombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur, Book 2 of Vol. 1. I remember little of those readings except the madeleine and tea and how difficult reading the french was due to the long sentences and paragraphs. Or at least I thought that was all I remembered. Turns out not true, although that may also be in part to my also reading in college an English translation of Swann's Way for another class. I always had it in mind to read, and even have a hardcover set of the English translation published in 1982, and several of the books in French, picked up in my travels. All unread.
A couple years ago, I heard about a 2 year discussion group reading of it at the Center for Fiction in NYC. I could not do that at the time, but kept my eye open for an opportunity to participate in a similar group read, not so much because I wanted the group discussion but because I knew that if I had to read a certain amount by a specific date, I would do so whereas I was unlikely to be that disciplined on my own. Turns out I am not alone in that. Last summer, a 9 month reading for first timers was announced, I decided I could fit it in and here we are! It worked. I did enjoy the group discussions too of course.
Overall, it is an astoundingly relevant work, even timeless. It's deeply philosophical and theoretical, but it is also just a coming of age as an artist story. It is also filled with brilliant social satire and portraiture, painting a picture of the Belle Epoque, WWI and society in the aftermath that is wickedly brilliant.
It's funny. It's touching -- and heartbreaking -- the sections where he describes the narrators grief at his Grandmother's death, even her death herself, required a box of kleenex. It's incredibly lyrical, often overly descriptive of nature, but it's also fascinated with modern inventions - - the descriptions of the first uses of the telephone, the advent of motor cars, seeing aeroplanes, indicate an awe and intrigue with all these modern inventions, at the same time he has a long passage about how women's fashions in the early 20th Century are so inadequate compared to the fashions of the Belle Epoque.
His descriptions of Venice - should be mandatory reading of anyone who is a tourist in Venice. Then there is the glorious 'orchid and bee' scene -- where he uses the 'birds and bees' imagery so to speak to mirror the illicet homosexual encounter between two aging men that the narrator witnesses secretly. Definitely one of the most erotic passages I've evern read! Although erotic writers need to read some Proust!
Proust has a gift for 'set pieces' that are very visual -- the role in front of the reader's mind as if you are watching on a screen. One example is when narrator is in Donciere and his friend Saint-Loup comes back into the crowded bar with a coat to wrap around the frail narrator who is chilled - and is leaping across tables and along backs of chairs.
Are the characters likeable? Many are, not everyone likes the same ones. I personally find the narrator himself a very questinable character -creepy, immature, something of a sadist - kind of a nasty little twerp. Others found him sympathetic and maybe just being overly harsh on himself. Again, that's a pretty amazing feat -- that everyone who reads it comes way with a slightly different perception of the main characters.
So what is it about? Ask me in a few years and maybe I will have figured it out. As I mentioned, it's about an artist coming into his own which is in fact the writing of the book we just read, which we only find out at the very end. It's also about a time that is past but is also very much present. And it's about a man named Swann whose influence seems so tangential and unimportant on the narrator. Yet something else happens by the very end.
Read it. Do it slowly - you can read it a few pages at a time, maybe 5 or 6 a day even. I bought my copies of the paperback Silver editions used online for about $15 total all 3 volumes. I found reading the paper print editions far easier and more pleasant than in digital for some reason. In part I think that was being able to tab and mark up my copy -- which I did freely as if it were a college text book. Did I always make sense in my comments or remember why I thought that passage needed highlighter? No, but it somehow seemed the way to read it.
Merged review:
I had this in digital so actually switched between the Silver Edition paperback and this quite frequently. Hence posting both as 'read'. And here, I can review the entire work, not just each of the 3 volumes separately.
This was a bucket list read. As a french major, I read Swann's Way, Book 1 of Vol 1, in French. While a student in Paris I bought and read in French A L'hombre des Jeunes Filles en Fleur, Book 2 of Vol. 1. I remember little of those readings except the madeleine and tea and how difficult reading the french was due to the long sentences and paragraphs. Or at least I thought that was all I remembered. Turns out not true, although that may also be in part to my also reading in college an English translation of Swann's Way for another class. I always had it in mind to read, and even have a hardcover set of the English translation published in 1982, and several of the books in French, picked up in my travels. All unread.
A couple years ago, I heard about a 2 year discussion group reading of it at the Center for Fiction in NYC. I could not do that at the time, but kept my eye open for an opportunity to participate in a similar group read, not so much because I wanted the group discussion but because I knew that if I had to read a certain amount by a specific date, I would do so whereas I was unlikely to be that disciplined on my own. Turns out I am not alone in that. Last summer, a 9 month reading for first timers was announced, I decided I could fit it in and here we are! It worked. I did enjoy the group discussions too of course.
Overall, it is an astoundingly relevant work, even timeless. It's deeply philosophical and theoretical, but it is also just a coming of age as an artist story. It is also filled with brilliant social satire and portraiture, painting a picture of the Belle Epoque, WWI and society in the aftermath that is wickedly brilliant.
It's funny. It's touching -- and heartbreaking -- the sections where he describes the narrators grief at his Grandmother's death, even her death herself, required a box of kleenex. It's incredibly lyrical, often overly descriptive of nature, but it's also fascinated with modern inventions - - the descriptions of the first uses of the telephone, the advent of motor cars, seeing aeroplanes, indicate an awe and intrigue with all these modern inventions, at the same time he has a long passage about how women's fashions in the early 20th Century are so inadequate compared to the fashions of the Belle Epoque.
His descriptions of Venice - should be mandatory reading of anyone who is a tourist in Venice. Then there is the glorious 'orchid and bee' scene -- where he uses the 'birds and bees' imagery so to speak to mirror the illicet homosexual encounter between two aging men that the narrator witnesses secretly. Definitely one of the most erotic passages I've evern read! Although erotic writers need to read some Proust!
Proust has a gift for 'set pieces' that are very visual -- the role in front of the reader's mind as if you are watching on a screen. One example is when narrator is in Donciere and his friend Saint-Loup comes back into the crowded bar with a coat to wrap around the frail narrator who is chilled - and is leaping across tables and along backs of chairs.
Are the characters likeable? Many are, not everyone likes the same ones. I personally find the narrator himself a very questinable character -creepy, immature, something of a sadist - kind of a nasty little twerp. Others found him sympathetic and maybe just being overly harsh on himself. Again, that's a pretty amazing feat -- that everyone who reads it comes way with a slightly different perception of the main characters.
So what is it about? Ask me in a few years and maybe I will have figured it out. As I mentioned, it's about an artist coming into his own which is in fact the writing of the book we just read, which we only find out at the very end. It's also about a time that is past but is also very much present. And it's about a man named Swann whose influence seems so tangential and unimportant on the narrator. Yet something else happens by the very end.
Read it. Do it slowly - you can read it a few pages at a time, maybe 5 or 6 a day even. I bought my copies of the paperback Silver editions used online for about $15 total all 3 volumes. I found reading the paper print editions far easier and more pleasant than in digital for some reason. In part I think that was being able to tab and mark up my copy -- which I did freely as if it were a college text book. Did I always make sense in my comments or remember why I thought that passage needed highlighter? No, but it somehow seemed the way to read it.