In Search of Lost Time [volumes 1 to 7]

"In Search of Lost Time", in 7 volumes, is one of the iconic, challenging peaks of world literature, along with such novels as "War and Peace", "Don Quixote", and "Ulysses". "In Search of Lost Time" and "War and Peace" are two that I tackled in high school without getting very far. In the last few years I have finally read "War and Peace" and "Don Quixote", and yesterday I finished reading "In Search of Lost Time." In reading each of these great works, I have been impressed by the beauty of the writing, the complexity of plotting, and depth of characterization. Each presented its own challenges. In the case of "In Search of Lost Time", there are several difficulties to be surmounted, not least among them being that the collected volumes in printed form cover a total of about 7,000 pages. Persistence deals with that. The real challenges include Proust's narrator's attitude toward the women in his life, especially knowing he himself was homosexual. I was impatient with his long stretches of self-centered whining, and with concepts such as that jealousy is required for love to bloom, and that love dies as soon as the beloved's loyalty is assured. The writing is dense with detailed descriptions of social attitudes prevailing among French upper classes at the beginning of the 20th century, attitudes often shallow, cruel, abhorrent. In spite of all that, there are major insights into the way we evolve, becoming a variety of unique people in the course of our lives, as our relationships, bodies, health, work, and environments change. In the end, there is ample reason for this monumental work's position in the canon of great literature. There are valuable insights into human nature. There is brilliant use of language. There are wonderful descriptions of nature and the world in which Proust lived. It's incredible that Proust managed to put so much detail onto so many pages.

How to read this book. It's a very complex book, but how you read it depends on simple choices... First if you don't like complex historical language and scenery and activities with tons of dialogue... Don't waste your time. Second, understand that the Narrator has two modes. Your appetite for these modes will vary. Mode 1. Narration of landscapes, people, and events, with fine detail of settings, language, and behaviors. The narrator sees things that few see, and these observations are usually timeless. If you like European history at the gut level of people from servants to royalty, “fiction” written by an eyewitness who was a keen observer, this is close to being there. Mode 2. Analysis. The narrator goes deep. Very deep. Then in subordinate clauses, he goes deeper. The language is exceedingly complex. To get the full richness you may have to read some paragraphs a couple of times. Proust was obsessed with trying to explain Why. He was an observational scientist using contemporary literature, philosophy, history, linguistics, religion, psychology, natural and physical sciences, medicine and other bodies of knowledge for analytical frameworks. To appreciate this approach, I took a break from this book and read Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway was reacting to writers like Proust. His style is as different as he could make it. Hemingway's writing is like an artist sketching in India ink. It is laconic, terse, achingly beautiful. The writing will evoke all sorts of reactions and feelings. The events can be quite disturbing. But Hemingway is an artist. He shows, but he does not explain Why. He won't help you process. He does not teach. Proust the scientist, on the other hand, reflects on what just happened. He ties it to the past, and he hints about the future. dives down into human culture and behavior. Then he goes up to the big picture. Then he dives down again. If you like this kind of analysis, you may occasionally realize you have stopped breathing as you are reading. It is that good. If you don't like this kind of analysis, you will be asleep. Mode 2 analysis goes on for many pages, to say the least. You just have to choose what you're interested in. For instance If classical music is an interest, Proust may give you a lot to think about from a time when classical music was simply music. Not so interested in flowers? Just skim and skip forward to the next section of Mode 1 where there is some interesting action! It's okay. Really. It's your book and your time. And don't worry about taking a break. You might come back, you might not. The few people who know about Prust will be impressed that you read any of it. Side note... One oddity is how the master analyzer often declines to analyze himself. For example, the narrator attempts to assault a woman in a dark alley, laughs it off, and within a few pages is psychoanalyzing some Duke or Baron. WTF Marcel, over? He alludes to fighting duels; no details or analysis. As a teenager he consorts with prostitutes, crying on their bosoms about his (pathological?) obsession with Gilberte who pretty clearly begins to worry about her safety. No analysis. Well, dozens of pages of analysis but you have to wonder whether the narrator ever looks in the mirror to see the source of so many problems. Control freak? Just a bit. Maybe some of this will be explained in the second half of the book. But on the other hand reading this kind of literature helps us to appreciate both the acuity and the blind spots of previous ages. The control and subjugation of women is everywhere. The anti-Semitism is quite disturbing, especially given what is about to happen in the 20th century. This combination of brilliance and blindness is not unusual. Most of the great feminists and democratizers of the British 1800’s (Dickens, etc.) used racist and anti-Semitic stereotypes in casual dialogue and especially for villains. Great narrative literature written by eyewitnesses puts us right there in a front row seat but with the perspective of hindsight. What aspects of our current culture will be as cringe-inducing to future generations?

op zoek naar de verloren tijd, het lezen van 7 delen proza kost wat tijd, maar proust schept een parallel universum dat het nagenieten waard is. het lijkt bijna internet, iedere pagina boordevol links naar alles wat in mijn gevoel speelt. De vertaling uit t frans, ik weet uit ervaring bij vertalingen uit t duits (een taal die ik wel behoorlijk beheers) hoe moeilijk het is, en hoe veel het uiteindelijk uitmaakt. ik heb met opzet nu een vertaling naar het engels, en een vertaling naar t duits gekozen, om de nederlandse vertaling enigszins te kunnen beoordelen.... alleen al voor proust zou ik graag het frans zelf beheersen.

Long winded but good.

It only contains two volumes and not seven

I haven't read all of this and I suspect that it will take quite some time to relish it all; I read it about 50 pages at a time. There's a lot to be said about Proust. Any wonder this is considered the best book of the 20th century. I think also that the interpreter is important; a few years back I was reading another version of this very book and I find this one much more interesting to read. Also, I tried to read the other copy all in one go whereas with this one I read some and then leave it whilst reading something else; I find it easily digestible in small bites.

O conteúdo deste e-book não é o que podemos ver na capa. Ao invés de conter a saga "In Search of Lost Time", de Marcel Proust, o que de fato há no livro são as obras completas de Virginia Woolf.