The Author spends the first part of the novel dealing with love and obsession in his formative years - his emotions fluttering between Gilberte and her mother, the notorious Mme Swann. Whilst the first half of Within a Budding Grove offers a delightful insight into the workings of human love and, more touchingly, the anguish from which it is unseparable in the heart of the author, the volume really comes to live when we reach Balbec.

In the latter half of the novel we are treated to Proust at his best: using the characters of Elstir, Albertine and Saint-Loup the author treats us to splendid discussions on what are, in descending order of value, his most cherished themes of art, love and friendship respectively.

In short, Swann's way was a splendid prologue to the rest of the novel which reaches new heights in this its second volume. If you were thinking about leaving it a while before attempting part two, don't - do it now.


absolutely...   November 2, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

The above/below reviewer is absolutely correct; although this is a staggeringly hard volume to finish. It is, however, well worth it: Marcel starts to come into his own as a character. But wait until you've finished vol.3 for the real delight. The Guermantes way is the real gateway into the epic and is astounding.


A storyline! At last!   March 7, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Firstly, congratulations to anyone who has got this far and completed the first volume of Prousts epic tale. With the hard work done, you can now enjoy the fruits of your labour - this book contains a delicate, haunting account of romance which is both imaginative and highly readable. The characters are both newly introduced, and drawn from "Swanns Way", and are believable in a way that is rarely found in literature. Motives, emotions and the "human condition" are all analysed in such unflinching detail that you find yourself associating with the narrator and sharing his frustration at his own failings. Along with occasional flashes of humour, the tight storyline moves the book along far more quickly than the first volume. A superb read that will leave you wanting more (and don't worry - there are still four volumes to go!)


Not on the same street as Swann's Way   April 30, 1999
 0 out of 5 found this review helpful

Very engrossing, even though dry in places. Sometimes irritating, as when his constant use of simile-like metaphors, apparently inspired by Ruskin's theories of literature, become a little too thick on the ground. Perhaps it's the ugliness of the word "like," repeated in almost every sentence, that starts to grate. The metaphors are brilliant, but often merely ornamental. Also some of the material seems a bit too thin in places, a bit too wispy for words. But there is much human material here that I need to be reading right now, and what a wonderful way to be reading it.


so delicious!   July 8, 1997
the beauty of these novels is unmatched with the possible exception of thomas wolfe. come with me and dance til dawn!