|
| Swann's Way (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Marcel Proust, C.k. Scott Moncrieff
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia Ltd
Category: Book
Buy Used: £10.16
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 2781807
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0140283269
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.912
EAN: 9780140283266
ASIN: 0140283269
Publication Date: March 9, 2000
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Proust: delightful, moving and utterly engaging February 12, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
People seem always to refer simply to "the moment with the madelaine" when wanting to talk of Proust, but this is merely one piece of an incredible patchwork of a life, experiences, memories, thoghts and moments. It isn't even where the story begins.
For me, reading Proust - all 6 volumes! - was like falling in with a charming companion and being carried along on the waves of a delightful, provocative, and engaging conversation.
It is not about following a plot, finding the "whodunnit", waiting for the hero to give the villain his come-upance; it's simply one long, full experience of living and being, of experiencing the world.
I believe when you open Proust, you either find yourself pulled at once into its current; or it will simply sound no chord in you. For me, reading Proust was truly a profound experience.
Absolute Perfection June 12, 2003
34 out of 37 found this review helpful
Proust's great novel is by far the greatest work of literature I have ever read, including Shakespeare, Goethe, Joyce, Woolf, Dostoyesvsky, Austen, Nabokov, Hemingway and Tolstoy. 'Lost Time' is a story spanning forty years in the life of a man named only once in the narrative, and follows his reminiscences of love, society, and becoming a writer. Proust has the deepest insight into human behaviour and the human mind: it is humanity itself that he essentially aims to dissect within the flesh of his novel. But 'Lost Time' is also a novel very much about art, sexuality, and of course, his famous themes of Memory and Habit. The plot itself is very, very slow (it took me five weeks of absolute solid non-stop reading to devour all six volumes, but by week two my wife had only got as far as page fifty, and then gave up), so if you want a pacey story, a quick and satisfying read, then this will not be for you - having said this, I actually found parts quite exciting, and, despite the banality of some of the events, Proust's writing makes the story so enjoyable that it is quite unputdownable; it can be hard work, but it can also be sublimely easy to read: it is as if, after a hundred pages or so, one becomes 'fluent' in Proust, and reading him becomes as natural as taking another breath.
Proust manages, in my opinion, to achieve perfection in every literary sense: vol. 1 is a poetic and moving reminiscence of childhood, and contains some breathtakingly beautiful passages (especially of Combray), and includes the delightful novella 'Swann in Love' (these Swann bits and childhood bits are important to the later volumes too); vol. 1 is perfectly acceptable to be read on its own, without the others, if you so desire (and don't have the time); vol. 2 is the 'Bildungsroman', as it were, and sets up all the important characters, including the wonderful Saint-Loup and the alluring Albertine; vol. 3 is very much a 'society' novel, although don't expect 'Vanity Fair' ... what struck me in this part, and more so in vol. 4 was how utterly hilarious a writer Proust is - his humour is at once cruel and delightful; then vol. 4 is very much the 'gay' novel, and probably the funniest too - I laughed aloud all the way through ... the characterisation of the Baron is formidable in this volume - probably one of the best drawn characters in all of literature; but vol. 5, the Captive, I found to be very slow, and very intense, but although it has the most frustratingly slow passages, it has the most sublimely beautiful ones too - ones that rival the entire poetical canon; and vol. 5, the Fugitive, is sort of a summing up, a tying up of loose ends before the finale; finally, vol. 6 is indeed the very finale, and it is quite spectacular, one can see clearly the terrifying influence of the Great War on Proust in this part.
Vols. 1 and 6 were written first as a small (700p) novel, which Proust then added, and added, and added to, as the years went by. I could really feel his development (to perfection), as a writer, through the volumes, but it still all holds in the same wonderful voice throughout. Incidentally, the new Penguin translations read quite poorly in comparison to this one, and lose a lot of the humour. Always stick with the D.J. Enright revised translation - it is the best English version.
This is a must read for everyone who has the time to do so. Reading this was not only the most phenomenal literary experience of my life, but also one of the most amazing experiences of my life full stop. This novel finds the perfect balance between the most poetic prose of all time, engrossing characters (and their stories), intellectual and investigative essayistic passages, artistic and pyschoanalytical investigation, both satirical and delightful humour, and the most perspicacious observations of humanity ever written.
Proust's great novel is sheer perfection. If you read it, be prepared to not enjoy any other novels afterward - because you probably won't: nothing better can be written. Genius.
 Too slow to be enjoyable May 19, 2003
17 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is the first part of Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time', the longest novel ever published. Given much more of this I won't be making it to the sixth part in a hurry.
The central theme of the book is Proust's description of how sensual experiences (the sight of a church, the taste of tea and cake, the smell of a certain flower, etc.) are used to reconstruct our past. Memory becomes an interaction with the present via mnemonics that are constantly surrounding us. Our enjoyment of the present is, conversely, shaped by our experience of it in the past. This is shown in three separate narratives: an account of his childhood holiday home, the love affair between a Swann and Odette, and the first signs of childish love between Proust and Swann's daughter.
In all three cases Proust occasionally provides glimpses of beautiful prose, moments that the reader will recognise. His descriptions of how memory sparks when given the right stimuli are sometimes powerful and surprisingly familiar, as is his description of a lovesick Swann mooning after Odette round Paris society. However, the sublime moments are few and far between, and the tortuous and repetitious retelling of Proust's central themes made this a painful read. There is no real narrative, and nothing in the text or structure that may have redeemed this. Yet another description of a minute aspect of Combray or another example of Swann's jealous behaviour do little to add to the readability of the book, and the language is often so over-intricate and flowery that sentences frequently needed re-reading to remind me of where they started. In addition, the characters are not particularly interesting. They are all too hidden behind their starched facades and society niceties (Swann is perhaps an exception to this).
I finished the book because I am the sort of pretentious idiot who wanted to have read Proust, not because I enjoyed it. I may attempt the second book for the same reasons. If you are any more grown up than me, I suggest you give careful consideration to what this book has to offer to your life. Proust clearly understands people very well, but it seems that he is just a little less adept at communicating with them.
What more is there to say about this epic novel.... March 3, 2002
13 out of 17 found this review helpful
What more can be said about this epic novel that consists of more then 3000 words.This is only the first book,it will bring you into the world of Proust.The first part of the book will acquaint you with Combray the french town where the family spent their summers. Great characters such as Swann and Francoise the maid will be introduced. This is also the part where the episode of the famous madeleine dipped in tea that makes him remember his childhood memeories takes place.He starts describing them with very poetic and often long sentences. Although his way of writing may at first make it quite hard to read you will soon be used to the way he writes. The second part (Swann in love)is about Swanns love for Odette,this was not my favorite part of the book but the story does keep flowing nicely and a lot of key characters of the later volumes are now introduced. The episodes at the Verdurins are specifically good because it also describes the odd sense off class that people had.At the Verdurins parties a lot of interesting and even funny characters are introduced. Yes, Proust is at times utterly boring (I also think it is because in his time people of good social standing didn't do much and that the time itself was rather boring) and it may be difficult to concentrate on the more tedious parts (you start thinking about unpaid bills,painting the kitchen or something trivial..). But if you persist you'll find that the poetic sentences start to grow on you and that after a while you're so used to Proust's style that you keep wanting more.I'm almost done with part two and still want to read on I must say it's well worth the effort and one of my most satisfying reads ever.
 I am but a weak and feeble woman...... March 29, 2001
23 out of 37 found this review helpful
This book did my head in. I studied modernist literature at University and everyone always went on about how great Proust was. I am sure he is, but I just can't stay awake long enough to finish the other six volumes. The reams of pastoral description is extremely tedious, as is the ridiculous complexity of the love affair between Swann and Odette. I just found myself wanting to give him a good slap to bring him to his senses. The oddest thing I found was the sense of Proust writing his childhood memories in such an adult way. I found it very hard to credit that his brain would have thought in such complex and intricate ways at such an early age and I always got the impression of an old man speaking through a child's mouth, which was quite off putting. I am desperately disappointed as I really wanted to like this, but I just can't! Having said that it is written beautifully and has moments of levity where things get easier, but they were few and far between.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
