Reading "Remembrance of Things Past"

It is one of the longest novels in the 1001 Books book.

Comments on reading it, attempts to read it, fear of reading it are all welcome.

updated every month by M1001.

I am starting it.

Viva Proust.

-- M1001

I've read the first "book" of it, Swann's Way. The first half, while kind of dense, is immensely rewarding if you take your time with it. One of the most amazing pieces of prose fiction I know. The latter half, which is more plot about Swann, I found less interesting, but still worthwhile. One of these days I'll get to the rest... maybe I'll hold off until I can read it in French.

I'll be getting it started in a few weeks when my work load clears up a bit. I am, however, ITCHING to get started!

In Search of Lost Time/Remembrance of Things Past is one of my all time favorite books. It definitely takes some work - both with the length and language. I wouldn't say it's as difficult to follow as say, Gravity's Rainbow or some of the later Henry James, but he does tend to have multiple clauses and some of the longest sentences around. Also, you can't just read for plot, that would make it difficult going. The author has no problem spending 200 pages at a single party or describing the monumental psychological effects arising from a loose tile. Also, for later books, it will help to have a familiarity with the Dreyfus affair. I have to agree with #2 - a challenge, but definitely rewarding. I actually found the 2nd half of Swann's Way equally good, it's the start of a series of perfectly described horrible love affairs.

4> Perhaps part of the reason I found the second half less interesting was that I had just finished a few other French novels with very similar conventions (bachelor passing through French social life falling for a Parisian socialite, etc.), whereas the first half isn't really based on any generic conventions I know of.

5 - It is a pretty common plot, and Proust uses it multiple times - several with the narrator, some describing other people's unhappy relationships. It's always men falling in love with promiscuous or manipulative women (though there are a couple homosexual relationships and one good description of a marriage where the husband is a womanizer). Sometimes I'd have to go read a book where the plot is the opposite - the woman in a bad marriage or getting jilted - just for some balance. But I think Proust's descriptions are better than most other books that I read, so I was never tired of all of his lopsided love affairs. After reading the book, I find that others have a hard time in comparison. Recently, I read Senilita which has an identical plot - bachelor falls in love with a promiscuous, lying woman. It was a good book, but not Proust-good. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't making the comparison. Also, what were the other French books that you read? I always like to get good ideas for the TBR list.

I read the first four volumes and now I'm sort of stuck and I want to finish the last two (at the very least to just say I have!), but I'm also kind of sick of the whole thing. I think Proust is a great writer, but the obsessive love thing got to me after a while - especially since the narrator has several experiences that are similar and never seems to learn from them. I kind of want to slap him upside the head all the time.

My favorite books were Swann's Way and The Guermantes Way. I loved the "Swann in Love" section and the part in The Guermantes Way when the narrator describes his grandmother's illness - just so moving.

At the risk of repeating myself, I'll call attention to my own Proust thread, where I'm updating my slow but steady progress.

M1001, how goes your own quest? Inquiring minds want to know! :)

Good...good...

I have imagined myself starting it several times now :).

-- M1001.

Media1001 . . . so many times your posts make me laugh!

DcZapka (how DO you pronounce that?) . . . post a link. We're all just too lazy to find it for ourselves.

Personally, I'm in the pre-thinking stage that I realize that Proust exists and has written a very, very long book that some people actually read and some of them enjoy and maybe someday perhaps I'll consider reading. Maybe or maybe not.

But I enjoy reading your thoughts and progress reports.

LOL, M1001.

For everyone's sake, Nickelini, I'll post to my thread and bump this one, to try and keep them together near the top of the page. That should make it easy enough.

And it's D-chop-ka. I feel your frustration: Polish can be a tricky language -- just ask any of the thousands of telemarketers who've slaughtered my last name over the years!

I'll weigh in to say I'm with Nickelini in the pre-thinking stage, and have been there for quite some time... :-/ I only recently discovered just how many volumes it is. I've got two chunksters on deck for book groups--Isaacson's Einstein and The Power Broker, the Pulitzer-winning bio of Robert Moses. So, with any luck it will get a look in the fall. That is, after I dig around to decide on translation/edition. I'd hate a poor choice there to stymie me. Any guidance?

I'm in the post-giving up phase myself. I got halfway through the first part, and discovered that I had read words but hadn't remembered anything of the story. I put it away for a while, meaning to pick it back up later. Of course, when that happened I had even forgotten the basics so I gave up. I guess it's what I had coming, what with all the hybris of trying to read it in its original French...

Well, I actually did pick up the first volume at the library yesterday, so I will start Swann's Way this week.

Ironically enough, I stumbled across A Dance to the Music of Time while looking for Proust, which is England's answer to Proust's friggin' 'uge novel. Anyone here ever read A Dance to the Music of Time?

-- M1001.

Yep. I just finished A Dance to the Music of Time at the beginning of May. I loved it. It is also friggin' 'uge, but fantastic. I've read that it's sorta like Proust, but Powell is funny. Very, very funny in that subtle, dry, British kind of way.

I think the reason I liked it so much is that Powell is really skilled at characterization, and you (as reader) follow the same bunch of characters through the decades, more or less. So I got pretty involved with them, whether I liked them or disliked them. It isn't an action packed series. Again, I think like Proust (though I haven't even thought about attempting to read him, so I could be way off base), the stories seem to be a series of dinner parties the narrator attends - and these parties can last 30 or so pages! I'm glad I read it.

Hi, M1001,
I also just finished A Dance to the Music of Time. I had never heard of the books before but was intrigued by them. I don't read as fast as I used to and, starting out, I would intersperse other books. Farther on, I could not put it down. I have not yet read Proust. I think it might be a tougher read. My daughter just read it and gave mixed reviews. I am not ready to tackle that one. I will follow your progress.
Good Luck!
BJ

I just finished Overture, the first fifty pages of Swann's Way. Took me a while because I have been reading other books instead -- perhaps a form of procrastination -- who knows?

I thought the volume of pages would be the biggest challenge, but the writing is challenging to read as well. Takes a lot of concentration to really think about, and understand, the words and concepts. Not as tough as, say, Virginia Woolf, but maybe just a level below that.

Pretty good so far, but a very slow reading journey.

-- M1001

Still working my way through this large collection of words.

I am hitting the 200-page mark and I am *actually* starting to "get" what people enjoy in Proust's words. It is still incredibly dense and difficult to read, but this guy really understood society and people. Many aspects of emotions and politics that have often escaped my logic-oriented mind are starting to make sense through Proust's uncanny ability to observe and explain the human condition to me.

Granted, it still has its moment of tedious descriptions, but I actually found myself laughing out loud at several passages and having some epiphanies on the human condition as I connected to his words and characters.

-- M1001.

You are doing great! My daughter told me that she thought the first and then the last three volumes were the best, with 6 being the best of all. Maybe after I finish my 888 challenge, I will also try to read this big work. I do think that my daughter read other things along with the Proust.

Keep up the good work!

--BJ

I thought I would post a milestone here today. I finished Swann's Way, the first novel in the Remembrance Of Things Past collection. So far, it has proven to be a slow process. You have to dig a lot to find to good pieces. It is definitely *not* a book to be read in isolation, or you will drive yourself word-wacko.

-- M1001

Swann's Way is next in my TBR pile......I look forward to the whole collection as a challenge. A good friend said I will find it difficult to believe I've never read Proust before and will feel slightly regretful.

I jumped on this thread because I started Swann's Way and felt I really gave it a valid try, but had to put it down. I am a firm believer that there is a time and place for every (well, almost every) book, so I will try it again. I also tried it on audiobook and the same thing happened. I now own Guermantes Way so perhaps I will come across the first two volumes, add them to my library and take my time with them. I like to take my time, and intersperse with other books if the reading is difficult. Message 17-I don't find Virginia Woolf anywhere near as tedious as Proust, though. I mean, I get her, and enjoy her sarcasm. He is a bit down, sad, maybe, and it makes me feel depressed without quite knowing why. I want to read it, though! You guys are making me want to give it another go! I think it is a must for a writer to get a good helping of all the greats. What if someone should compare me with Proust? I will not have a clue what they mean! Perhaps it will have something to do with the failed love affairs?

Reply Message 21: You might feel slightly regretful if you *do* commit yourself to reading it :). I feel committed now that I have finished the first novel, but I can't say that I am really looking forward to starting the next one. Little chunks at a time I guess.

Reply Message 22: It would be a failed love affair described in excruciating detail for about two hundred pages worth :).

I don't think anyone is as tedious as Proust...maybe Henry James or Joseph Conrad, but I don't think so. Also, I don't really find Virginia Woolf tedious as much as she is just difficult for me to read. I find myself reading and rereading a lot of her sentences, trying to understand what she is conveying to me. Bleh, I need some lighter reading in my life :).

-- M1001

Almost finished with the first volume.

Is anyone else reading this book?

Talk to me on this thread.

-- M1001

Turns out I brought the wrong volume with me on vacation, so now Swann's Way is on hold until I finish Bleak House.

I'm hoping that reading Alain de Botton's How Proust can change your life *first* might help me with the master himself.

As for me, I'm just thankful that I've already read Clarissa and Gravity's Rainbow before I discovered the 1001 list... both were required reading for the English Hons course I took at uni - both would be incredibly hard work for me today! Actually I think it's going to be Ulysses that is going to kill me :)

I finished the whole thing in May. It took me about 6 months from the time I started Swann's Way to the time I finished Time Regained, with a couple of weeks (and books) between each volume. It's definitely on my all-time favorites list. I'll probably reread it in a different translation or, hopefully, in French someday. I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, but Sodom and Gomorrah (Vol. 4) was probably my favorite after Swann's Way.

I've read the first four volumes and have to agree with sbnicar that Sodom and Gomorrah was probably my favorite so far. I started reading the new Penguin translations and then I found out that because of obnoxious U.S. copyright laws, it may be decades (or at least a few more years) before they can release the last couple volumes. I've toyed with the idea of ordering the UK versions but I must not be terribly motivated because I haven't done it yet!

By the time I get around to the final volumes, I'll probably have to do some rereading. But Remembrance of Things Past seems like one of those pieces of literature that may have different significance depending on your time of life so that may be a good thing.

Yeah six months sounds about right. I will be finishing the first of the three volumes (Swann's Way and Within A Budding Grove) by the end of this week and it has been roughly two months.

I could never see myself rereading any of these volumes again: too much time and effort. Once is more than enough for me.

-- M1001

Finished Within A Budding Grove (the second book) this morning. Volume I complete. Time for a Proust break before the next volume. Hitting those >300 page novels for a while :).

Overall impression: Some amazing insight and writing buried within some very tedious writing. Glad I have read it but won't be reading again.

Hopefully, Sodom and Gomorrah will be as good as others have said.

-- M1001

Should have posted this sooner.

I started reading the second volume a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the titles of the two pieces off the top of my head, but one of them is a retitle for Sodom and Gomorrah, so check back with me in about 500 pages.

I actually spent quite a bit of time organizing the page counts of every book in the 1001 list, and as such, I would also like to take this opportunity to present the rest of the 1000+ page novels:

Cecilia by Fanny Burney
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
U.S.A. by Dos Passos
Pilgrimage by Dorothy Richardson
Jahrestage by Uwe Johnson
A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell
The Taebek Mountains by Jo Jung-rae
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Enjoy avoiding them :).

-- M1001

I also wanted to post a reason to read Proust. I know I am sarcastic and that I complain a lot about his writing in this group, but there is one very good reason (and many dumb, superficial reasons) to read Proust:

He is a very challenging author to read. I think of him as a "tooth-cutting" author. After I spend time reading 25-50 pages of his work each day, every other book is easy on the brain.

Anyway, I just wanted to clear the Proust air, on this thread and elsewhere, and say this: although you have heard me complain about Proust and will hear it in the future, I maintain that he is a great writer. He is a pain in the butt, but he keeps me on my intellectual toes.

-- M1001.

I guess now is as good a time as any to read Proust. If I wanted an English language version, which is the best translation?

Excellent Question. I can only tell you what I am currently reading, not the best translation:

The collection ISBN numbers are as follows:

0394506448 (v. 1)
0394506456 (v. 2)
0394506464 (v. 3)

translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin.

I don't speak French so I can't comment on the quality of the translation.

Hope this is helpful.

-- M1001.

The new Penguin translations are supposed to be a great improvement on earlier versions. They were released in the UK in 2002 and in the US around 2003-2004.

media1001, I think Clarissa by Samuel Richardson should also be on your 1000+ pages list. It's just unbelievably long!

I just started Swann's Way. How did I attain the age of 50 without reading Proust. Just reading the "Overture" made me feel like I was being cradled in the loving arms of language. Oh to read it in the original language!

Reply to Message 36: hemlokgang

Congrats on finishing Overture...no turning back now :).

I found this great online article on reading Remembrance of Things Past. Actually, the article calls it In Search of Lost Time, but same diff. The author of the article really captured the experience of reading the novel:

http://www.powells.com/review/2005_09_02.html

-- M1001

Just marking a milestone.

Finished the second volume (The Guermantes Way and Sodom and Gomorrah) last week. Took a breather and now I am starting the last volume tonight.

I liked the second volume better than the first, but it could just be that I am getting use to Proust after spending 2500+ pages with the guy :).

-- M1001

Glad this thread has resurfaced, since I'm now about 100 pages into Swann's Way. About 30-40 pages a day seems to be my limit - it really does require one's concentration, doesn't it? Despite that, I am enjoying it. Definitely not a book to be rushed.

reply Message 39: Killeymoon:

I agree. There is a limit to the number of pages of Proust any person can digest in a single sitting. I range from 25-50 pages. It really depends on the topic. If he is rambling on about some socialite party where everybody is gossiping about each other and discussing French politics and society, my eyes start to gloss over after about 5-10 pages. If he is discussing topics of more general interest: love, betrayal, death, memory, the human condition, etc., I can easily hit up to 50 pages at a time. Sometimes, if he is really on a writing role, I will hit the 100-page mark but those moments are few and far between.

Yesterday, I only made it through 12 pages :).

-- M1001

Well, I've now finished Swann's Way. I don't think I managed more than 70 pages in a day, and not more than 40 at one sitting. After reading Proust, everything else seems to have very short sentences! I could really tell the difference when I didn't have my full attention on the book though - I'd be halfway down a page, and suddenly be wondering how I got here, only to discover I was at the end of some very long metaphor! A shame, because it rewards close reading, so it's a lesson to me that I shouldn't read it if I'm in any kind of hurry.

I have ordered the next volume, so I haven't been put off! I rather like the edition I have though (the Penguin Deluxe Classics) which seems to be a good translation, and the shops here don't stock it. Each volume is translated by a different person though, so I hope it doesn't vary too much in style.

I've just been rereading the thread, and it seems the last 2 volumes of "my" translation may not be published for some time! Well, I guess that gives me lots of breathing space for reading the next 3. :)

Killeymoon: The last two volumes of the Penguin translation have been released in the U.K. and are readily available through Amazon (and I'm sure others). I've read the whole thing in the other available translation, but I do plan on reading the Penguin translations sometime in the next couple of years.

Thanks sbnicar, that's great news! For some reason I only ever see the first 4 volumes when seraching on Amazon, so I'll have to dig a little deeper. At the moment, I'm using my local independent to get the next volumes, since the New Zealand exchange rate right now makes Amazon a bit on the pricey side, and I'm hoping they might come in a bit cheaper through the bookshop.

Alright, I haven't been on here much recently I know, but I at least wanted to close the loop on this post. I finally finished "Remembrance of Things Past" today. Proust and I have had a rocky, on-and-off relationship for the six months or so, but I did finish it.

-- M1001

congratulations m1001! That is quite an accomplishment!

M1001 -- long time no see. Good to see you resurfacing. Congrats on finishing Proust, well done!

Thanks :). Man that is one long, freakin' novel. Very challenging to read as well. There is some really great ideas and writing in there, but an equal amount of tedious discussions of Paris politics and society at the turn of the 20th century.

I've had quite a few people notice I was reading it -- the presence of a Proustian scholar in the film Little Miss Sunshine brought Proust into the American consciousness -- and they ask me if I would recommend it. I still don't know the answer, except to say that anyone interested in reading it should try it. Whether they would like it or not is unpredictable. I'm still not sure how I feel about it myself.

-- M1001

I know this is an old thread, but I haven't been on LT and wanted to bump it.

Want to see if anyone else is reading Proust and what they think of it.

-- M1001

Media1001- Looks like I might be the only one who started reading Proust since August. :) I started Swann's Way a few days ago. I started with the Modern Library translation and have now switched to the Penguin version. Not sure why but the reading is a bit easier even though when I compare the versions there are few real changes.

I am about 50 pages in and like it so far. It's slow reading, as others have mentioned, but I kind of like the density. I'll probably be eating those words before I'm finished with all the volumes...

Hey perlie--I've just started reading Swann's Way this month too. I'm nearly to page 300. I find I can only read (absorb) 25-40 pages a day, but I love it. The language is so beautiful, and the characters so likeable, quirks and all (so far).

There is a web site called the cork-lined room on which there is a group read, with comments by other readers, and a moderator who provides background information etc. It's very helpful. Through that site I learned of a book Paintings in Proust in which pictures of all the paintings referred to in In Search of Lost Time are collected, so that when Proust describes a character or landscape as being like a particular painting, you can actually look up the painting, some of which are quite obscure.

arubabookwoman, That is an interesting post to me. Thanks for the info on the books you learned about and the website. :)

Hey everyone. I read Proust from 11-28-08 to 7-19-09, at a rate of about 10 pages a day. Oh, the glory! Not to sound corny, but I think it changed my life. The vivid language, the clarifying sentences, the bent of mind . . . I almost began it again a few weeks ago but decided on a couple of other books in-between. Glad to find a group of other Proust readers here.

arubabookwoman-Thanks for the info. I'll check out that website. I knew about the paintings book. My problem is that I don't necessarily want to buy it, but I don't think the library will let me keep it for 6 months...

jburg-I know what you mean. I feel differently about this work than anything else I've read. It's also amazing how far one can get with just a small number of consistently read pages per day. Congratulations on finishing in under a year. That is also my goal.

perlle, the limited-pages-per-day technique is amazing! I'm currently reading Emma with my 16-year-old daughter at 1-2 pages per day. We love it! It's not onerous in the least -- only takes 5 minutes -- and we have a special reason to connect with each other every day. We talk about it at different times during the day, too. Before we know it, we'll have another must-read read! (Interesting conjunction of the same word in two meanings, eh?) I'm also doing it with Aristotle's Politics. Ah, Time. Where are you in Proust?

jburg-I'm about halfway through Swann's Way. I had hoped to finish by the end of the year, but I'm not sure it's going to happen. I'm torn because I don't want to rush it either...

perlle, there is absolutely no reason to finish by the end of the year. It's the experience that matters in reading, not the timing. I wouldn't rush it; steady progress is all you need. Has Charlus appeared yet? If not, you have something to look forward to. He's a trip! JB

jburg-Charlus has only been mentioned so far...I know I shouldn't rush myself, but I make a list each year of 10-24 books I feel I must read. I've never failed to get through the list, but if I don't finish Swann's Way by the end of the year I'll mess up my personal record. Silly I know. But even reading at the slow pace I'm going I should finish in plenty of time.

For the rest of Proust's novels I won't put them in my yearly list so I won't feel pressure to finish them in a certain amount of time. Lesson learned. Proust is unlike anything else!

perlle, thank you for reminding me, as I am reminded by someone or some thing nearly every day, that, in life, the formulation "there is absolutely no reason . . . etc." is usually erroneous! You, indeed, have a reason, a personal reason, to push finishing that book! Good reading to you. Myself, I am trying Bellow again, for the third time on the same book Augie March, and running into the same problem: unlike the eloquent wordiness of Proust, Bellow's wordiness seems a bit aimless and boring. I'll give it about 100 pages, though, before giving up yet again.

I've decided to pick Proust back up and see if I can't make a little more headway with him before the year times out. I can't guarantee I'll make it through Swann's Way, but I'll sure try!

I will be finishing Swann's Way by the end of the year, and am looking forward to starting Vol II, Within a Budding Grove, in January. I find the secret to enjoying Proust is to read only a limited number of pages a day. I usually read 20 or so, but occasionally read more when there's actually something happening. LOL.

I did in fact pick Proust up again today. I'm proud to say I'm now entirely through "Combray" and am ready to tackle "Swann in Love"!

Many, MANY months ago, someone requested I link to my own thread on the books, so for those looking for more of my thoughts, feel free to click here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/36010

One of my absolute favorite passages in Swann's Way is the one where Proust describes how Swann knows Odette is lying about having another man in her room. A fragment of the truth, with sharp edges, broken off and unable to fit anywhere else but back inside the truth.

I've been (slowly) working my way through Swann's Way for the second time. I don't have much time to pleasure read. I must say, the vastness of detail and penetrating insight of Proust's prose is amazing. I'm enjoying it a great deal this second time through since it does not require so much flipping back and forth in an attempt to keep track of characters and time changes. The first time I read it was 15 years ago and the much younger me had to work so hard to make sense of each line that the vividness of the novel was lost on me.

After reading ROTP from 11/08 to 7/09, I am now listening to an audio version of it, narrated by George Guidall. Excellent way to imbibe the incredible sentences through the filter of another person's interpretation of the text. I haven't checked yet whether Guidall did the entire book, though. Anyone know if it all has been recorded?

Proust readers, how is it going?

I'm about half-way through Within a Budding Grove, and I like it even more than Swann's Way. I wish I could go to Balbec by the sea.

Reading it in english alongside the french is fantastic. The french is so poetic and he uses lng suspended sentences that really work. Its amazing how quickly you can move along with both texts. Have started with Un Amour de Swann just because its the only french edition I could find to buy here in Cape Town. Can't belive that after 50 years of reading pleasure no one insisted I read this genius!

ChrisWildman, --here comes some snobbery-- there are not many out there, relatively speaking, who have made the sustained effort to know Proust. He is not everyday, water cooler material. Who talks about the finest wines but the select few who have taken the time to appreciate them? Congratulations on discovering Proust. I just read him at age 50 and I am still in wonder at his genius.