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Books Related to In Search of Lost Time Marcel Proust - ISBN: 0141180323
Introspective but descriptive - Rated
I have to say that I found vol 2 a bit more slow-moving, alternating passages of eye-glazing introspection with some really profound and expressive descriptions of what love is like, and how we react to art and to artists (be they actors, writers, or painters). But a welcome surprise was that there is an actual plot, with the narrator's rebuff of Gilberte near the start vaguely reflected in his relationship with Albertine, and with her other young friends, at the end.
I found myself very irritated by the publisher's notes. (I'm reading the new-ish Penguin edition.) First of all, I hate end-notes rather than foot-notes as a general matter of principle. Second, while I don't mind explanations of obscure references to contemporary or older French literature, I thought the editors went overboard in drawing attention to Proust's minor plot inconsistencies. (Though I did wonder why these were never corrected by any of Proust's French editors.)
what i spied underneath the shade - Rated
For so long a figure of "high literature" in this reader's mind, Proust is far more accessible and contemporary than many might think. A misleading title(if not beautifully poetic) leads one into an expectation of adolescent romances and rendevzous. "In the Shadow..." is more accurately about the opening up and growing awareness of a young mind to the world. Over the course of his walks and travels, the Narrator enters us into the halycon world of literary dreaming its inevitable disappointments, all the while reavealing a fantastic social tapestry (noble histories and romantic intrigues) that is a mirror into the psychology and actions of society people (to this day still). There are those who would chide Proust's allusions and his "wordy" prose, but his assessment of human behaviour and depiction of the melding of pre-conceived (perhaps naive) notions with their dessicated reality makes this novel an essential read for anyone who lives and interacts with people.
