Thank you for the wonderful video! I started reading Proust this year. Chinese is my mother tongue and I’m fluent in English so I’m reading the translations of both languages simultaneously, listening the audio versions of both languages, and watching TH-cam videos too. To me reading Proust is like joining a cultural emersion program: It’s the quality and enjoyment of the learning experience rather than the speed or quantity that matters the most to me. I give myself at least two years to go through the 7 volumes. But if I don’t finish by two years, it’s completely fine, as long as I enjoy the journey. As an avid violinist I have to say reading Proust is like practicing Bach violin solos. As a philosophy student, it’s like reading Plato: one never finishes the work. And that’s how we keep growing and keep enjoying the sceneries of our lifelong journey.❤
hats off to you, great approach. I have started volume one and will be working through all seven over the next 2-3 months (i wamed up by reading Hugo's Les Mis a mere novella in comparison but perhaps similar in that it is not what you might call an easy read. good luck with your Proustian reading journey.
I rediscovered my passion for reading in my early 50's. I have since focused my reading on big epic novels that have the potential to transform my way of thinking. Les Miserables is my favorite. Now I am 64 years old and more than ready to begin a Proustian adventure. Your video has added more fuel to the fire. Thank you.
I’ve enjoyed Proust so much on audio. My obsession began when I found the first volume on CDs at a library book sale. It took years to track down the whole thing which fueled the obsession. It is our go-to listen on very long road trips. I’d read Proust a long time ago and listening to it adds another rich dimension to the experience.
I recently finished reading Swann's Way and you have now convinced me to continue reading the subsequent volumes. I read the Vintage Classic edition of Swann's Way translated by Moncrieff & Kilmartin. I think it was a beautiful translation and I highly recommend it.
I agree. I have skimmed bits of more recent translations, and they do not have the beauty that the Moncrieff translation has. I cannot understand why anyone would want anything other than the Moncrieff translation.
Good afternoon, i am a french speaking person from Québec. I enjoyed your lecture about the way to read Proust. Evidently, i read it in french, which is a luck ( i would Have liked to read Jane Austen in english but it would have been too difficult). I started reading Proust last year and i am into Guermantes right now. I am so glad to be persisting because i tried it many times before and always quitted. My older brother was an accomplished Proustian . He died at a very young age(59). So over the fact to be infused by Proust, i feel that i come closer to this brother that i admired so much.So you are true when you say that Proust makes us see Life and things differently. The only bad thing is that my best childhood friend thinks that i am snob to read Proust. So i cannot talk about it. But when i started Swann, i enrolled another friend with me. So Thank you again, i go back to my reading …with my cat sleeping over my knees!
I have enjoyed following your journey of reading In Search of Lost Time and this felt like the perfect culmination of that. Thank you for putting this video together - you hit on something that I had to do many years ago when reading the classics. I kept searching for mastery in prose, and eventually just had to read it as I would any other book and it improved my experience. One day, I imagine that I will read these seven volumes and that is entirely thanks to you, I do not know when this will be as I think I'll have to get used to slower more meditative books, but it will certainly happen. I hope that you're feeling a sense of accomplishment after having finished these volumes, and envy your dedication.
I’m very stubborn so once I put my mind to something- it’s going to happen! And I think you will read it when it makes sense for you- no hurry. Thank you, as always for the kind words.
Once again congratulations on this achievement of a reader’s lifetime, my friend! And what a super interesting video you made!! “Our narrator is a pain in the ass” 😂
Congratulations ! Loved your analysis of this masterpiece . I love a long long long read so very interested to hear how you did this . I'm currently committed to Trollope( Barchester and Pallisers and a few standalones ) and am on my second read through of The Bible so maybe next year ....I think establishing a daily habit is necessary to me , helps get through the duller bits .....
As I noted in a sub comment you also seem to downplay just how funny and amusing the book is and how witty the writing is beside being so emotionally precise and elegant. If you get on his comic wavelength there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments listening to his satiric and self-mocking descriptions of himself and others whether reading it in a book or listening via audiobook.
Thank you for making this video, Sarah. Very informative and insightful. I've read volume one three times over the years and have only recently started volume two. I think I will power through until the last volume now!
That’s so kind of you to say, Juan! I think you may have to slog through a bit of the first part of the second volume. But once he gets to Balbec, it will pick up the pace (a bit)! 😂 I think you will find a tremendous amount of joy in the full series. Bonne chance! Buena suerte!
Thank you Sarah. I am half way through the second volume and enjoying the journey and challenge so far. I agree with your thoughts especially how the characters and places seem to seap inside you and 'possess' your mind and heart. For me the magic comes through Proust's ability to leave you (the reader) with 'snapshot' memories. For example Odette coming out of her door for a walk in the park surrounded by her male admirers or of Gilberte in the park - the image is literally 'imprinted' into your mind - it's like having a photograph shot taken inside your head leaving a residue image that remains forever, Much of the discussion indeed considers memory as a human activity. The images make the characters seem like ghosts snapped in memory for eternity. All this evokes and reminds me a lot of T.S. Eliot's poetry, The Wasteland and Four Quartets in particular.For example, little glimpses and sounds on the wind of 17th century children playing picked up subconsciously by the visitor to the garden, centuries later. Thanks again Sarah for your excellent analysis.
Ah, absolutely! I agree with the idea of the snapshot imprint. And that’s what remains when you complete the volumes- your own book of visuals but also sensory connections with a time and place long past. I’m so glad you are enjoying it!
agree with the image staying in you head, frozen in time. there are so many in this work, but for me it's the image of the little troop venturing down the esplanade at balbec. sublime
I was pleased to come across your video, having started vol. 1 just recently. Like you, I have been aware of Proust for a long time, and being half Suisse Romande, I could not help but recognise certain characters from memories of my Swiss grandparents generation as soon as I started reading. I could smell the rooms and streets, and taste the food, see the light and shade in the town, hear the voices and feel how the furniture was. Evocative is far too weak a word for the effect this first book has had on me already.
Terrific overview! It too was one of the great reading experiences of my life. I’m ready to plow into a second reading, this time with the modern Penguin translations.
I have almost completed the first volume (Swann's Way) and will gently carry on until I have completed all seven volumes. I recognise it will take another two years, but your video has inspired me! Thank you!
Congrats on finishing Proust! This has been on my bucket list for years - so I'm going to start with the Davis translation this month and read the entire series. I'm watching this for a second time because it is so helpful. Thank you, Sarah!
I first read swann in love as a stand-alone novella and found it so compelling and brilliantly written with more detail about human thought and emotion than any other writer that I was incredibly impressed. But the opening sections of the full swanns way are often so difficult and seemingly tedious that people give up so I have turned to audiobooks and I'm now on the third volume relatively quickly , Guermantes Way, and can go through them relatively painlessly. I also downloaded the full version of In Search of Lost time that is the translation that includes Moncrief and Enright and kilMartin hat also reflects the latest French version as a eBook and it is available at very low cost or for free if you have Kindle unlimited so you can double check or turn to reading text. I think swann in love is a good introduction to his pro-style because it has such compelling characters and is self-contained and then sells you on reading everything else he's done
Great video, Sarah! I’m halfway through the second volume, and loving it! One thing I would add to your wonderful suggestions would be to read at least one biography of Proust. I read the William C. Carter biography, which was not only a fantastic piece of writing on its own, but gave a terrific insight into Proust’s life and context for the novel. There are more biographies out there (I have 3 more to read), but I highly recommend the Carter. I also listened to a couple of audio books on the history of Paris, which also provided an excellent background, particularly regarding the Dreyfus affair. I have no idea how long it will take me to finish all seven volumes, but I plan to enjoy the journey!
I looked into reading In Search of Lost Time during the pandemic, but got confused about which translation, etc to choose - so your video was very helpful. Over the past few years, I've become disenchanted with contemporary fiction and so have been wondering about going back to classics - I've never read Proust and so this could be perfect. Thanks. BTW: I came over to your channel after seeing you on one of Shawn's recent bite-sized book chats.
As they say, great literature doesn’t just speak to us, it speaks about us. And Proust encourages us to be readers of ourselves, not just of his book. Maybe that’s why he avoids using his own name, except for that occasional “wink” you mention (“Yes, it’s me, but pretend it’s you.”). Another “wink” he gives is when he mentions the “Petite Madeleine” with the P and M capitalized like that, his initials. 😉
Came across this video just today. Last week got Vol.1 from the library (modern Library Moncrieff translation). Read some briefly but after watching your excellent video I’ll try again. You make the characters & locations so interesting. I’m a real Bloomsbury buff, I’ve always felt like Virginia and Vanessa were my friends somehow.
Thank you so much for the video. I want to buy them and start reading them. I exactly choose the same edition as yours because I liked the design but I got confused so fast because of the volume numbering. You saved me from overspending.
Great analysis! I read the Moncrieff translation and I loved it. I haven't read the Lydia Davis translation of Swann's Way, but I have read all of L Davis' fiction. I'm excited to begin reading her collected essays. She's translated Blanchot and Leiris! Do you watch other channels that talk books? Leaf By Leaf's Proust takes are great too!
I have to admit that I was completely ignorant of her being a translator until I saw her name on The Way by Swann’s. I am giddy with excitement that she will do the second and just pray that she is young enough and eager enough to do all seven volumes! I definitely want to read more of her translations. I watch a lot of BookTube channels but haven’t heard of that one. I will check that one out. Thanks for the tip!
thank you for the lovely and insightful video! my friends and i are beginning this series this week and i really needed to hear some of the specific encouragements and tips you phrased here. i especially worry i will be too slow to keep the pace of my friends, because i am entering the journey with a lot of expectations regarding the richness in the details and the verboseness of it all (they were my main drivers to try it).
@@HardcoverHearts i started it last night just as you typed this message, and i am utterly In Love with his writing already. damn. i can't put it down, i just adore and feel like underlining every passage.
Marcel is so emo 🤣 this video was superb! A dear friend gave me a copy of Vol.1 a few years ago (just before the pandemic, coincidentally), and since then the universe has been giving me many signs to read it. This video was a giant NUDGE! I’ll just have to stop borrowing so many great books from the library and get on it. Maybe I’ll start in the winter…
Big congrats from me too - amazing achievement! A bit over a year ago I picked up the first volume, having followed your channel, and I just couldn't get further than 100 pages. Still, this video was so inspiring and impressive, I am almost thinking I should pick it up again just because of this video, although I think I might need to give it a few years, as my first experience just left me feeling stupid, not cultured enough and 'not getting it'. But thank you so much for making this video - I loved watching it! I continue to be a big fan of your channel and could spend hours listening to you talking about books. Btw - I first read you had a video out on why you love reading haha - which made me think I would love to hear you talking of this and your reading routines or favorite books of all times or any such topics. I know booktube is filled with this kind of videos, but just thought I would love to hear from you personally on this. I just wanted to say it as a thought in case after your language projects and everything, you might one day have some time for an extra video
Camilla- you are not alone in feeling overwhelmed with Proust. Having Leo to buddy read the first one with me helped me. Often I felt like I do when I’m in the ocean and where one moment my feet are firmly on the sand and the next I can’t feel the bottom. It’s ok to just go with it and pick up what you can. I think that’s part of the joy of it. There is just so much there. It’s why I will need to re-read it in the future. I know I didn’t catch a significant amount of the characters in the beginning. And maybe leveraging the audio could be a way to get over any hurdles. I mean, Proust is the king of meandering, diverting pages where you don’t seem to be going anywhere. It’s a vibe, less than a destination, in many cases. And you are so kind to say all that! It’s made my morning. I can certainly see a video how how I think about my reading life. Thank you for the ideas!
Wonderful breakdown of what to know about what to know what you’re getting into with Proust! I just finished Vol 2 (had about a year between 1 & 2) and am torn on his style and approach. Essentially I agree with the reasons why those who like him do, and likewise agree with the criticisms. I’m squarely on the fence! But it’s good to know that the rest gets better… thanks for sharing your thoughts, insights and advice! Nicely said! 🤘
Sold . Great summary that I've just revisited Sarah and your enthusiasm shines through . Going to start in a couple of days ....also to recommend The Planetarium by Nathalie Sarraute , another masterpiece of stream of consciousness writing written in Paris after WW2 . She said she was inspired by Woolf and Joyce so I think it might appeal and it's a tight little book . I loved it .
Prousts name keeps comming up so I purchased Swans Way and am exited to start it. I recommend doing a similar challenge with Thomas Wolfe. He has about four major lengthy novels, and has a similar style to Proust from what I can gather
Loving this video-I just finished the second volume and yes, I think 2 years sounds about right to read the whole thing. I find that, once I get into them, I plow right through these novels but I'm also tired, so I like to read something lighter before jumping back in. And I agree with your note that if you can finish the first 3 it's pretty free fall after that. The Guermantes Way is really Dinner Parties: the Novel. One note about the language and the gays-C.K. Scott Moncrieff, Proust's first translator into English (and the one I prefer, even if his titles are a little Shakespearean-sorry, Davis) was also gay. His great-niece wrote a biography about him called "Chasing Lost Time." And if you like Proust, you should real Sylvie by Gérard de Nerval! It's a short novel that inspired Proust-you'll notice a lot of similar themes and styles.
I’m glad you enjoyed this installment! Congratulations on getting through the first two. And I will look up that book. That you for the recommendations. I will look them both up.
OooO love this video. I’ve been psyching myself up for it for some time, among other classics. I didn’t think about the translation. Looks like I have Vintage editions, with Moncrieff and Kilmartin in the first volume. I’m guessing that would be pretty stuffy if it’s Vintage.
I finished the entire book a few months ago. Bravo a great summary of themes and preoccupations of the novel. I too believe a couple of the women characters are stand-ins for male lovers. I even went back and re-read from wirhin a budding grove until the captive to see if reading them as men is possible. However, although the relationships make better sense to me, in the greater scheme of the book it doesn't seem consistent. I read in a book that Proust changed a couple of the novels in order to reflect the mechanics of grief he felt after his boyfriend 'ran away' to join the French military and died in 1914. This section of the book, in my opinion, is so insightful.
I think each volume of the Penguin edition is translated by a different author. Lydia Davis only did the first. I'm wondering if the other volumes will live up to her translation (it frankly, to Proust's writing) in the first one. Great video!
You are correct that she only did the first volume, though I have heard she is working on the second. And you can tell the shift in quality because of it. It is true.
" Descobri" Proust aos 30, estou com 62, na sexta releitura da Recherche, sempre com descobertas e com mais prazer. Alguém pode pensar que passei todos esses anos lendo só Proust; mas não é o caso. Também gosto de Homero, Virgílio, Dante, Goethe, Shakespeare, Joyce etc. Mas me considero acima de tudo um proustiano.
I recently started reading Swann's way. Sometimes I feel enchanted by the writing, especially Proust's vivid descriptions of the natural world. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the complexity and think "Marcel just get to the point". I think it would be pleasurable to hear this read aloud and might try an audio version. I also might try the Lydia Davis translation too. I'm thinking about going the distance and reading all the volumes. I appreciate your video.
I understand completely! The only way I could reorient myself was to let myself go with the experience. Getting to the point is counter to that. Think of it as a long Sunday stroll. If you really struggle, absolutely pair with the audio and yes, Lydia Davis’ translation was sublime. Bonne chance!
@HardcoverHearts yes, funny but today I came to see reading Proust as taking a walk with Proust and letting him talk to his heart's content. One day, I might be very attentive but on another day I might be distracted. Either way I have the pleasure of Proust's unique company.
I very much enjoyed your excellent video. It was great. Thank you very much! Just two remarks: I agree with almost everything you say; I would like to add that quite often Proust is extremely funny. In my view he is one of the funniest writers. (Not only in the scenes with Francoise - who by the way acts sometimes very cruel.) Then you didn't mention the First World War, which is also extremely important in the later parts of the work. Some of the scenes during the war are haunting. It feels sometimes like the collapse of civilization.
Excellent points. It’s really hard to encapsulate this many volumes into a single video that isn’t too long. So I picked the most pressing points for me. But that’s one of the brilliance of this work- it has so much to discover. Thank you for mentioning it here for others.
@@HardcoverHearts True. You did great! Perhaps you would enjoy this video: th-cam.com/video/_w1-g49DpsU/w-d-xo.html by bigalbooks. (I am not in any way related to her; I just do enjoy her videos, generally.)
Oh dear, I never considered that this might be a project that I'd want to tackle but you make it sound so rewarding! Also I'm going to Paris this year and wouldn't it just be the perfect way to set the mood for that? I imagine your Paris trip must have felt even more remarkable after knowing so much more of the cities history. Only thing I'm worrying about is that I'm only 25 and that this might be too early in life so I wouldn't be able to appreciate it fully ... I think you said something about being glad to have only read it now and not sooner?
I just got the first book swans way and after hearing about the rest of the volume I am not going to read it. It doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I enjoy complex and detailed but not this. You did an amazing job of reviewing! Its not you, it's me! Lol! Thank you for taking us through it
I read up to Volume 5 in my early 20s. I had seen Proust referenced in a DH Lawrence novel (my favorite author) and decided to check him out. I was taken aback by the complexity but my brain adapted to it within a few pages. I was obsessed after that and tried to convince any intellectual I knew to read it (though even they were too intimidated!). I couldn't get through Volume 5. The homosexual and hierarchical preoccupations started to bore me and i felt as if he had lost his philosophical insight, deep psychological analyses, and fascinating descriptions of nature at that point. But now I'm considered finishing the entire series for once, at 39.
Well, first of all, congratulations! Secondly, thanks for this very helpful video. I also bought the graphic novel when it was published (and loved it) and bought the Lydia Davis translation and then… One question: Did the rest of the translators work well enough for you? I had considered moving on from Davis to an updated Moncrief. Or is that the one Penguin turns to anyway? You’ve inspired me! Maybe Proust for the spring!
Thank you so much! The other translations were fine. Just not as fresh or exciting. I am a bit of a stickler for consistency so I just kept to my paperbacks and didn’t explore other editions to take advantage of a specific translator. Maybe by the time I’m ready for a reread, Lydia will have completed more of the volumes! I would love to know your thoughts on it if you do try it in the spring.
If you read the early biographies including one from the 1950s by George Painter that track the leading characters in the book with their real-life models as part of telling his biography it becomes clear that there were real young women who he was enamored by but he used his actual life experiences as a home ashes actual to inform his descriptions of those women even as he gave some of these real women the characteristics of the men he loved later in life. The myth that Albertine is entirely based on a male chauffeur with whom he had an affair later in life is considered a gross exaggeration by Nuanced biographers.
Using voice app so typo: "home ashes" should read homosexual. Also your description of the book down plays just how amusing funny and witty it is. If you get on his comic wavelength there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments
I suspect few folks, even lovers of great literature, who speak English have made it all the way through this dense, extremely long novel (giving up after Swann's Way is common - I myself almost wanted to put it down when he went on and on about his recovery from the departure and death of Albertine.) And those who say they read it through straight in a few weeks and claim it's easy I suspect are not being truthful.
No books were harmed in the making of this video. 😅 That is the place where the Proust volumes live, hence the hole in the stack. But the shelf is a spine shelf with a very weighted base so it isn’t going anywhere.
Superb video! I'm 80% through first volume and enjoying it so. Definitely want to read 7 volumes. Thank you for your enrichment. As I read I hear music--Brahms th-cam.com/video/euZcUku9XiE/w-d-xo.html and Tristan & Isolde by Wagner. It'll be great if other masterpieces play themselves during the read.
I'm only at 5:15 and it suddenly dawned on me: Is it really necessary to keep all of the different names of each character in the translation rather than simplifying the reading of the book by using just one designated name. True, it may make a difference if you're a French reader or a Russian reader of the Russian novels - but is it REALLY necessary? Or does it merely make for a more cumbersome read? Some purists and "diligent" types will balk at this suggestion but how much more pleasurable and maybe more meaningful if this change were adopted especially in English translations? Any publishers willing to give this a go? Your thoughts? Michael
Thank you for the wonderful video! I started reading Proust this year. Chinese is my mother tongue and I’m fluent in English so I’m reading the translations of both languages simultaneously, listening the audio versions of both languages, and watching TH-cam videos too. To me reading Proust is like joining a cultural emersion program: It’s the quality and enjoyment of the learning experience rather than the speed or quantity that matters the most to me. I give myself at least two years to go through the 7 volumes. But if I don’t finish by two years, it’s completely fine, as long as I enjoy the journey. As an avid violinist I have to say reading Proust is like practicing Bach violin solos. As a philosophy student, it’s like reading Plato: one never finishes the work. And that’s how we keep growing and keep enjoying the sceneries of our lifelong journey.❤
Well you are certainly doing it right! And thank you!
hats off to you, great approach. I have started volume one and will be working through all seven over the next 2-3 months (i wamed up by reading Hugo's Les Mis a mere novella in comparison but perhaps similar in that it is not what you might call an easy read. good luck with your Proustian reading journey.
I rediscovered my passion for reading in my early 50's. I have since focused my reading on big epic novels that have the potential to transform my way of thinking. Les Miserables is my favorite. Now I am 64 years old and more than ready to begin a Proustian adventure. Your video has added more fuel to the fire. Thank you.
Best of luck in your reading adventures!
I would also recommend the Emile Zola Rougon-Macquart series, since you mentioned liking Hugo.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. This is the first review that I've come across that sounds like you actually read the books.
I’ve enjoyed Proust so much on audio. My obsession began when I found the first volume on CDs at a library book sale. It took years to track down the whole thing which fueled the obsession. It is our go-to listen on very long road trips. I’d read Proust a long time ago and listening to it adds another rich dimension to the experience.
Oh that’s such a fantastic way to revisit him! Thanks for the vouch on the audiobooks.
I recently finished reading Swann's Way and you have now convinced me to continue reading the subsequent volumes. I read the Vintage Classic edition of Swann's Way translated by Moncrieff & Kilmartin. I think it was a beautiful translation and I highly recommend it.
Oh I’m glad to hear that! It’s a magnificent work. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.
I agree. I have skimmed bits of more recent translations, and they do not have the beauty that the Moncrieff translation has. I cannot understand why anyone would want anything other than the Moncrieff translation.
Good afternoon, i am a french speaking person from Québec. I enjoyed your lecture about the way to read Proust. Evidently, i read it in french, which is a luck ( i would Have liked to read Jane Austen in english but it would have been too difficult). I started reading Proust last year and i am into Guermantes right now. I am so glad to be persisting because i tried it many times before and always quitted. My older brother was an accomplished Proustian . He died at a very young age(59). So over the fact to be infused by Proust, i feel that i come closer to this brother that i admired so much.So you are true when you say that Proust makes us see Life and things differently. The only bad thing is that my best childhood friend thinks that i am snob to read Proust. So i cannot talk about it. But when i started Swann, i enrolled another friend with me. So Thank you again, i go back to my reading …with my cat sleeping over my knees!
That’s beautiful that you are able to feel connected to your brother through this work! I hope that spirit continues with you to the very last page.
I have enjoyed following your journey of reading In Search of Lost Time and this felt like the perfect culmination of that. Thank you for putting this video together - you hit on something that I had to do many years ago when reading the classics. I kept searching for mastery in prose, and eventually just had to read it as I would any other book and it improved my experience. One day, I imagine that I will read these seven volumes and that is entirely thanks to you, I do not know when this will be as I think I'll have to get used to slower more meditative books, but it will certainly happen. I hope that you're feeling a sense of accomplishment after having finished these volumes, and envy your dedication.
I’m very stubborn so once I put my mind to something- it’s going to happen! And I think you will read it when it makes sense for you- no hurry. Thank you, as always for the kind words.
Once again congratulations on this achievement of a reader’s lifetime, my friend! And what a super interesting video you made!! “Our narrator is a pain in the ass” 😂
Such a pain! Thank you so much, Leo. ☺️
Congratulations ! Loved your analysis of this masterpiece . I love a long long long read so very interested to hear how you did this . I'm currently committed to Trollope( Barchester and Pallisers and a few standalones ) and am on my second read through of The Bible so maybe next year ....I think establishing a daily habit is necessary to me , helps get through the duller bits .....
Thank you so much, Hester. Oh yes- I would also love to read more Trollope. He is my favorite thing about Victober- an annual Trollope read!
As I noted in a sub comment you also seem to downplay just how funny and amusing the book is and how witty the writing is beside being so emotionally precise and elegant. If you get on his comic wavelength there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments listening to his satiric and self-mocking descriptions of himself and others whether reading it in a book or listening via audiobook.
Thank you for making this video, Sarah. Very informative and insightful. I've read volume one three times over the years and have only recently started volume two. I think I will power through until the last volume now!
That’s so kind of you to say, Juan! I think you may have to slog through a bit of the first part of the second volume. But once he gets to Balbec, it will pick up the pace (a bit)! 😂 I think you will find a tremendous amount of joy in the full series. Bonne chance! Buena suerte!
Thank you Sarah. I am half way through the second volume and enjoying the journey and challenge so far. I agree with your thoughts especially how the characters and places seem to seap inside you and 'possess' your mind and heart. For me the magic comes through Proust's ability to leave you (the reader) with 'snapshot' memories. For example Odette coming out of her door for a walk in the park surrounded by her male admirers or of Gilberte in the park - the image is literally 'imprinted' into your mind - it's like having a photograph shot taken inside your head leaving a residue image that remains forever, Much of the discussion indeed considers memory as a human activity. The images make the characters seem like ghosts snapped in memory for eternity. All this evokes and reminds me a lot of T.S. Eliot's poetry, The Wasteland and Four Quartets in particular.For example, little glimpses and sounds on the wind of 17th century children playing picked up subconsciously by the visitor to the garden, centuries later. Thanks again Sarah for your excellent analysis.
Ah, absolutely! I agree with the idea of the snapshot imprint. And that’s what remains when you complete the volumes- your own book of visuals but also sensory connections with a time and place long past. I’m so glad you are enjoying it!
agree with the image staying in you head, frozen in time. there are so many in this work, but for me it's the image of the little troop venturing down the esplanade at balbec.
sublime
I was pleased to come across your video, having started vol. 1 just recently. Like you, I have been aware of Proust for a long time, and being half Suisse Romande, I could not help but recognise certain characters from memories of my Swiss grandparents generation as soon as I started reading. I could smell the rooms and streets, and taste the food, see the light and shade in the town, hear the voices and feel how the furniture was. Evocative is far too weak a word for the effect this first book has had on me already.
I do hope you continue on, though I feel the need to warn you that it changes- that’s the good and bad news. I think it’s worth all the effort!
Terrific overview! It too was one of the great reading experiences of my life. I’m ready to plow into a second reading, this time with the modern Penguin translations.
@@greatbooksbigideas I am sure it will be even more rewarding the second time.
I have almost completed the first volume (Swann's Way) and will gently carry on until I have completed all seven volumes. I recognise it will take another two years, but your video has inspired me! Thank you!
You can certainly do it! It’s worth it. 😊
Congrats on finishing Proust! This has been on my bucket list for years - so I'm going to start with the Davis translation this month and read the entire series. I'm watching this for a second time because it is so helpful. Thank you, Sarah!
Oh, you just made my day! I’m delighted and can’t wait to hear your thoughts. Please keep me posted on your progress.
I first read swann in love as a stand-alone novella and found it so compelling and brilliantly written with more detail about human thought and emotion than any other writer that I was incredibly impressed.
But the opening sections of the full swanns way are often so difficult and seemingly tedious that people give up so I have turned to audiobooks and I'm now on the third volume relatively quickly , Guermantes Way, and can go through them relatively painlessly.
I also downloaded the full version of In Search of Lost time that is the translation that includes Moncrief and Enright and kilMartin hat also reflects the latest French version as a eBook and it is available at very low cost or for free if you have Kindle unlimited so you can double check or turn to reading text.
I think swann in love is a good introduction to his pro-style because it has such compelling characters and is self-contained and then sells you on reading everything else he's done
Great video, Sarah! I’m halfway through the second volume, and loving it! One thing I would add to your wonderful suggestions would be to read at least one biography of Proust. I read the William C. Carter biography, which was not only a fantastic piece of writing on its own, but gave a terrific insight into Proust’s life and context for the novel. There are more biographies out there (I have 3 more to read), but I highly recommend the Carter. I also listened to a couple of audio books on the history of Paris, which also provided an excellent background, particularly regarding the Dreyfus affair. I have no idea how long it will take me to finish all seven volumes, but I plan to enjoy the journey!
I’m going to look for that biography right now, Sharon. Thank you!
@@HardcoverHearts You’re welcome!
I looked into reading In Search of Lost Time during the pandemic, but got confused about which translation, etc to choose - so your video was very helpful. Over the past few years, I've become disenchanted with contemporary fiction and so have been wondering about going back to classics - I've never read Proust and so this could be perfect. Thanks. BTW: I came over to your channel after seeing you on one of Shawn's recent bite-sized book chats.
I’m so glad you found some value in the video! And welcome.
As they say, great literature doesn’t just speak to us, it speaks about us. And Proust encourages us to be readers of ourselves, not just of his book. Maybe that’s why he avoids using his own name, except for that occasional “wink” you mention (“Yes, it’s me, but pretend it’s you.”). Another “wink” he gives is when he mentions the “Petite Madeleine” with the P and M capitalized like that, his initials. 😉
Halfway through Swanns Way and so looking forward to the journey this will take me on this year! Thank you for this video!
Oh Ben- I’m so excited for you! I hope you love the reading as much as I did.
Came across this video just today. Last week got Vol.1 from the library (modern Library Moncrieff translation). Read some briefly but after watching your excellent video I’ll try again. You make the characters & locations so interesting. I’m a real Bloomsbury buff, I’ve always felt like Virginia and Vanessa were my friends somehow.
I wish you the best of luck! And Virginia spoke often of how she marveled at Proust’s use of language. Think of her coaching you on. 😊
Thank you so much for the video. I want to buy them and start reading them. I exactly choose the same edition as yours because I liked the design but I got confused so fast because of the volume numbering. You saved me from overspending.
My pleasure! Best of luck with the series.
Great analysis! I read the Moncrieff translation and I loved it. I haven't read the Lydia Davis translation of Swann's Way, but I have read all of L Davis' fiction. I'm excited to begin reading her collected essays. She's translated Blanchot and Leiris!
Do you watch other channels that talk books? Leaf By Leaf's Proust takes are great too!
I have to admit that I was completely ignorant of her being a translator until I saw her name on The Way by Swann’s. I am giddy with excitement that she will do the second and just pray that she is young enough and eager enough to do all seven volumes! I definitely want to read more of her translations. I watch a lot of BookTube channels but haven’t heard of that one. I will check that one out. Thanks for the tip!
thank you for the lovely and insightful video! my friends and i are beginning this series this week and i really needed to hear some of the specific encouragements and tips you phrased here. i especially worry i will be too slow to keep the pace of my friends, because i am entering the journey with a lot of expectations regarding the richness in the details and the verboseness of it all (they were my main drivers to try it).
Best of luck!
@@HardcoverHearts i started it last night just as you typed this message, and i am utterly In Love with his writing already. damn. i can't put it down, i just adore and feel like underlining every passage.
Marcel is so emo 🤣 this video was superb! A dear friend gave me a copy of Vol.1 a few years ago (just before the pandemic, coincidentally), and since then the universe has been giving me many signs to read it. This video was a giant NUDGE! I’ll just have to stop borrowing so many great books from the library and get on it. Maybe I’ll start in the winter…
Thank you, Amy! Whenever you are ready, it will be there for you. 😉
Big congrats from me too - amazing achievement! A bit over a year ago I picked up the first volume, having followed your channel, and I just couldn't get further than 100 pages. Still, this video was so inspiring and impressive, I am almost thinking I should pick it up again just because of this video, although I think I might need to give it a few years, as my first experience just left me feeling stupid, not cultured enough and 'not getting it'. But thank you so much for making this video - I loved watching it! I continue to be a big fan of your channel and could spend hours listening to you talking about books. Btw - I first read you had a video out on why you love reading haha - which made me think I would love to hear you talking of this and your reading routines or favorite books of all times or any such topics. I know booktube is filled with this kind of videos, but just thought I would love to hear from you personally on this. I just wanted to say it as a thought in case after your language projects and everything, you might one day have some time for an extra video
Camilla- you are not alone in feeling overwhelmed with Proust. Having Leo to buddy read the first one with me helped me. Often I felt like I do when I’m in the ocean and where one moment my feet are firmly on the sand and the next I can’t feel the bottom. It’s ok to just go with it and pick up what you can. I think that’s part of the joy of it. There is just so much there. It’s why I will need to re-read it in the future. I know I didn’t catch a significant amount of the characters in the beginning. And maybe leveraging the audio could be a way to get over any hurdles. I mean, Proust is the king of meandering, diverting pages where you don’t seem to be going anywhere. It’s a vibe, less than a destination, in many cases.
And you are so kind to say all that! It’s made my morning. I can certainly see a video how how I think about my reading life. Thank you for the ideas!
@@HardcoverHearts So kind and thoughtful of you Sarah to take the time to reply to me about Proust
why doesnt this have more views? amazing job :3
That is so kind of you to say. Thank you so much!
Wonderful breakdown of what to know about what to know what you’re getting into with Proust! I just finished Vol 2 (had about a year between 1 & 2) and am torn on his style and approach. Essentially I agree with the reasons why those who like him do, and likewise agree with the criticisms. I’m squarely on the fence! But it’s good to know that the rest gets better… thanks for sharing your thoughts, insights and advice! Nicely said! 🤘
Best of luck in continuing. I am glad this was helpful
Jacqueline Rose wrote a novel from Albertine's perspective. It's not Proust, but worth a read for more of the girl gang! It's called Albertine.
I hadn’t heard of that book. Thank you. That sounds great!
Brilliant video! Thank you😊 I'll give the books another shot.
Thank you and bonne chance!
I've read the first two and half volumes in French. I stopped there for some reason, but I hope to get back into it, possibly starting all over again.
Okay, just bought the first volume. Been on my mind for years. Your video was great and helpful. Thanks. I’ll let you know down the line how it goes.
Bonne chance! I hope it captures your imagination and is as great an experience as it was for me.
Sold . Great summary that I've just revisited Sarah and your enthusiasm shines through . Going to start in a couple of days ....also to recommend The Planetarium by Nathalie Sarraute , another masterpiece of stream of consciousness writing written in Paris after WW2 . She said she was inspired by Woolf and Joyce so I think it might appeal and it's a tight little book . I loved it .
Adding it to my list! You have the best recommendations, Hester! And I would love to hear your progress with Proust!!
Prousts name keeps comming up so I purchased Swans Way and am exited to start it. I recommend doing a similar challenge with Thomas Wolfe. He has about four major lengthy novels, and has a similar style to Proust from what I can gather
Loving this video-I just finished the second volume and yes, I think 2 years sounds about right to read the whole thing. I find that, once I get into them, I plow right through these novels but I'm also tired, so I like to read something lighter before jumping back in. And I agree with your note that if you can finish the first 3 it's pretty free fall after that. The Guermantes Way is really Dinner Parties: the Novel.
One note about the language and the gays-C.K. Scott Moncrieff, Proust's first translator into English (and the one I prefer, even if his titles are a little Shakespearean-sorry, Davis) was also gay. His great-niece wrote a biography about him called "Chasing Lost Time."
And if you like Proust, you should real Sylvie by Gérard de Nerval! It's a short novel that inspired Proust-you'll notice a lot of similar themes and styles.
I’m glad you enjoyed this installment! Congratulations on getting through the first two. And I will look up that book. That you for the recommendations. I will look them both up.
OooO love this video. I’ve been psyching myself up for it for some time, among other classics. I didn’t think about the translation. Looks like I have Vintage editions, with Moncrieff and Kilmartin in the first volume. I’m guessing that would be pretty stuffy if it’s Vintage.
Thank you so much Fraser! Would love to hear your thoughts of any of it if you take the plunge.
I finished the entire book a few months ago. Bravo a great summary of themes and preoccupations of the novel. I too believe a couple of the women characters are stand-ins for male lovers. I even went back and re-read from wirhin a budding grove until the captive to see if reading them as men is possible. However, although the relationships make better sense to me, in the greater scheme of the book it doesn't seem consistent. I read in a book that Proust changed a couple of the novels in order to reflect the mechanics of grief he felt after his boyfriend 'ran away' to join the French military and died in 1914. This section of the book, in my opinion, is so insightful.
I think each volume of the Penguin edition is translated by a different author. Lydia Davis only did the first. I'm wondering if the other volumes will live up to her translation (it frankly, to Proust's writing) in the first one.
Great video!
You are correct that she only did the first volume, though I have heard she is working on the second. And you can tell the shift in quality because of it. It is true.
" Descobri" Proust aos 30, estou com 62, na sexta releitura da Recherche, sempre com descobertas e com mais prazer. Alguém pode pensar que passei todos esses anos lendo só Proust; mas não é o caso. Também gosto de Homero, Virgílio, Dante, Goethe, Shakespeare, Joyce etc. Mas me considero acima de tudo um proustiano.
How wonderful to have had Proust with you for so many years! I’m looking forward to rereading it in a few years.
I recently started reading Swann's way. Sometimes I feel enchanted by the writing, especially Proust's vivid descriptions of the natural world. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the complexity and think "Marcel just get to the point". I think it would be pleasurable to hear this read aloud and might try an audio version. I also might try the Lydia Davis translation too. I'm thinking about going the distance and reading all the volumes. I appreciate your video.
I understand completely! The only way I could reorient myself was to let myself go with the experience. Getting to the point is counter to that. Think of it as a long Sunday stroll. If you really struggle, absolutely pair with the audio and yes, Lydia Davis’ translation was sublime. Bonne chance!
@HardcoverHearts yes, funny but today I came to see reading Proust as taking a walk with Proust and letting him talk to his heart's content. One day, I might be very attentive but on another day I might be distracted. Either way I have the pleasure of Proust's unique company.
@@jeanninethompson933 That’s it!
“Marcel, just get to the point.”
“Reader, my pace is the point.”
@@ted.angell7609 ❤ not efficiently getting to the point is probably exactly the reading experience that I need
Thank you for clarifying the titles. It was so confusing.
My pleasure!
Love these tips!!! 🥰🤓
Thank you, Kim! I wish I had known them when I started. 😂
You have turned me around. I think I would like to give these works a chance.
Bonne chance, as Marcel would say!
I plan to read Proust in 2023, so this was cool to watch.
Wonderful! I hope you get as much out of it as I did.
I very much enjoyed your excellent video. It was great. Thank you very much!
Just two remarks: I agree with almost everything you say; I would like to add that quite often Proust is extremely funny. In my view he is one of the funniest writers. (Not only in the scenes with Francoise - who by the way acts sometimes very cruel.)
Then you didn't mention the First World War, which is also extremely important in the later parts of the work. Some of the scenes during the war are haunting. It feels sometimes like the collapse of civilization.
Excellent points. It’s really hard to encapsulate this many volumes into a single video that isn’t too long. So I picked the most pressing points for me. But that’s one of the brilliance of this work- it has so much to discover. Thank you for mentioning it here for others.
@@HardcoverHearts True. You did great!
Perhaps you would enjoy this video: th-cam.com/video/_w1-g49DpsU/w-d-xo.html by bigalbooks. (I am not in any way related to her; I just do enjoy her videos, generally.)
Oh dear, I never considered that this might be a project that I'd want to tackle but you make it sound so rewarding! Also I'm going to Paris this year and wouldn't it just be the perfect way to set the mood for that? I imagine your Paris trip must have felt even more remarkable after knowing so much more of the cities history. Only thing I'm worrying about is that I'm only 25 and that this might be too early in life so I wouldn't be able to appreciate it fully ... I think you said something about being glad to have only read it now and not sooner?
Oh, if you are game, I think you should go for it! Try the first and see what you think.
HUZZAH!! Congratulations!
Thank you, Jill! ☺️
I just got the first book swans way and after hearing about the rest of the volume I am not going to read it. It doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I enjoy complex and detailed but not this. You did an amazing job of reviewing! Its not you, it's me! Lol! Thank you for taking us through it
Well the good news is that you finished one and if you should ever change your mind, the others will be there waiting for you!
I read up to Volume 5 in my early 20s. I had seen Proust referenced in a DH Lawrence novel (my favorite author) and decided to check him out. I was taken aback by the complexity but my brain adapted to it within a few pages. I was obsessed after that and tried to convince any intellectual I knew to read it (though even they were too intimidated!). I couldn't get through Volume 5. The homosexual and hierarchical preoccupations started to bore me and i felt as if he had lost his philosophical insight, deep psychological analyses, and fascinating descriptions of nature at that point. But now I'm considered finishing the entire series for once, at 39.
I loved my time with Proust and am very glad I waited until I was older to really do it properly, so I think that’s a great plan.
Albertine Gone was referenced a lot in a show I am watching. It got me interested in it. Can I read it as a stand alone book or will I be confused?
I think it won’t have the impact without reading the others, to be honest.
Well, first of all, congratulations! Secondly, thanks for this very helpful video. I also bought the graphic novel when it was published (and loved it) and bought the Lydia Davis translation and then… One question: Did the rest of the translators work well enough for you? I had considered moving on from Davis to an updated Moncrief. Or is that the one Penguin turns to anyway? You’ve inspired me! Maybe Proust for the spring!
Thank you so much! The other translations were fine. Just not as fresh or exciting. I am a bit of a stickler for consistency so I just kept to my paperbacks and didn’t explore other editions to take advantage of a specific translator. Maybe by the time I’m ready for a reread, Lydia will have completed more of the volumes! I would love to know your thoughts on it if you do try it in the spring.
YOU DID IT!!!!
YOU ARE RIGHT BEHIND ME!! It’s so bizarre to be done. What now, Jenn?!
Impressive accomplishment🙌
Thank you so much, Jesper!!
@@HardcoverHearts Some heavy hitters you have been tackling. Very inspiring, although I don’t think I have the literary stamina and dedication you do!
@@daytonadane The pandemic limiting my travel and expanding my hours not commuting has helped. 😉
@@HardcoverHearts Still impressive 😉
If you read the early biographies including one from the 1950s by George Painter that track the leading characters in the book with their real-life models as part of telling his biography it becomes clear that there were real young women who he was enamored by but he used his actual life experiences as a home ashes actual to inform his descriptions of those women even as he gave some of these real women the characteristics of the men he loved later in life.
The myth that Albertine is entirely based on a male chauffeur with whom he had an affair later in life is considered a gross exaggeration by Nuanced biographers.
Using voice app so typo: "home ashes" should read homosexual. Also your description of the book down plays just how amusing funny and witty it is.
If you get on his comic wavelength there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments
I suspect few folks, even lovers of great literature, who speak English have made it all the way through this dense, extremely long novel (giving up after Swann's Way is common - I myself almost wanted to put it down when he went on and on about his recovery from the departure and death of Albertine.) And those who say they read it through straight in a few weeks and claim it's easy I suspect are not being truthful.
that stack of books on the left is an exyremely precarious matter
No books were harmed in the making of this video. 😅 That is the place where the Proust volumes live, hence the hole in the stack. But the shelf is a spine shelf with a very weighted base so it isn’t going anywhere.
il faut prendre le temps de lire "à la recherche" lire à la vitesse d'un marcheur qui entame un long voyage....
Je serais d’accord avec ce sentiment.
Superb video! I'm 80% through first volume and enjoying it so. Definitely want to read 7 volumes. Thank you for your enrichment. As I read I hear music--Brahms th-cam.com/video/euZcUku9XiE/w-d-xo.html and Tristan & Isolde by Wagner. It'll be great if other masterpieces play themselves during the read.
I am so glad this was a helpful video. And I love how you hear these works in the series. That’s just brilliant!
❤
Leo got stuck in the friend zone
I'm only at 5:15 and it suddenly dawned on me: Is it really necessary to keep all of the different names of each character in the translation rather than simplifying the reading of the book by using just one designated name. True, it may make a difference if you're a French reader or a Russian reader of the Russian novels - but is it REALLY necessary? Or does it merely make for a more cumbersome read? Some purists and "diligent" types will balk at this suggestion but how much more pleasurable and maybe more meaningful if this change were adopted especially in English translations? Any publishers willing to give this a go? Your thoughts? Michael
Why not learn some French like a civilized person?