Reading Proust
This is where I gather all the Proust posts I write or encounter on other blogs. I’m not actively researching them but I’ll add reviews when I stumble upon them.
To students looking for reviews to write essays: I have no competence in literature at all. I didn’t study literature at university and I haven’t read any academic book about literature. I only write my thoughts and nothing says that what I write makes sense or is accurate.
Enjoy!
IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
Du côté de chez Swann – Swann’s Way. 1913
Reviews by Melissa Beck (The Book Binder’s Daughter)
Reviews by Max (Pechorin’s Journal)
Review by Sarah (A Rat in the Book Pile)
Reviews by Richard (Caravana de Recuerdos)
Review by Séamus (Vapour Trail)
Review by Alex (Alex in Leeds)
- Reading Proust: Very Pleasurable Quicksand
A l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleur – In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower 1919
- Madame Swann at home
- A Proustian morning. Thoughts on the 1923 English translation
- A summer in Balbec
- Sea, sex and fun: the Narrator goes wild
- Doesn’t she look like Odette Swann?
Reviews by Max (Pechorin’s Journal)
Review by Sarah (A Rat in the Book Pile)
Reviews by Richard (Caravana de Recuerdos)
Review by Tony (Tony’s Reading List)
Reviews by Melissa Beck (The Book Binder’s Daughter)
- In a Budding Grove: Proust Teaches Us How to Read Proust
- Our Cocoon of Habit: More thoughts on Proust’s In a Budding Grove
Le côté de Guermantes – The Guermantes Way 1920 -1921
- Everyday life near the Guermantes.
- Mme de Guermantes, from dream to reality
- The Guermantes Way, Book II
- The Guermantes Way and the Dreyfus Affair
Review by Max (Pechorin’s Journal)
Review by Tony (Tony’s Reading List)
Reviews by Melissa Beck (The Book Binder’s Daughter)
- The Assembly of the Gods: Expectation in Proust’s Guermantes Way
- The Resurrection of the Voice: Proust on Sound
Review by Kaggsy (Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings)
Review by Guy (His Futile Preoccupation)
Sodome et Gomorrhe – Sodom and Gomorrah 1921 – 1922
- Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust
- The Narrator and Molière : Comedy in Sodome et Gomorrhe
- Charlus, Albertine and others : homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah
Reviews by Richard (Caravana de Recuerdos)
Reviews by Séamus (Vapour Trail)
Review by Max (Pechorin’s Journal)
Review by Tony (Tony’s Reading List)
Review by Melissa Beck (The Book Binder’s Daughter)
- Intellectual Narrowness: Proust on the Dreyfus Affair and Anti-Semitism
- Gender and Sexuality in Proust
Review by Guy (His Futile Preoccupations)
La Prisonnière – The Captive 1923
- Every breath you take; every move you make, I’ll be watching you
- I finished reading The Captive, eventually
Reviews by Séamus (Vapour Trail)
Reviews by Melissa Beck (The Book Binder’s Daughter)
Review by Arti (Ripple Effects)
Albertine Disparue – Albertine Gone – 1925
Reviews by Séamus (Vapour Trail)
- The Sweet Cheat Gone / Albertine Disparue 1st post
- The Sweet Cheat Gone / Albertine Disparue 2nd post
Le temps retrouvé – Time regained – 1927
Reviews by Séamus (Vapour Trail)
Reviews by Tom (Wuthering Expectations.)
- Finishing In Search of Lost Tile – Proust and the Library of Babel (or Proust and the Blog Post of Babble)
- Grotesque Proust: exploded shells, board meetings and kangaroos.
Review by Arti (Ripple Effect)
FOR FUN PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
Here is the famous Proust questionnaire and the answers by the 13 year old Marcel.
OTHER BOOKS BY PROUST
La Confesstion d’une Jeune Fille et Autres Textes :
I’ve read it a long time ago. It’s short and can be an introduction to Proust without starting In Search of Lost Time.
Sur la lecture suivi de Journées de lecture
upcoming billet
Le mystérieux correspondant suivi de Autres nouvelles retrouvées
On the TBR
Le Mensuel retrouvé by Marcel Proust
Early texts by the young Marcel Proust published in Le Mensuel. On the TBR
BOOKS ABOUT PROUST AND/OR IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
- Marcel Proust and John Ruskin : On reading. Read Tom’s review here
- Monsieur Proust by Céleste Albaret. It’s the memoirs of the Prousts’ maid. Wonderful
- Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time by Eric Karpeles. This book shows paintings related to In Search of Lost Time. The French title is Le Musée imaginaire de Marcel Proust – Tous les tableaux de A la recherche du Temps Perdu
- Proust: A Life by Edmund White. I haven’t read it but Violet reviewed it here and according to the quote she mentions, the book sounds worth reading.
- Proust’s Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini. This book tells the story of Jacques Guérin who collected Proust’s belongings. See Violet’s review.
- Monsieur Proust’s Library by Anka Mulhstein This book will tell you about the writers who influenced Proust.
- A Summer with Proust – “Reading is a Friendship”
- Proust by Samuel Beckett
EXPERIENCING PROUST IN REAL LIFE
- The Book Haven in Paris : 36 hours in France: Have I become a Proustitute?
- Amateur Proust : amateurproust.wordpress.com
- Post by Melissa Beck : A Proust Reading List
- Literary escapade : Hôtel Littéraire Le Swann – dedicated to Marcel Proust
- Marcel Proust & Paris Exhibition – Proust in Paris
- Marcel Proust & Paris Exhibition – People and characters
- Literary escapade: Marcel Proust on his mother’s side – an exhibition
- Literary escapade: Proust and the centennial of his Prix Goncourt
- Proust Therapy
- A Painting which portraits Charles Swann
- Doesn’t she look like Odette Swann?
Book Around the Corner 
This is a great idea. A tremendous resources. I should do something similar for the Anthony Powell’s since as far as I know I’m one of very few people to have blogged them all.
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I thought you might find it useful it when you get to the next volumes.
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There is plenty to explore there- definitely worth book-marking. . I’ve collected quite a few books on Proust, and particularly enjoyed A Night at the Majestic which recreates the meeting between Proust and James Joyce. http://bit.ly/pQmayW
I think Edmund White’s biography is very good http://amzn.to/nTi3Z1 – but then I’m not academic enough to be a reliable judge. I have Paintings in Proust, which is a lovely book but the illustrations should be bigger.
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Thanks a lot for the recommendations I’ll add them.
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Thanks for adding my review Emma – I realise (as I didn’t in my Twitter comment) that I had visited your Proust page already and find it an excellent resource. There are so many ways of thinking and writing about Proust!
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Thanks. We are several bloggers currently reading Proust and I thought it would be nice to gather the reviews at the same place.
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Hi Emma, I have posted a review of Sodom and Gomorrah (Cities of the Plain in my translation) at http://theknockingshop.blogspot.ie/2012/06/cities-of-plain-sodome-et-gomorrhe.html
I will reach the finish this year, although much later than I thought.
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I added your review to the page, thanks. Actually, it was still in my mail box.
I wish I could read Proust now but I’m too tired, I don’t have the concentration necessary to read The Captive.
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Hi Emma, I finished The Captive – http://theknockingshop.blogspot.ie/2012/08/the-captive-la-prisonniere.html -and am well into The Sweet Cheat Gone / The Fugitive. The end is in sight!
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I’m currently reading La Prisonnière, not my favourite. I’ll read your review in a few days.
In Search of Lost Time is like a fireworks, the ending is the best. Le temps retrouvé is wonderful.
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Hi Emma – you’re right, the last is the best. I’ve posted now on all volumes. Feels like the end of a long journey, although I’m still wondering where it is I’ve arrived. I’ve started a course in writing which is partly a result of reading Proust.
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The last one is incredible. I read it more than twenty years ago and I remember I was blown away. I’m still reading La Prisonnière and I’m looking forward to the last volume. I expect to be even more blown away than the first time since I’m more mature and more educated.
You started a course in writing? Congrats! Tell it to people who still think that literature can’t change your life or push you into action.
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Just returning to reading In Search of Lost Time, and found your blog when searching for reminders of what I read a few years ago. ( I was three quarters through The Guermantes Way) Your blog looks interesting, so I hope to eavesdrop occasionally if I may.
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Thanks for this message. Reading Proust is a pleasure and there are a lot of blogs about it. I don’t pretend to gather a lot of info about Proust but I’ll gather the posts I hear about.
I hope to hear about you again in the future.
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J’ai trouvé votre blog quand j’avais oublié le nom du traducteur du roman de Gary, Les Cerfs-volants, et je le cherchais partout sans succès. C’est si rare qu’on trouve comme chez vous une réaction détaillée à une traduction… on ne donne pas souvent même le nom. Je crois que je vous retrouverai souvent. Merci beaucoup!
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Bonjour,
Désolée de répondre si tard, je viens de repêcher votre commentaire dans les spams.
Je tiens beaucoup à citer les traducteurs des livres que je lis car ils font un travail formidable. Nous avons besoin de ces passeurs pour lire les livres qu’on ne peut pas lire dans leur langue d’origine. lls sont précieux et leur travail mérite d’être reconnu.
Merci beaucoup pour ce message, cela m’encourage à continuer ainsi.
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Hi Emma, I’ve just posted my first Proust post to mark the centenary of Proust’s death. Thanks for doing all these links, writing and posting your own informative posts! http://rippleeffects.reviews
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Thanks for the info, I’ve left a comment on your site.
I’m going to another Proust exhibition in December, I’ll post about it.
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I look forward to your Proust exhibition post in Dec. Where is it? As for me, I’d like to visit Cabourg one day and stay in Le Grand Hotel. As for reading Proust in translation, I feel like I’m missing a lot because I’m reading the translator’s language and not the original. That’s my loss.
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It’s here, at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France https://www.bnf.fr/fr/agenda/marcel-proust
I’ve seen the Grand Hôtel in Cabourg but didn’t stay there.
You certainly miss a bit of something with the translation but there’s no need to worry about that. Most of the sense of the style is there. Otherwise books translated by the same translator would sound the same and it’s not the case.
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I’ve just posted another Proust entry. Yes, again, from a movie reviewer’s perspective. 🙂
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I’ll add it to the list!
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Thanks for the detailed reply you left on Ripple Effects.
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