lokster71's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not going to pretend that there were points when reading this book that I almost gave up. It isn't because it is a bad book but because there is so much in it. It has a density that sometimes makes it hard work, particularly as the narrator's jealousy becomes intolerable to him, to Albertine and to the reader.
The narrator is, in some respects, a spoiled, selfish prick. He basically holds Albertine as a prisoner in his house out of jealousy. He also suspects her of being a lesbian - spoiler, she is. Well, she bi if we use modern parlance - and prevents her from meeting her female friends. He's a monster in this regard. Albertine does lie to him, but on the basis that the first time the discussion of women loving women cropped up he reacted like an arse, is that any surprise. Albertine leaves him though. (Hurrah) But then is about to come back when...well...things occur.
Then we go to Venice and discover as we are returning that there are marriages afoot and that one of the narrator's friends is gay. Or again bi. The character seems to drift from straight to gay along the course of the books. Like in the previous volume - Sodom and Gomorrah - there is a lot of discussion about homosexuality, which is pretty judgemental and snobbish. On the basis that Proust himself was gay, this is all rather interesting.
The narrator is a snob, has a low opinion of women, has a thing for young girls (about sixteen), sleeps around and is a terrible gossip. And yet he's also sensitive, loving, understanding - or trying to understand and the writing is glorious. The people feel like real people who have real, if mainly elevated, lives. They have whole weird judgemental approaches to who they should be seen with and who they shouldn't be seen with based on their social status (although money sometimes has a calming effect on snobbery.) One of the main characters, Baron de Charlus, is a genius creation (even if he is based on a real person). A fearsome snob, gay, and utterly outrageous he's one of the most memorable people in the book. But so too is Morel. And Albertine.
No one writes better about art and literature than Proust though and how it works on our minds and souls. Whenever I was finding the going difficult and faced another two pages of paragraphless text and I was about to give up Proust would hit you with pages of absolutely blissful writing and wins you back.
If anyone asks me what In Search of Lost Time is about I'd say, it's about everything. It's the nearest thing I've read to someone putting their whole life on the page and that makes you think about those things.
The narrator is, in some respects, a spoiled, selfish prick. He basically holds Albertine as a prisoner in his house out of jealousy. He also suspects her of being a lesbian - spoiler, she is. Well, she bi if we use modern parlance - and prevents her from meeting her female friends. He's a monster in this regard. Albertine does lie to him, but on the basis that the first time the discussion of women loving women cropped up he reacted like an arse, is that any surprise. Albertine leaves him though. (Hurrah) But then is about to come back when...well...things occur.
Then we go to Venice and discover as we are returning that there are marriages afoot and that one of the narrator's friends is gay. Or again bi. The character seems to drift from straight to gay along the course of the books. Like in the previous volume - Sodom and Gomorrah - there is a lot of discussion about homosexuality, which is pretty judgemental and snobbish. On the basis that Proust himself was gay, this is all rather interesting.
The narrator is a snob, has a low opinion of women, has a thing for young girls (about sixteen), sleeps around and is a terrible gossip. And yet he's also sensitive, loving, understanding - or trying to understand and the writing is glorious. The people feel like real people who have real, if mainly elevated, lives. They have whole weird judgemental approaches to who they should be seen with and who they shouldn't be seen with based on their social status (although money sometimes has a calming effect on snobbery.) One of the main characters, Baron de Charlus, is a genius creation (even if he is based on a real person). A fearsome snob, gay, and utterly outrageous he's one of the most memorable people in the book. But so too is Morel. And Albertine.
No one writes better about art and literature than Proust though and how it works on our minds and souls. Whenever I was finding the going difficult and faced another two pages of paragraphless text and I was about to give up Proust would hit you with pages of absolutely blissful writing and wins you back.
If anyone asks me what In Search of Lost Time is about I'd say, it's about everything. It's the nearest thing I've read to someone putting their whole life on the page and that makes you think about those things.
reading_at_the_zoo's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sieramae's review
5.0
Volume IV and V have been completed — The end pages closed.
Looking back I can see the cities meet the plains, and the many paths that lead to the flowers budding on the water’s edge. His themes and motifs leave a more clear impression with each step. Yet, looking forward I feel like I’m watching the sunrise from the side of a mountain, instead of from the summit. There remains more to be seen from a vantage point not yet reached.
Like moments of rest during a long hike, I welcome pauses to reflect on the journey. I brought Proust with me, away from the cities to smell the flowers in the plains, towards the cold glacier streams in the Rockies. Along the way I thought of the friendships we made, the loves we cherished, and the regrets for those we have lost.
On these paths I have learned that reading Proust is less of a challenge than the act of remembering what was read. It’s okay not to remember all the details, forgetting is an inevitable part of the process.
With gratitude for the experience this far, I am ready to continue on with the ascent towards Time Regained. I accept the steep climbs, uneasy scrambles and unpredictable switchbacks along the way.
Looking back I can see the cities meet the plains, and the many paths that lead to the flowers budding on the water’s edge. His themes and motifs leave a more clear impression with each step. Yet, looking forward I feel like I’m watching the sunrise from the side of a mountain, instead of from the summit. There remains more to be seen from a vantage point not yet reached.
Like moments of rest during a long hike, I welcome pauses to reflect on the journey. I brought Proust with me, away from the cities to smell the flowers in the plains, towards the cold glacier streams in the Rockies. Along the way I thought of the friendships we made, the loves we cherished, and the regrets for those we have lost.
On these paths I have learned that reading Proust is less of a challenge than the act of remembering what was read. It’s okay not to remember all the details, forgetting is an inevitable part of the process.
With gratitude for the experience this far, I am ready to continue on with the ascent towards Time Regained. I accept the steep climbs, uneasy scrambles and unpredictable switchbacks along the way.
coreyk's review
The Captive: June 18, 2018 - June 28, 2018
The Fugitive: July 29, 2018 - August 2, 2o18
The Fugitive: July 29, 2018 - August 2, 2o18
amandaxhafaj's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
eufoeria's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kingkong's review
4.0
My favorite parts are when Marcel has some kind of emotional experience and tries to generalize it
franfernandezarce's review
4.0
unlike what most people might think from this type of books (long and filled with words and old and french ) lots of things happen in terms of plot. like, more than you think once you've finished and start going backwards.
to put it bluntly, there's no easy way to try and summarise all your thoughts once you've finished a nearly 950-page monster.
being quite honest, i can't figure out how to order my thoughts and impressions on what happened without somehow spoling the same things that have happened. because, as much as these books are lauded for their intricate exploration into the psyche of people, they are also highly dependent on their plot points. otherwhise, they would be 700-page (give or take, as a rough average) extravaganzas of a very bored person who had nothing better to do than write about the pretty french countryside (i'm being both simplistic and not as ironic as i would like to be here). and even though the narrator jumps from points through time as it seems to fit his own perspective, there's a particular linear sequence within each book that cannot be disturbed easily. simple and ordinary events, yes, but nonetheless complex and elaborated for the purposes of the story.
nevertheless, this is me doing my best:
this book (or books, definitions get a bit iffy with bind-ups) is just one big kaleidoskope of human nature. yes, the male-female relationship at the centre can be seen as your stereotypical distrustful-yet-innocent man and your secretive-ultimately-deceitful woman (or is she? dun dun). but you must take into account proust's personal story like a pinch of salt into your own perceptions. because, even though he never really said it outloud, marcel proust was a man who fell (obsessively) in love with other men, like it or not. thus, he was someone who probably didn't know the next thing about being in a relationship with women even though he knew and was close with plenty of them (don't believe me? read this other beast of a book--[b:Marcel Proust: A Life|1258289|Marcel Proust A Life|William C. Carter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1414811897s/1258289.jpg|1247105]--and then we'll talk).
in this sense, the protagonist's love interests are males in disguise, not quite cartoonish women (blame heteronormativity and conservative censors for the change)
but in addition to this layer, by taking into account the protagonist's obsessive (at times, maddening) jealousy, you can't help but seeing every single female stereotype of crazy girlfriends into one person. which, of course, taking this book as evidence number one, can be perfectly argued to not be a stereotype limited to women only.
but despite its slightly cartoonish tints at times, the portrayal of such obsession and insecurities do manage to come across as painfully human, ennobling the protagonist with an awful sense of humanity. not a relatable one, not even a likeable one at times, but a real one. there are enough traits of other emotions, other concerns as well as a almost rational evolution through time of his character to render him believable.
so, you see, this is why it is so difficult to give a concise summary of the inner weavings of this book. the best way i could describe it would be as an explosion of human nature. just, don't ask me to try and specify the components within such explosion.
instead, take this little quote with you: personally, i found it absolutely immaterial from a moral point fof voew whether one took one's pleasure with a man or with a woman, and only too natural and human that one should take it where one could find it and one word of advice: everyone here is probably queer until proven otherwhise.
you're welcome.
to put it bluntly, there's no easy way to try and summarise all your thoughts once you've finished a nearly 950-page monster.
being quite honest, i can't figure out how to order my thoughts and impressions on what happened without somehow spoling the same things that have happened. because, as much as these books are lauded for their intricate exploration into the psyche of people, they are also highly dependent on their plot points. otherwhise, they would be 700-page (give or take, as a rough average) extravaganzas of a very bored person who had nothing better to do than write about the pretty french countryside (i'm being both simplistic and not as ironic as i would like to be here). and even though the narrator jumps from points through time as it seems to fit his own perspective, there's a particular linear sequence within each book that cannot be disturbed easily. simple and ordinary events, yes, but nonetheless complex and elaborated for the purposes of the story.
nevertheless, this is me doing my best:
this book (or books, definitions get a bit iffy with bind-ups) is just one big kaleidoskope of human nature. yes, the male-female relationship at the centre can be seen as your stereotypical distrustful-yet-innocent man and your secretive-ultimately-deceitful woman (or is she? dun dun). but you must take into account proust's personal story like a pinch of salt into your own perceptions. because, even though he never really said it outloud, marcel proust was a man who fell (obsessively) in love with other men, like it or not. thus, he was someone who probably didn't know the next thing about being in a relationship with women even though he knew and was close with plenty of them (don't believe me? read this other beast of a book--[b:Marcel Proust: A Life|1258289|Marcel Proust A Life|William C. Carter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1414811897s/1258289.jpg|1247105]--and then we'll talk).
in this sense, the protagonist's love interests are males in disguise, not quite cartoonish women (blame heteronormativity and conservative censors for the change)
but in addition to this layer, by taking into account the protagonist's obsessive (at times, maddening) jealousy, you can't help but seeing every single female stereotype of crazy girlfriends into one person. which, of course, taking this book as evidence number one, can be perfectly argued to not be a stereotype limited to women only.
but despite its slightly cartoonish tints at times, the portrayal of such obsession and insecurities do manage to come across as painfully human, ennobling the protagonist with an awful sense of humanity. not a relatable one, not even a likeable one at times, but a real one. there are enough traits of other emotions, other concerns as well as a almost rational evolution through time of his character to render him believable.
so, you see, this is why it is so difficult to give a concise summary of the inner weavings of this book. the best way i could describe it would be as an explosion of human nature. just, don't ask me to try and specify the components within such explosion.
instead, take this little quote with you: personally, i found it absolutely immaterial from a moral point fof voew whether one took one's pleasure with a man or with a woman, and only too natural and human that one should take it where one could find it and one word of advice: everyone here is probably queer until proven otherwhise.
you're welcome.
fishsauce's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0