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A review by stingo
In Search of Lost Time: Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust
4.0
The quest continues. Sodom and Gomorrah follows our (unnamed, who I will call Marcel) narrator through the social scenes of Paris (the Guermantes) and Balbec (the Cambremers and Verdurins) punctuated by commentary on homosexuality/inversion. The Paris scene has Marcel getting access to the Guermantes' drawing rooms, as he is now acquainted with the Duc and Duchesse de Guermantes, the latter of which he (Marcel) was crushing on in previous books. Reality does not match up to Marcel's long held dreams but there are some learning moments to be had in the course of these parties, both for him and the reader.
Marcel revisits Balbec, where echoes of his past continue to inform and guide his present. Rather than going about with the girls (as he did in [b:Within a Budding Grove|9484|Within a Budding Grove (In Search of Lost Time, #2)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320420357s/9484.jpg|17046445]) he now frequents the salons of the Verdurins and Cambremers, which reunites him with characters e.g., Dr. Cottard, who appeared in previous volumes.
While Marcel himself does show some signs of maturity, his handling of his personal relationships appears not to have changed much since [b:Swann's Way|133539|Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time, #1)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320540684s/133539.jpg|4830806]. He still seems to be about compelling people to want him, but once they do, he immediately becomes disinterested. This is especially true in his romantic attempts, but those have the added bonuses of hand-wringing, tears and melodrama.
Sodom and Gomorrah are the metaphorical home cities of gay men and gay women respectively. (Side note: The title was apparently too risque for censors at the time, so it was changed to Cities of the Plain.) The theme starts with Marcel (once again being the dyed in the wool voyeur) spies one of his acquaintances (from [b:The Guermantes Way|18795|The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time, #3)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347713139s/18795.jpg|40790576]) flirt and subsequently have an assignation with a younger man from the Hotel Guermantes. This scene sets up Marcel's contemplation of inversion (which to my mind might also include transgender people) and the attitudes of those who are inverts, and those who are not. The perennial question of who is/who isn't is not addressed per se but some characters are revealed to be from one of the cities of the plain.
Once again, if you made it this far into In Search of Lost Time, you know what to expect already. This novel is indeed more of the same. It, like the previous three volumes benefits most from close, slow reading and contemplation as the writing style is very dense and sort of hard to follow at times, especially considering Proust's penchant for long sentences.
Marcel revisits Balbec, where echoes of his past continue to inform and guide his present. Rather than going about with the girls (as he did in [b:Within a Budding Grove|9484|Within a Budding Grove (In Search of Lost Time, #2)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320420357s/9484.jpg|17046445]) he now frequents the salons of the Verdurins and Cambremers, which reunites him with characters e.g., Dr. Cottard, who appeared in previous volumes.
While Marcel himself does show some signs of maturity, his handling of his personal relationships appears not to have changed much since [b:Swann's Way|133539|Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time, #1)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320540684s/133539.jpg|4830806]. He still seems to be about compelling people to want him, but once they do, he immediately becomes disinterested. This is especially true in his romantic attempts, but those have the added bonuses of hand-wringing, tears and melodrama.
Sodom and Gomorrah are the metaphorical home cities of gay men and gay women respectively. (Side note: The title was apparently too risque for censors at the time, so it was changed to Cities of the Plain.) The theme starts with Marcel (once again being the dyed in the wool voyeur) spies one of his acquaintances (from [b:The Guermantes Way|18795|The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time, #3)|Marcel Proust|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347713139s/18795.jpg|40790576]) flirt and subsequently have an assignation with a younger man from the Hotel Guermantes. This scene sets up Marcel's contemplation of inversion (which to my mind might also include transgender people) and the attitudes of those who are inverts, and those who are not. The perennial question of who is/who isn't is not addressed per se but some characters are revealed to be from one of the cities of the plain.
Once again, if you made it this far into In Search of Lost Time, you know what to expect already. This novel is indeed more of the same. It, like the previous three volumes benefits most from close, slow reading and contemplation as the writing style is very dense and sort of hard to follow at times, especially considering Proust's penchant for long sentences.