In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way: A Graphic Novel
Product ID: 16236287
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New York Times Bestseller Whether you are looking to brush up or sample for the first time, this graphic adaptation of In Search of Lost Time is the perfect introduction to Proust's masterpiece. "Proust was the greatest novelist of the twentieth century, just as Tolstoy was in the nineteenth," wrote Graham Greene. "For those who began to write at the end of the twenties or the beginning of the thirties, there were two great inescapable influences: Proust and Freud, who are mutually complementary." With its sweeping digressions into the past and reflections on the nature of memory, Proust's oceanic novel In Search of Lost Time looms over twentieth-century literature as one of the greatest, yet most endlessly challenging literary experiences. Influencing writers like Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, and even anticipating Albert Einstein in its philosophical explorations of space and time, In Search of Lost Time is a monumental achievement and a virtual rite of passage for any serious lover of literature. Now, in what renowned translator Arthur Goldhammer says might be "likened to a piano reduction of an orchestral score," the French illustrator Stéphane Heuet re-presents Proust in graphic form for anyone who has always dreamed of reading him but was put off by the sheer magnitude of the undertaking. This graphic adaptation reveals the fundamental architecture of Proust’s work while displaying a remarkable fidelity to his language as well as the novel's themes of time, art, and the elusiveness of memory. As Goldhammer writes in his introduction, the compression required by this kind of adaptation As Goldhammer writes in his introduction, "the reader new to Proust must attend closely, even in this compressed rendering, to the novel's circling rhythms and abrupt cross-cuts between different places and times. But this necessary attentiveness is abetted and facilitated by the compactness of the graphic format.” In this first volume, Swann's Way , the narrator Marcel, an aspiring writer, recalls his childhood when―in a now immortal moment in literature―the taste of a madeleine cake dipped in tea unleashes a torrent of memories about his family’s country home in the town of Combray. Here, Heuet and Goldhammer use Proust's own famously rich and labyrinthine sentences and discerning observations to render Combray like never before. From the water lillies of the Vivonne to the steeple and stained glass of the town church, Proust's language provides the blueprint for Heuet's illustrations. Heuet and Goldhammer also capture Proust's humor, wit, and sometimes scathing portrayals of Combray's many memorable inhabitants, like the lovelorn Charles Swann and the object of his affection and torment, Odette de Crécy; Swann's daughter Gilberte; local aristocrat the Duchesse de Guermantes; the narrator's uncle Adolphe; and the hypochondriac Aunt Léonie. Including a Proust family tree, a glossary of terms, and a map of Paris, this graphic adaptation is a surprising and useful companion piece to Proust’s masterpiece for both the initiated and those seeking an introduction. Review: This is an amazing adaptation, in graphic novel form - This is an amazing adaptation, in graphic novel form, of Swann's Way, the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. From the first: “Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure” (For a long time, I went to bed early) to the closing " the memory of a certain image is but regret for a certain moment; and houses, roads, avenues are as fleeting, alas, as the years,” this edition captures the spirit of the masterpiece. This is wonderful both for those who have read the novel several times (as I have - it's one of my favorites) to initiates. The introduction itself sets the stage very well, and leads into the story, guiding the reader and enabling an understanding of what Proust is trying to show. Please buy this. Review: Lovely illustrations/easy read - Indulging in this fascinating version of the novel right now before reading Proust’s original.
| Best Sellers Rank | #2,241,954 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #745 in Literary Graphic Novels (Books) #3,259 in Classic American Literature #26,457 in Classic Literature & Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 178 Reviews |
C**E
This is an amazing adaptation, in graphic novel form
This is an amazing adaptation, in graphic novel form, of Swann's Way, the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. From the first: “Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure” (For a long time, I went to bed early) to the closing " the memory of a certain image is but regret for a certain moment; and houses, roads, avenues are as fleeting, alas, as the years,” this edition captures the spirit of the masterpiece. This is wonderful both for those who have read the novel several times (as I have - it's one of my favorites) to initiates. The introduction itself sets the stage very well, and leads into the story, guiding the reader and enabling an understanding of what Proust is trying to show. Please buy this.
R**C
Lovely illustrations/easy read
Indulging in this fascinating version of the novel right now before reading Proust’s original.
M**T
GREAT AS A SUPPLEMENT TO AUDIOBOOK
This is an amazing distilling of the book and illustrated superbly. I listened to the audiobook as I took long walks. This graphic novel was a great way to summarize or review often long, detail-laden passages of narration. Interestingly, the pictures may have highlighted the story in a slightly different manner than my "take" of the story, which was influenced not only by the printed words themselves, but also the voice acting by the narrator. Glad I got it! I have 2nd volume but have not yet started it.
R**N
A novel, beautiful introduction to Proust's masterpiece.
I first learned of this book from the New York Times Book review. The author worked over years to prepare a graphic representation and an edited version of Swan's Way. The book is controversial, especially among Proust purists. But, I would not have discovered the beauty of Proust without this volume. Now I am moving to the orginal.work, just as this author intended. The detail in the drawings is marvelous. This is a hard bound, large format book which ain't made for bed reading. Enjoy it in your favorite chair..
P**D
Bottom Line: Not the same as reading the original, but the art work alone makes this a valuable addition to your library.
Bottom Line: Not the same as reading the original, but the art work alone makes this a valuable addition to your library. I have a much better Idea of what I am missing by not reading the full text. This is recommended as better than a Readers Digest but not a full on replacement. Many years ago, and only because it was required reading I attempted the first volume of Marcel Proust’ In Search of Lost Time/ Swan’s Way. The experience taught me that I was not up to every author I attempted. I was humbled and deterred from ever again attempting Marcel Proust. A few years back I read his short, pastiche The Lemoine Affair (The Art of the Novella) Proust in this book he manages to make fun of himself and to satirize a number of his contemporaries. I cannot claim to have understood everyone targeted but the man’s good humor and ability to tweak his targets made for a fun read. As soon as I saw this graphic novel version, what the publishers call ComicArt of Proust’s epic reinvention of the modern novel, I made the decision that this was a wayto get some idea of what had previous defeated me. No one reading the graphic novel should claim to have read the book, but with it I feel that I have achieved my goal of getting beyond the famous memory inspiring madeleine. This book serves as a rich sample of what the actual read will be with the constant reward of highly crafted, richly embellished comic art. As to the quality of Arthor Goldhammer’s translation I can make on general statements. I was never conscious of the kinds of translator short cuts as terms with little or no meaning to an English reader may or may not get switched out for either a bald term or one that would have carried no meaning with the original author. The text does contain a number of the Proust’s signature sentences structure, lexical arabesques and complexities. There are any number of a conceits and lessor metaphors that I had to take on faith. Several pages of the young narrator’s feverish hopes of a tour of the European mainland left me more confused than inspired. Elsewhere there is a lyrical description of a ride to Martinville –le-Sec. A trick of the road causes the town church steeples of Matinville and neighboring Vieuxvicq to appear to “change places.” The text conveys the child’s wonderment and the art work eloquently duplicates the intended effect of the text. And the art work. The drawings of Stephane Heuet make this book. Finely detailed drawing insure our attentions to the details that Proust would us to especially note. Faces, food, architecture, the infinity of the details of fin de siècle France among the upper middle class. Lessor characters and lessor locations get a more classically simple finished comic rendition. The issue of class. Much of this book chronicles the life of their neighbor Swan. The road from home to town can be by passage in front of Swan’s estates, Swan’s Way. We are advised of his ‘inappropriate marriage”. We see every moment of his spiral out of his ready access to the higher society where he had been welcome. We watch his troublesome love affair that keeps him with a lady of the demimonde. She will use him for entre into upper middle class or a social climbers or at a least socially pretentious clique. Watching Swan became an exercise like unto the grind house movie where you want to shout at the teen ager to no go alone into the dark Only Swan is a boulevardier, a sophisticate and knows better while not acting better than a besotted man. I was not prepared for the implied sex in the text. Here punctuated by the occasionally indiscreet drawing. Perhaps I was less aware of what complexities Proust was hiding in his complex sentences. Nothing here that is scandalous, but a few cartoons that some parents and the much more easily offend may wish to be wary.
G**N
A beautiful book
This is a wonderful and beautiful book. It may strike some as an odd combination--Proust and comics. But what we consider comics are much more highly regarded in France. Indeed, given how important the visual arts were for Proust, it makes sense. This book works both as an introduction and as a way to re-visit Proust. The artwork is fantastic--clearly a labor of love. The map and family trees are a great addition.
T**T
Great fun and a good outline
Well done synopsis and beautiful illustrations. I am currently working my way through Remembrance Of Times Past, aka In Search Of Lost Time, and it requires my full attention every step of the way. Reading this affirms I'm at least catching some of the more salient incidents.
K**R
Beautiful introduction to Proust's masterpiece
Outstanding book! The images are beautifully drawn and the adaptation of the text makes breaking into the wonders of Proust easy and delightful. If you are interested in reading "In Search of Lost Time" but are afraid to take the plunge, this is the best way to start the journey! Well worth the price!
D**I
HIGH QUALITY
High print and paper quality!
P**L
In Search of a Good Idea
What university Arts graduate has not purchased a copy of Proust's "A La Recherche du Temps Perdu"? What university Arts graduate has not left the monumental tome gathering dust, unread, until his wife makes him sell it to a used book store for some other poor grad student to acquire? Along with "Moby Dick", "War and Peace" and Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time", Proust's masterwork is at the top of the list of bought-but-never-finished books. Until now! For now we have a "graphic novel" or "Classics Illustrated" version of "Swann's Way", the first part of "In Search of Lost Time". Was this a good idea? How could Proust's deep prose and ruminations on human memory be conveyed in comic-book form? And the answer is: this works. The illustrations are engaging and there is plenty of prose to go around and advance the main ideas and plot. It just might have persuaded me to head to the used book store and see if my three-volume set is still there.
A**A
Pésimo envío, excelente libro
Es un libro hermoso... el Empaque deja mucho que desear lo enviaron en una caja con latas de fórmula y el guardapolvos llegó hecho trizas!
J**S
Magnificent
Like so many others I've been meaning to read Proust for years. This is a near perfect introduction, it captures the spirit of his work completely, by the end I nearly had tears in my eyes, I did not want it to end. The illustrations are superb and it's comfortably the best graphic novel in the series
S**I
Outstanding!
I can't imagine the amount of hard work that has gone into this but the result is outstanding. Marcel Proust's novel in graphic form will make the great writer live and be loved for several new generations to come. Here's to our limited attention span!
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