Swann's Way

I admit that Proust is not for everyone. I admit that some of Proust's sentences, paragraphs, and even pages are inscrutable (and not genius, but self-indulgent rambling). I admit that Proust was not familiar with the term "plot."But one cannot shake the feeling that In Search of Lost Time (beginning with this great translation of Swann's Way) is the ultimate written work about what it means to live. Existence iself, in all its forms (time, love, beauty, self, and the other) is the subject Proust holds forth on.If you love great books, and have spent years isolating what it is at the very essence that makes you love and remember a novel, Swann's Way is for you. It will reward you if you fight through the times you feel like putting it down.

A writer's bok, rather than for a general reader Important historically

AS EXPECTED, DIFFICULT READ!

In ordering a copy of Proust's Swann's Way, the formal order form stated that it would be start to be filled (not mailed) anywhere up to 21 days. Instead of a long wait, the book arrived in perfect condition- like brand new-- within 4 days from placing the order. Thank you! I'll happily use this seller again.

I must say that I had alot of trepidation about reading this book because of its reputation of being difficult. I must admit that it was not at all easy to read, but not because of the long sentences, but because the intensity of attention this book rightfully demanded and my own anxiety to understand as much as possible. I read it slowly and looked up the paintings and places in the internet to visualize people and places. I baked madeleins, and imagined its taste when dipped in lime-blossom tea, and I thought about my own connections between tastes, sights, touches, music and memories, all of which were interesting trips, some happy, some sad....as you can see, this book was very interactive for me. What is most amazing is the author's superhuman ability to notice details of life--people, places, culture, nature, you name it--- and transport them into different layers of senses, perceptions, arts with such beauty and fluidity. I often laughed out loud when reading the incredibly detailed and brutally accurate and humourous descrpitions of human behaviors that are so ridiculous in nature but commonly accepted in practice.(for example,the M. Legrandin's conversations with the author's father, shamelessly avoidant, hilarious!) The book ends with "The places we have known do not belong solely to the world of space in which we situate them for our greater convenience. They were only a thin slice among contiguous impressions which formed our life at that time; the memory of a certain image is but regret for a certain moment; and houses, roads, avenues are as fleeting, alas, as the years."--left me with the image of Monet's paintings. I can see why this book has influence so many thinkers of modern history---Oppenheimer, for one. For me, one down, 6 more volumes to go, but I will take time to enjoy them , s..l..o..w..l..y. "

To read Marcel Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" is a pleasure and a challenge in the same proportion that any brave read can have. Not only is it a hard task, but also a very pleasant one. The books are written in such a way that readers are transported to another time and place, and get to know the characters as if they were old friends of ours. Of course, if it weren't like that, not many people would dare to try and read the seven novels that compound the whole series. But Proust is a master to keep your interested glued to his words. Even when this words are in a paragraph that lasts four pages."Swann's Way" is the first novel and it is a blessing and a curse at the same time. It is good because everything is new to us, so the `nameless' narrator takes his time to explain a lot of things, introduce people, describe places and the action is built up bit by bit. On the other hand, the reader is not used to Proust style and when we come across a paragraph that lasts four pages we get scared.To make things more complicated, when he was writing "Remembrance of Things Past" Proust wanted to make a novel, but he also wanted to philosophize. Therefore, there is a lot of philosophy in his books. At first this device seems to be difficult to understand, to get the gist, but with time, one gets used to it, and is able to realize that we're not supposed to read this books in the same way we read any other novel.Proust's work is about senses. He does not expect you to understand everything he is saying. His narrative is not cumulative. What he wants, in fact, is to make his reader feel what he was saying, to feel things like time passing through our lives and its effects on our memories. Bearing this in mind, any reader is able to focus on the poetic narrative and the author's idea rather than understanding the events.Of course there is a plot in the book, but there are things that are more important to produce the effect Proust wanted. "Swann's Way" begins with the `nameless' narrator remembering experiences from his childhood in Combray. But the largest section of the novel is not about him, but about Swann, a friend of his family. Fifteen years before the events described in the first part, Swann felt in love with Odette, a woman with a terrible reputation. And this love affair will affect his life forever.Despite Proust's language being evocative, it is not difficult to understand his sentences. His work is replete of references and allusions, mostly to visual arts, namely painting. Some descriptions are like the works of Monet and Botticelli. The writer also has interest in literature. The main character relationship to his mother echoes works as "Oedipus Rex".Qualities like these make "Remembrance of Things Past" one of the most important works produced ever. With his caldron of references, ideas and images, Proust has created one of the most beloved works from the XX Century. It is certain that this series of books will be read for many many years to come, and will be seen as a definition of what we used to think.

Llegó con mucho retraso pero llegó bien.He quedado muy contenta con la relación calidad/precio.