Remembrance of Things Past - The Guermantes Way (Marcel Proust, 1920)

(620 pages)

Continuing an enjoyable and slow-paced re-read of Proust.  This is the third volume (or section), at least in the way my copy ( the Moncrieff-Kilmartin translation) is broken up.

There are several posts already on this blog about this wonderful work.  I don't think I need to repeat what I've written before about the high value and sheer pleasure from reading this.  Four more sections to go in this re-read, looking forward to it!

In this volume/section - 

• The narrator and his family move into an apartment in a wing of the Hotel de Guermantes.  Narrator becomes infatuated with the Duchess de Guermantes.

• Narrator visits the Duchess's relative (already his friend) - Saint Loup in barracks at Doncieres, having issues with his mistress (who narrator had met in a different setting).

• Narrator's grandmother is getting progressively more ill.  These sections are particularly well done.

• Lengthy discussion of a party at Mme de Villeparisis's residence.  Lots of portrayal of society, the salons.

• Baron de Charlus - kind of weird behavior.

• Dreyfus case discussed at length.

• Albertine visits.

• Lengthy scenes of dinner with the Guermantes; Faubourg Saint-Germain matters.

Remembrance of Things Past - Within a Budding Grove (Marcel Proust, 1919)

(553 pages)

Continuing my leisurely re-read of Remembrance of Things Past (Volume 1 re-read mentioned here; original discussion here and here).  

Narrator has reached adolescence in this volume; lots of time at Balbec.

Thinking about the discussions about how we observe things and take them into memory, and what happens once in memory.

In my mid-60s - there's no doubt now that most of my life is over - all that remains of all those earlier years is what I've retained in memory.  So I think about how that works differently, though still not very effectively.

Sometimes I hear folks say that it's a mistake to spend time "living in the past" - I think it's a mistake not to.  (I suppose it can be done to the diminution of enjoyment of the present, but that would be a different problem.)

I plan to keep sifting through these books over the coming years.  Looking forward to Volume 3 though not sure how quickly I'll be taking it up.

Swann's Way (Marcel Proust, 1913)

(462 pp)

Re-reading Remembrance of Things Past; this is the first volume.

I dearly love the passages where the author - as a youngster - spends time in Combray.  The descriptions of poor Aunt Leonie are perfect.  The sorrows of the author when sent to bed; the descriptions of the town and the church; Swann's visits at Combray.  Then a lengthy discussion of Swann and Odette (which I don't enjoy as much as the Combray scenes); Swann visiting the Verdurins.  Author meeting Gilberte.

Throughout - the author's effort to understand memory - at the end of this volume:  "The places we have known do not belong only to the world of space on which we map them for our own convenience.  None of them was ever more than a thin slice, held between the contiguous impressions that composed our life at that time; the memory of a particular image is but regret for a particular moment; and houses, roads, avenues are as fugitive, alas, as the years."  Curious how that would come across in the original French. (Is "regret" the word here?  Maybe in the sense of "longing for what cannot be regained?")

The very first page refers to the rivalry between Francois I and Charles V, who else talks about this kind of thing.

Haven't decided how quickly I'll proceed, other than "not very."

My Struggle (Book One) (Karl Ove Knausgaard, 2009)

This is the first book of a multi-book series that has created a huge buzz.  The author - Norwegian - writes in great detail about early experiences.  The focus in Book One is on his relationship with his alcoholic father.  But much more ground is covered.

I've read that the percentage of folks in Norway that have read Knausgaard's work is incredibly high, and further that his life has changed for the worse due to resentment by characters in the book who are readily identifiable in the relatively small communities about which he writes.

Lots of comparisons to Proust among the reviewers; even direct references in this Book One.

My tentative conclusion:  (1) Book One is good-not-great, clearly worthwhile however; (2) I think I will read Book Two and see how it goes; (3) depending on how Book Two works out I will either keep going, or drop the project and re-read Proust (which I will do soon in any event).

I realize it's quite early to judge - based on just one book - but so far I don't think the comparison to Proust stands up well.  Part of this may be simply that discussions of things that occurred in the 1980s or 1990s inevitably sound less interesting or exotic than discussions of things from early 20th century?

Alcohol definitely an issue for these folks.

I read that the Mein Kampf-style title for the book was chosen deliberately though I don't recall why.

Paintings in Proust (Eric Karpeles, 2008)

I've been thinking about Proust's signature book lately - maybe attaching too much significance?  But I'm pretty sure it's quite important.  (Previous discussions of the book are here and here.)  (One reason I'm thinking about the book is that during our recent and most enjoyable visit to Portland, I found a basically untouched used set at "Powell's World of Books" - nice to own it, finally.)

Proust helps me see differently.  Other authors have this effect, but not as strongly.

I have no idea how to distill his essential messages, if there are any.  But somehow he applies a combination of open-mindedness and studied preparation to see people, objects in art or nature (sublime or otherwise), everyday objects - with far more depth than most of us do.  We miss so much.

As I get older, I can better see that the "studied preparation" part is crucial.  Being open-minded and receptive is just a threshold - if you don't bring anything of depth to the process of perceiving, you cannot see or appreciate nearly as much.  Seems obvious, right?  ("Studied preparation" - not sure exactly what this involves - but at a minimum it would be steady exposure to sophisticated literature, art, music.)

Proust wrote "Imagine today a writer to whom the idea would occur to treat twenty times under different lights the same theme, and who would have the sensation of creating something profound, subtle, powerful, overwhelming, original, startling like the fifty cathedrals or forty water-lily ponds of Monet." That's how he writes; that's how to see.  (Also an example of how he saw painting and literature as similar arts.)

Technology brings valuable exposure to us, but (as has been lamented for a couple hundred years now) makes it more difficult to find (or, more accurately, to choose to find) the time, quiet, and/or serendipity to generate useful, original, thought or in-depth perception.  We exchange this possibility for a diet of spoon-fed mediocrity, while stalwartly rationalizing the sad trade-off via absurd assertions that a person can focus on multiple distractions at the same time without affecting cognition, depth of thought or receptivity to sensations and ideas.  Oh well.

I bought the version at left Sept 2012 - at Powell's, Portland OR.

The premise of this book:  Proust wove dozens of references to art works throughout the novel, along with lengthy passages dealing with the fictional painter, Elstir.  Karpeles had a fine idea - he went through all ~3300 pages and came up with a list of art references, then included reproductions in this book along with text excerpts from the passage in which the art reference appeared.  (Heavy stock paper, nice quality reproductions.)  This approach really works, on at least three levels:

1.  Enjoying the art even if you didn't read or are one of those who don't particularly like Remembrance of Things Past.

2.  Providing a memory refresh on the novel independent of the art references - which is valuable, it is not easy to hang onto the story line given its length and complexity.

3.  Reflecting on the way Proust used art to illustrate points in the novel; perhaps picking up the ability to do the same; the irreplaceable way in which art can accomplish this.

Odette as a figure from a Botticelli painting.  I like so many of the paintings . . . perhaps especially The Mother (Pieter de Hooch) (see the part toward the back where the small child looks out the door); and Portrait of an Old Man and a Young Boy (Domenico Ghirlandaio) (from the Louvre).

Delightful, valuable.  Will buy it.

Remembrance of Things Past (Vol 3-7) (Marcel Proust)

So what to make of all this? Back in 2007 I read the first two volumes, described here.

I read the remaining five volumes in 2008 but hadn't yet put down any thoughts about this. The final five volumes were:

3) The Guermantes Way
4) Cities of the Plain
5) The Captive
6) The Fugitive
7) Time Regained

I haven't read anything like this. In part because 3300 pages gives an author so much canvas with which to work.

Proust is astonishly good at writing scenes involving conversation - he has a near-perfect ear for the manner in which people speak to one another. He also is a great observer of human behavior, one example being the way he describes how people - and this includes all of us - mentally construct justifications for whatever it is we choose to do at any given time - whether based on expediency, kindness, honest effort or whatever. Read this book, and you will be better at catching yourself doing this.

Some thoughts:

1. The role of memory. Perspectives on how our past affects and enriches our present.

2. I've never read anyone make such an effort to put into words the way that music works (knowing that by definition words cannot suffice). But it is an interesting, useful attempt This primarily is done through the device of Vintuel's sonata.

3. Similar effort with art per the painter, Elstir.

4. Similar effort with performing arts through Berma.

5. Similar effort with literature through Bergotte.

6. Proust's ability to describe - in long passages to be sure - the beauty in what might be considered mundane (hawthorn tree).

7. The richness and depth of our relationships and conversations - there is really so much going on if one slows down and takes notice.

8. The difficulty of appreciating these things unless break the chains of habit, the constant need to push ourselves away from habit, superficiality of what is now referred to as the news cycle, etc.

9. The impossibility of personal growth or useful thinking without some quiet time alone. Now considered peculiar behavior.

10. How despite the richness of relationships, art, nature around us, we ultimately are alone (the moment when his grandmother knew the severity of the stroke she had suffered, the loss of memory she was experiencing, the lonely downward path ahead)

11. Guermantes Way, Meseglise Way, Swann's Way - more than roads.

12. He constantly is pointing out the foibles of the aristocracy (and others for that matter). But still is painting characters of great complexity - a reminder that there is usually something there. The hastening decline of the aristocracy (after all, this was written in early 20th century).

13. Interesting WWI scenes toward the end.

14. Albertine. Charles Swann. Gilberte Swann. Odette. Baron de Charlus. Morel. Robert de Saint Loup. Oriane Guermantes and husband. Faubourg St. Germain. The Verdurins and the "faithful."

15. Numerous wealthy folks with apparently little to keep them occupied, leading to some less than constructive behaviors.

16. The narrator's effort - at long last - to write a great work about memory et al; the device of the party that he attends later in life where the attendees are wearing "masks."

Lots more going on here than I can grasp. I will buy a copy and page through this every now and again.

Remembrance of Things Past (Vol 1-2) (Marcel Proust)

Another famous work that I haven't previously had (or taken) the opportunity to read. I understand that a better translation of the title would be "In Search of Lost Time." It's about memory. I'm reading the French Pleiade edition translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin.

The book generally prints at around 3,200 pages, I understand. It was written by Proust over numerous years in seven volumes. The translation that I'm reading placed the first two volumes in one book that runs 1,030 pages. So this seems like a good point at which to take a breather. I've now made my way through Volumes 1-2: "Swann's Way" and "Within a Budding Grove."

Proust is an interesting character in his own right, you can read about him here.

I don't know quite how to describe his writing style. Some elements - 1) he goes into long descriptions of virtually everything he encounters; 2) he goes into rhapsodies over things he appreciates or in which he finds beauty (hawthorn); 3) he has an incredible knack for observing - and describing - human nature; 4) it makes you think about how much of each person's world is tied up in the person's unique perception of what he or she is experiencing (recognizing this is also a hoary philosophical problem).

I'm hoping that the reader can learn something about human nature, especially my own, and a thing or two about slowing down and appreciating the beauty around me. Proust is quite good at this, though I don't think it's his primary intention.

Swann's Way includes the famous scene where the narrator bites into a madeleine (a trigger for memory).

I'm noticing now that Proust is referred to constantly in other literature (not to mention "Little Miss Sunshine"), including a book of Iowa reminiscing that I'm reading right now.

Swann's Way: life at Combray (long walks; elderly relatives; the author's room and goodnight to mother); Swann's relationship with Odette; Vanteuil (the sonata; his wretched daughter); the Verdurins (social climbers; also associated with Odette; gatherings of "the faithful"); Gilberte (Swann's daughter; first love).

Within a Budding Grove: staying at Balbec with grandmother; the "little band" (including Albertine); Elstir (the artist); relationship with Saint-Loup.

The timeline of the story moves back and forth, with different characters appearing in different stages.

I definitely want to own a copy of this book, it should not be missed. More to come.

Little Miss Sunshine (September 9, 2006)

Patricia and I went to this movie at Camelview back on September 9. We hadn't thought the trailer looked like much, but all three of our sons had given it the major thumbs up. So we gave it a try. And I'm glad we did. Six central characters in the extended family. I thought they all did a great job, and all the parts fit together. Greg Kinnear probably had the largest role - his character was trying to launch a lecture tour with associated books and CDs for a nine-step program on how to be a "winner." The movie opens with him doing the program with an overhead projector. Which pretty much spoke to his prospects.

His brother in law was the second best Proust scholar but let's say was working through some issues. His son had gotten into Nietzsche, and had concluded that he couldn't talk - so he communicated via handwritten notes, which was a neat device. The kid actor was effective and not annoying, which is pretty rare. Etc. My favorite scene was the dinner scene at the beginning of the movie when the characters were more or less being introduced. But there were many good moments.