And at the moment such is the astonishing vibration and saturation and intensification that he procures-there’s something sexual in it-that I feel I can write like that, and seize my pen and then I can’t write like that. Proust so titillates my own desire for expression that I can hardly set out the sentence. My favorite quote by one famous writer about another is Virginia Woolf’s description of her reaction to Proust’s prose: Proust fits perfectly Gilles Deleuze’s definition of a great author: “A great author is one who laughs a lot.” And his sense of humor allows him to create comic scenes that satirize the foibles and vanity of his characters, especially those of high society. There are even passages that might allow him to claim to be the founder of gender studies and a proponent of gay marriage. (Proust’s legendary hypersensitivity is obviously linked to his skills as a writer.) He was the first novelist to analyze and depict the full spectrum of human sexuality. Here are a few of the outstanding features of this novel: It is arguably the best book ever written about perception. All its narrative elements-plot, characters, style-create, as Iris Murdoch said of its effect, “the most intense pleasure which one does take in great art.” Its tremendous energy acts as a rejuvenating force. I don’t want to exaggerate, but I truly feel that he is the great writer of the 20th century.”Īnd how does In Search of Lost Time continue to speak to generation after generation in a voice that seems fresh and vigorous? Far from being the culminating opus of decadent literature, as some early critics believed, this novel constitutes one of the most dynamic texts ever written. Whenever you read Proust, for the rest of your life, he’s part of you, the way Shakespeare is part of you. He’s with Shakespeare in my mind, in the sense of having such a various talent. Just as the Bard describes Cleopatra, many of Proust’s characters are creatures of “infinite variety.” Speaking of Shakespeare, Shelby Foote, in an interview, placed Proust in the top tier of writers he most admired: “Proust has been the man that hung the moon for me. And I think the psychology and motivation of Proust’s characters are as rewardingly complex as are those of Shakespeare’s characters. In Proust’s case, I think he helps us to see the world as it really is, not only its extraordinary beauty and diversity, but his observations make us aware of how we perceive and how we interact with others, showing us how often we are mistaken in our own assumptions and how easy it is to have a biased view of another person. In fact, rendre visible (to make visible) is Proust’s succinct definition of what an original artist does. Over the years, I have received unsolicited testimony from many such readers who say that Proust changed their lives by giving them a new and richer way of looking at the world. The work is seldom taught in its entirety in university courses, but maintains its presence among us thanks to readers all over the world who return to it again and again. In Search of Lost Time has not been kept alive by the academy. Vladimir Nabokov, who considered it the best novel of its era, described its major themes and effervescent, Mozartean style: “The transmutation of sensation into sentiment, the ebb and tide of memory, waves of emotions such as desire, jealousy, and artistic euphoria-this is the material of this enormous and yet singularly light and translucent work.” In spite of its “enormity” and complexity, Proust’s book has never been out of print and has been translated into well over 40 languages. In spite of its length and complexity, most readers find it readily accessible. I always tell anyone who might be intimidated by the many pages to be read that, although In Search of Lost Time is rich and complex and demands an attentive reader, the novel is never difficult. As he tells his story, he speaks to us in a voice that is one of the most engaging and enchanting in all of literature. The opening pages, which Proust called the overture, state in a musical, intimate, and subtle manner the goal of the quest, which is to find the answer to life’s essential questions: Who am I? What am I to make of this life? As Proust’s title indicates, the main character, known as the Narrator or Marcel, is searching for his own identity and the meaning of life. The novel’s major themes-love, art, time, and memory-are carefully and brilliantly orchestrated throughout the book. In Search of Lost Time, like many great literary works, is a quest whose structure resembles that of a symphony.
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