In Search of Lost Time - Volume 3: The Guermante's Way

Volume III - The Guermante's Way - Marcel Proust




Life seems to be getting busier and busier recently so apologies for the delay in getting this thread up and running!

For anyone still hanging on, now is the time to be reading volume 3. I have about 90 pages left of Gosta Berling, but Proust's next volume is waiting patiently on the shelf to be next up.

Anyone started already? How does it compare to the first 2?

preferring vol 2 so far. I'm nearly 200 pages in and just waded through a long description of military strategy which is definitely one subject that doesn't need Proustian elaboration as far as I'm concerned! But that was followed by a superb description of using the telephone which was a perfect one for its time. Genius. Still keeping to my 12 pages a day but sometimes that weighs on me, I have to say.

I'm about 225 pages in. Definitely more society-related talk (unsurprising with the Guermantes name in the title). Our narrator got quite a diatribe on that topic from Legrandin, who turned up again.

I think I was one of the few that didn't mind the Waterloo chapter in Les Miserables so I'm hoping I might get through the military strategy section unscathed!

I'm really starting to love this novel. I don't know if it's just me, or if it is a universal appeal, but from page 1 I fell right back into the swing of it because I feel an almost perfect resonance with the thoughts and feelings that he describes. It seems like Proust is inside my head. I'm only about 50 pages in but the way he describes his appreciation of the theater was brilliant.

I loved this quote:

"We feel in one world, we think, we give names to things in another, between the two we can establish a certain correspondence, but not bridge the gap.

I've just taken a break to watch a little History Channel documentary about the Dreyfus affair. I'm hoping this will pay dividends as we move forward!

I've just fininshed this volume and posted these scattered thoughts on my 50 book challenge thread:

So I've hit the half way stage of In Search of Lost Time and still on track and still enjoying it very much.

This volume wasn't quite as stimulating as the previous 2 primarily because it contained a lot more descriptions of high society and musings on the intricacies of social deportment. I just didn't find this as interesting as Proust's elaborations on human nature and human thoughts/memories which are much more accessible to the average reader! There were, however, some excellent sections in this novel including some really interesting thoughts on the disconnect between our perception of a person's name before and after we meet the person in question. There was also an excellent description of using the telephone!

In a way this volume reminded me much more of A Dance to the Music of Time with it's long descriptions of seemingly banal social occasions. For me, however, Anthony Powell did this better as he brought out the humour of the situations with more spark. Proust's descriptions of beauty and his deconstruction of conscious thought is absolutely masterful but it feels that he is not as strong as Powell when it comes to irony and parody.

I had seen a reference or two to the Dreyfus affair and early on in this volume I decided to brush up on my knowledge of it by watching a short History Channel documentary about it. While I was aware of the broad outline I was really happy that I did this extra "research" paid dividends throughout this novel as there were plenty of references which I wouldn't have fully understood previously.

So, after this slightly flat volume I've very intrigued by the title of the next volume..Sodom and Gamorrah

congrats on getting this far... I'm 400 pages behind you and totally agree with your write up so far.

I forgot to mention another highlight! I did very much enjoy the very end of Part 1 and the first chapter of Part 2.

I won't say more than that for fear of giving away spoilers but those that have reached that point will know what I mean.

I am finished with the third volume and have started Sodom and Gomorrah. Enjoyed it more than volume I. I thought the Dreyfus affair brought in more history into the story and that it helped to add some interest.