Como Proust Pode Mudar a Sua Vida

by Alain de Botton, Sónia Oliveira (Translator)

Como Proust Pode Mudar a Sua Vida é um livro prático destinado a ajudar as pessoas a serem mais felizes: como amar a vida hoje? Como exprimir as emoções? Como ser um bom amigo? Estes são alguns dos temas tratados no livro. Botton parte do livro de Proust Em Busca do Tempo Perdido para falar sobre estes temas.

«É um livro maravilhoso [...] Alain de Botton disseca o que Proust tem a dizer sobre a amizade, a leitura, a observação cuidada, o prestar atenção, a reflexão e o estar vivo, e acrescenta os seus próprios comentários deliciosos. O resultado é tão inebriante como sábio, divertido e estimulante, e é apresentado de uma forma tão inovadora que o torna único [...] Não consegui parar de ler, e agora terei de recomeçar.»
Brian Masters, Mail on Sunday

«De Botton não só possui um conhecimento profundo da vida de Proust [...] mas o que torna este pequeno livro de leitura fácil particularmente encantador é a sua bonomia mordaz, a sua erudição delicada e a forma generosa como se adapta àquele que é não apenas o maior livro do século, mas também o mais negro e o mais excêntrico.»
Edmund White, The Observer

«Contém mais interesse humano e imaginação que a maioria da ficção [...] de Botton ao dar ênfase aos aspectos terapêuticos e prescritivos de Proust, faz-nos o favor de o reler por nós, oferecendo-nos uma destilação doce e lúcida desse vastíssimo lago sagrado.»
John Updike, The New Yorker

«O pequeno livro de Alain de Botton é tão encantador, divertido e sensato que até poderá mudar a sua vida.»
Allan Massie, The Daily Telegraph

«Este livro fascinante é uma das obras de crítica literária mais divertidas que já li.»
John Weightman, The Sunday Telegraph

«Um livro muito agradável.»
Sebastian Faulks

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help, Biography, Essays, Literature, Psychology

235 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 1998

About the author

Alain de Botton is a writer and television producer who lives in London and aims to make philosophy relevant to everyday life. He can be contacted by email directly via www.alaindebotton.com

He is a writer of essayistic books, which refer both to his own experiences and ideas- and those of artists, philosophers and thinkers. It's a style of writing that has been termed a 'philosophy of everyday life.'

His first book, Essays in Love [titled On Love in the US], minutely analysed the process of falling in and out of love. The style of the book was unusual, because it mixed elements of a novel together with reflections and analyses normally found in a piece of non-fiction. It's a book of which many readers are still fondest.

Bibliography:
* Essays In Love (1993)
* The Romantic Movement (1994)
* Kiss and Tell (1995)
* How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997)
* The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)
* The Art of Travel (2002)
* Status Anxiety (2004)
* The Architecture of Happiness (2006)
* The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009)

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words Are Your Homeland

One of the most important deficiencies in the philosophy of science (and business, which prides itself as a practical science) is the idea of efficiency of inquiry in scientific method - how to get an answer to a question at hand with the least possible effort. Efficiency is predicated on the idea that it is possible to pare down the world to some essential core - somewhat like finding the right principle in law - such that the matter seems to resolve itself through compelling factual evidence.

Efficiency of inquiry is a false friend however. One is reminded, for example, that over the last few decades things like eggs, meat, and dairy products have been classified as healthy, dangerously unhealthy and definitively life-invigorating by successive scientific studies. Or consider the pharmaceutical industry which makes a living by conducting efficient inquiry under government supervision for whole classes of drugs from amphetamines to minor tranquilizers, to opioids. Each of these has been shown to be dangerously biased and incomplete by yet more efficient inquiry. Efficiency, it would seem, is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The problem of course is that the efficiency of inquiry - or of economic production, or of medical treatment or, for that matter, of reading - is crucially dependent upon the definition one uses for what constitutes a successful result. What constitutes a relevant fact is determined by what success means in human terms. Eating red meat, for example, may be correlated with an increased incidence of heart disease. So the dietary advice is ‘eat less red meat’. On the other hand, red meat may improve, say, liver function. So the contradictory advice to ‘eat more meat’ is appropriate. Or as obvious with a drug like the Sackler family’s OxyContin, it is very efficient in relieving chronic pain; it is however even more efficient in creating mass opioid dependency.

It should be obvious therefore that the issue of which criterion to choose as a measure of success, of value, is logically and practically prior to any issue of efficiency. This implies an inescapable paradox: if inquiry about the correct criterion of ‘good’ action is subject to the demands of efficiency, the inquiry will fail. Without an enormous amount of apparently senseless chat about ‘why’ it is simply not possible to give an efficient answer about ‘how’. This applies to all aspects of human life: scientific, commercial, personal and moral. There is no way to discover or articulate what philosophers call the Good, without seemingly pointless, and endless, discourse with oneself as well as others.

This I think is the central thesis of de Botton’s little book: method is rational; value is political. The discussion and choice of method is necessarily a matter of politics, that is of resolving the conflict about what is important. This is simultaneously obvious and unpalatable. In brief (and therefore with entirely inappropriate efficiency): Wasting time in political argument is a necessary condition for saving time, as well as one’s life. Cutting short the argument compromises the result of inquiry. De Botton is much more elegant: “The more an account is compressed, the more it seems that it deserves no more space than it has been allocated.” Efficiency of expression, that is, can trivialize what is expressed - joy, sorrow, death, deprivation and, most important, life. One only need observe the quality of feelings expressed on Twitter for example to appreciate the depth of the problem.

De Botton presents this problem as profoundly present and fundamental for human existence and marvels “how vulnerable much of human experience is to abbreviation.” When we abbreviate the experience of others - either through ‘scientific’ inquiry or merely the way we read the newspaper - we condition ourselves to abbreviating our own experience as well as everyone else’s. The Twittersphere, as it were, is a consequence not a cause of inadequate appreciation of what might constitute the Good, and therefore the criteria of right action - that is to say, ethics.

So de Botton is keen that we recognize the therapeutic value not only of Proust’s technically rather inefficient memoir, In Search of Lost Time, but also of Proust’s life itself, which he devoted to finding as many words possible that might help others to appreciate their own experiences: “Far from a memoir tracing the passage of a more lyrical age, it was a practical, universally applicable story about how to stop wasting time and start to appreciate life.” It takes a long period of concentrated effort to discover a vocabulary for describing one’s experience of something like wine. Inexplicably, the vocabulary comes before the experience. Appreciation of life also leads with the words necessary to describe its experiences. Many more words and much more time is required to collect the words for living - one’s internal politics - than for wine-tasting. De Botton suggests a Proustian slogan for increasing one’s life’s vocabulary. In its linguistic brevity it is apt but rather un-Proustian: “n’allez pas trop vite.” Don’t rush it!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the risk of horrifying Proust aficionados I must admit that I did not read this book as a precursor to reading Proust, or even as a pleasurable supplement to his writings, but rather I read it instead of reading Proust. I have tried Proust in the past and I have failed.

Well, this book has come to my rescue, and I loved it. Not only did Alain de Botten explore and celebrate Proust's foibles and philosophies as a writer - he also gave us a fascinating picture of the man. We warm to Proust, we are charmed by him, and we are intrigued. I think this book has done Proust a great service - making him accessible to those of us who are otherwise barred from his writings. And it is not only a book for blockheads like me. It has been much admired by writers and journalists across the spectrum - so I think it's a book to be enjoyed by everyone.

Herewith a horribly condensed list of some of Proust's ideas (I don't know how I have the nerve to do this!)

1) When we look at people in pictures, or read about them, we connect them to people we already know. For instance he says "One cannot read a novel without ascribing to the heroine the traits of the one we love." We also recognise ourselves in books. This enables us to feel at home everywhere, even in things written or painted four centuries ago. ""We expand the range of places in which we feel at home". This experience of fictional characters gives us a hugely expanded picture of human behaviour. We learn to consider normal, thoughts and feelings that are unmentioned in our immediate environment.

2) Books articulate things that we have experienced but cannot put into words.

3) An author can make us conscious of things we were not conscious of before, from the shades of colour in a sky to the hypocrisy of a friend.

4) When Proust couldn't sleep he read train timetables - 'these were read and enjoyed as though they were a gripping novel about country life. The mere names of provincial stations provided Proust's imagination with material to elaborate entire worlds.'

5) He believed it was the books themselves, not the way authors lived their lives that mattered. Balzac may have been ill-mannered, Stendhal conversationally dull and Baudelaire obsessive, but why should this colour our approach to their works?

6) He said that we don't become properly observant unless we experience suffering and distress. For instance only someone who has experienced insomnia will know about sleep. Not everyone learns from suffering, sometime people just develop a carapace or become neurotic, but some people gain wisdom. This would certainly seem to be reflected in Proust's own life.

7) He was upset by the misuse of language, like people using pretentious words to try and appear clever. He also felt that many people did not explain things properly, e.g., a friend of his came out of a Beethoven's Choral symphony concert going "poum, poum, poum" and then said "That's a wonderful bit!" Proust laughed and said "But, my dear Lucien, it's not your poum, poum, poum that's going to convey this wonderfulness! It would be better to try and explain it." Or we see the pyramids at Giza and go "That's nice". We ask these sounds or phrases to account for an experience, but their poverty prevents either us or our interlocutors from really understanding what we have lived through. We stay on the outside of our impressions, as if staring through a frosted window, superficially relating to them, yet estranged.

He also felt that clichés should not be used. It is not that they contain false ideas, but rather they are superficial articulations of very good ones. Clichés are detrimental insofar as they inspire us to believe that they adequately describe a situation while merely grazing its surface. This matters. The way we speak is ultimately linked to the way we feel - because how we describe the world must at some level reflect how we first experience it.

8) Proust was very popular and had many friends. He was renowned for being a sociable and genial host, a good listener, and was incredibly generous with gifts. He was also very thoughtful and polite. Yet in his writings he wrote caustically about friendship. He felt on the one hand that friendship was riddled with white lies and insincere gestures, that people are hampered by a variety of pettinesses, and he felt that talking with people was a futile pastime. On the other hand he acknowledges that he needs people and he needs affection. So in spite of the limitations of friendship he nevertheless relished it. He argued that those with negative views of friendship are actually more thoughtful friends.

9) He felt that writing on the other hand, with the endless thinking that creates it, and the endless editing that gets it right - is a fine form of self-expression. Unlike conversation between people, it allows for the blossoming of our deepest selves.

10) He believed that long term relationships led to the people in them becoming bored, and they were enlivened by experiences of jealousy.

11) He thought that books were marvellous vehicles for awakening us to all sort of new ideas and experiences, but they could only go so far. At some point we have to put books down and think for ourselves.

12) He thought we had to appreciate the spirit of a writer, rather than practice 'artistic idolatry' and get obsessed with objects and details to do with the writer or their books. Many people visit the town that Proust used to go to for his holidays, and wrote about - Illiers-Combray - but this is the wrong way of lauding Proust. A genuine homage to him would be to look at OUR world through his eyes, not to look at his world through our eyes.

I got a lot of pleasure from this book, and Proust has become a much stronger figure for me - which is exactly what I wanted. One gets a very rounded picture of the man. I thought it was a great read.

[Matt Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I fell in love reading this book together (way back in September/October 2002). I don't know what anyone else will think of this book, but I'll never enjoy reading a book more. B and I left a note on Proust's grave when we visited Paris on our honeymoon. He is the (gay) patron saint of our marital union. Here's my best advice: read this book with a loved one.

[Dream.M · Rating 4 out of 5]

آلن دوباتن چگونه می‌تواند شما را از خواندن پروست بی‌نیاز کند
هولی‌شت :/
حقیقتا درکتون نمی‌کنم ای کسانی که هنوز چیزی از "پروست" و رمان "در جستجوی زمان از دست " نخوندید، حتی یک جلدش رو، قصدشم ندارید ، و بعد این کتاب _که در مدح قلم سحرانگیز پروست و به طور خاص مجموعه‌ی در جستجو هستش _ رو خوندید .
ترسناکتر از شما گروه اول ، شمایی هستید که فکر میکنید حالا دیگه لازم نیست کل مجموعه رو هم بخونید و الان به کنه اسرار پروست پی بردید و روحیاتش رو می‌شناسید.
بی خیال بابا، کتاب قراره مغزتون رو کار بندازه نه اینکه خاموشش کنه.
آقای دوباتن اومده برداشت خودش از اون شاهکار هفت جلدی رو توی دویست صفحه خلاصه کرده ، دمش گرم انصافا خیلی ام خوب از پسش براومده، بعد شما با خوندن این کتاب "پروست چگونه می تواند..." توهم اینو دارید که الان از خوندن اصل مطلب بی‌نیاز شدید؟ حتی من و دوستام که حداقل ۵ جلدش رو خوندیم و قصد ادامه داریم، همچین ادعای گنده‌ای نداریم.
جدی می‌پرسم: چی میزنید؟
کاش حداقل یک جلد "در جستجو" رو میخوندید یا اینکه انقدر خوش‌اقبال بودید که ریویوو های منو براش قبل اینکه پاکشون کنم خونده بودید تا کمتر بشه بهتون خندید.
ریویووی یه سری عزیز قشنگمونم خوندم که با خوندن این کتاب آقای دوباتن، شوریده حال و یقه‌دران میخواستن برن در جستجو رو بخونن، کیف کردم واقعا.
ولی کوشید پس؟ چرا ندیدمتون چیزی اد کرده باشید؟ آها! یادم نبود شماها با خوندن خلاصه‌ی یه کتاب به درک غیرمستقیم ازش می رسید و خب دیگه لازم نیست وقت گرانبهاتون رو برای شناختن جهان نویسنده از زاویه دید خودتون تلف کنید. اوکیه!

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

می گن سعی کنید زیارت بدون معرفت نکنید، سعی کنید جایگاه مَزور رو بشناسید.
به خاطر همین، من هم بلافاصله بعد از تموم کردن جلد اول "در جستجوی" رفتم و این کتاب رو خریدم که پروست خوانی بی معرفت نکنم. بدونم دنبال چه مضامینی باشم و چشمم برای چه نکاتی تیز باشه. قبلاً ریویوهای مثبت زیادی ازش خونده بودم، و یکی دو تا تجربۀ قبلی م از دوباتن تجربه های خوبی بودن. این شد که بی معطلی خریدم و همون روز شروع به خوندنش کردم.

پروست بدون خوندن این کتاب هم به خودی خود بی اندازه آموزنده هست، اما خوندن این کتاب (و کتاب های مشابه) باعث می شه آدم توجهش به نکات و مضمون هایی که پروست داره مطرح می کنه بیشتر جلب بشه. کتاب هم راجع به زندگی خود پروست صحبت می کنه و اطلاعات خیلی جالبی می ده، و هم راجع به نظرات پروست. پروست فقط یه داستانگو نیست. علاوه بر داستانگویی (و در ضمن داستانگویی) سعی می کنه دید جدیدی از زندگی رو به روی آدم باز کنه، و نوع نگاه کردن آدم رو تغییر بده. این کتاب اومده و این دیدگاه های جدید پروست رو از رمان درآورده و به صورت مستقل با مثال های جذاب فراوان توضیح داده.

حتی اگه قصد خوندن "در جستجوی" رو هم ندارید، باز این کتاب رو توصیه می کنم. این یه کتاب مستقله، و برای فهمیدن و لذت بردن و استفاده کردن ازش، نیازی نیست کتاب "در جستجوی" رو خونده باشید یا قصد داشته باشید بخونید.

[Luís · Rating 3 out of 5]

To live better, do we need proustotherapy? This book suggests that it does, and he is right, although reading it was unnecessary to convince me of this fact. So what is it that feels good about Proust? First, De Botton notes the Research's length: you must take your time to read even a single sentence from Proust, and God knows if what we miss most today is time out, freeze frame, and reflection. We run, we run, and we resort without ever knowing either after whom or after what. Proust takes dozens of pages to say nothing between sleeping and waking up; he dwells on all the changing expressions on Albertine's face. He scrutinizes the least of his emotions; in short (and there is no less Proustian than this "brief"), he takes the time to live and think. Besides, it does not live any better, sealed off as is between his bed and book, but lives more intensely, more truly than the one who touches the world. He lives by inhaling the essence of every moment. Of course, De Botton lingers (as Proust would have done with much more penetration) on details; he is tired of the too much biography character of his remarks; he only repeats banalities on the work of a genius. Still, his book has one merit: it makes you want to continue rereading Proust and continue to waste time in it that we inevitably find.

[Fereshteh · Rating 5 out of 5]

پروست با اون هفت جلد کتاب مشهورش لااقل برای من کلی اسرار آمیز و دست نیافتنی به نظر میاد. به خاطر همینه که تو کتابفروشی ممکنه با خودتون بگین درسته "در جستجوی زمان از دست رفته" رو حالا حالاها نمی تونم بخونم ولی "پروست چگونه می تواند زندگی شما را دگرگون کند" رو که میشه خوند

با خیال راحت میشه اثر پروست رو نخوند و سراغ این کتاب رفت. دوباتن زبان شیرین و روانی داره. هم خلاصه ای از اثر بزرگ پروست رو در اختیار خواننده قرار میده و نکاتش رو با زندگی شخصی امروزی ما انطباق میده و گونه ای عملی و کاربردی بهشون میده و هم به سراغ زیر و بم و جزئی ترین مسائل زندگی پروست میره

دوباتن در نه فصل و با استناد به زندگی شخصی پروست و مطالب برگرفته از آثار عظیم و فراموش ناشدنیش میگه چطور میشه زندگی رو دوست داشت،دوست خوبی بود، عاشق شادی بود، مطالعه ی مفید داشت، رنج کشید و موفق بود و
...

کتاب ترجمه ی شیرینی هم داره و خوندنش پیشنهاد میشه
با کلی ذوق و شوق پیش به سوی بقیه آثار آقای دوباتن عزیز
^_^

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

În bine, desigur :)

Știați că Proust se temea de șoareci? Ei bine, se temea. Știați că Proust prefera chiloții strînși pe burtă? Ei bine, prefera cu încăpățînare acest articol de vestimentație intimă, în deosebire de regina Victoria care îi voia mai lărguți. Știați că Proust dădea chelnerilor bacșișuri exagerate? Ei bine, dădea.

Știați că Proust și Joyce s-au întîlnit prin 1922 - la Ritz în Place Vendôme - pentru o cină? Ei bine, s-au întîlnit. S-a păstrat, din păcate, doar mărturia lui Joyce. Proust l-a întrebat pe irlandez dacă a auzit de cutare conte sau duce (Proust era cam snob). Joyce a spus firesc „nu”. Amfitrionul l-a interogat pe Proust dacă a citit „Ulysses” cu creionul în mînă. Proust a spus „nu” în chipul cel mai firesc cu putință. Cam astea au fost dintotdeauna relațiile dintre scriitori: nu se citesc între ei, nu se prea înghit, dar se invidiază tenace. Știați că Proust suferea de astm? Cine nu știe asta...

Concluzia lui Alain de Botton este aceea că Proust a fost un suferind eficient. Dacă ar fi numărat cuvintele din „În căutarea timpului pierdut” (toate cele șapte volume), n-ar fi avut nevoie de nici un silogism cu privirea la viața sa. Romanul are un milion cinci sute de mii de cuvinte și asta dovedește o miraculoasă eficiență din partea unui bolnav.

Și încă una, de final. Știați că Proust a avut telefon? Ei bine, a avut. Îl folosea cu plăcere și comanda înghețată. Să nu uit, răspundea la nr.29205. Sunați-l negreșit, s-ar putea să aibă chef de vorbă :)

[Zanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the gentlest possible mockery, de Botton makes a compelling case for celebrating and learning from an unlikely teacher: Marcel Proust. Here is some of his advice

Live passionately because we might die any time

Look for the familiar in art; be sensitised by it and improve your ability to notice and describe, and thus be at home everywhere; expand understanding of people's emotional depths

Learn from suffering, relish the insight it offers, use it to grow

Be honest about your feelings and attempt to describe them authentically, striving for an original language that reflects the multidimensional and unique nature of them. Thus enlarge you notion of normality and thus expand. Break with cliche, strive to experience the world authentically

Approach the news humanly, look beyond compression of stories. Take time and do justice

Insincerity to friends is to some extent necessary, because there is a gap between the negative thoughts we can endure having and those our friends can endure hearing

Say the unsayable in unsent letters... or novels!

Conversations should be selfless and interested in others; it is haphazard, fleeting and ultimately superficial, so our own selves are better explored in other media

Art helps us to find beauty; it sensitises us; this is why images close to our lives help us to appreciate the world anew.

In Shikasta Doris Lessing's extraterrestrial protagonist describes Proust as a great sociologist and anthropologist, which chimes with de Botton's view. The pressure is on me to actually read Proust, but I just can't bear it, I can't let go of my desperation for writing to go somewhere, with some pace, or at least mesmerise me with eloquence, like Woolf's 'The Waves'.

[Shaghayegh · Rating 4 out of 5]

اسم کتاب ممکنه نگرش‌ گاردگونه‌ و متوهمانه‌ای رو قبل از خوانش ایجاد کنه. اگه متحول نشدیم چی؟ اگه حرفت اغراقی بیش نبود، حالا بازم روت میشه کتاب بنویسی؟ اصلا با خوندنش دچار توهم آگاهی میشیم و گندش رو درمیاریم؟ یه جوری رفتار می‌کنیم انگار "در جستجوی زمان از دست رفته" رو خوندیم و کسی جلودارمون نیست؟ اصلا پروست چیزی تو چنته داره یا الکی بزرگش کردن؟
اگه شمشیر رو از رو بستین، پیشنهاد می‌کنم سمتش هم نرین، چون تکلیف مشخصه و امکان داره انقدر غرق جهان‌بینی خودتون بشین که به اثر اجازه ندین کمی بتونه خودش رو توضیح بده. ولی اگه به قصد خوانش و نه صرفا کوبیدن اومدین، بفرمایین داخل، جلو در بده.

آیا حتما نیازه از پروست چیزی خونده باشیم و بعدش این کتاب رو بخونیم؟
نخیر اما اگه بخونین، بهتر با کتاب ارتباط برقرار می‌کنین و متوجه حرف نویسنده میشین. به طور مثال، به سبک نوشتاری پروست، برخی از المان‌های آثارش، ترکیب کردن تجربه‌ی زیستی نویسنده و مجموعه‌ی عظیمش و خیلی موارد دیگه اشاره شده که اگه شما از قبل یه جلد کتاب مطالعه کرده باشین، پی می‌برین که موضوع از چه قراره و بهتر درک می‌کنین و کمتر دچار سوءتفاهم میشین.
آلن از مثال‌های عینی بهره برده تا بتونه توضیحاتش رو بسط بده و مدرک هم رو کنه. برای همین می‌تونین قلم پروست هم درش مشاهده کنین و قاضی بشین. منتهی به علت حجم کم کتاب، فقط جزئی از کل بیان شده و پروست، بسیار عظیم‌تر از این حرف‌هاست. شما بهتره با دید پیش‌نیاز به کتاب نگاه کنین و این فکر به ذهنتون خطور نکنه که تمامیت وجود پروست رو حالا فهمیدین. فعلا مراسم آشنایی‌ای بیش نیست. ماه عسلتون رو بعدها با مجموعه‌ی عظیم‌الجثه‌ش رقم بزنین و به قول خود مارسل، عجله نکنین.

تو این کتاب چه چیزهایی دستگیرمون میشه؟
ترکیبی از زندگی پروست و اطرافیانش، نگرش نویسندگان هم‌دوره‌ش، نفرت‌پراکن‌ها و منتقدینی که دست نوازش بر آثارش کشیدن، جهان‌بینی منحصربه‌فردش به پیرامون، به فنا رفتن‌های دامن‌گیر، متناقض بودن بزرگوار (که انسان‌ترش کرده)، روی مهربون و سگیش، اعصاب‌خردی‌ها و دلگرمی‌دهنده‌هاش، حسرت‌ها و آرزوهای بر باد رفته‌ش، اولویت‌ها و سبک زیستنش، معاشرت‌ها و رفاقت‌ها، عشق به ادبیات و نوشتنش و این لیست ادامه داره.
آلن با شیرینی و سادگی، همه‌ی این‌ها رو کنار هم گذاشته و تعریف میکنه چه بر سر پروست گذشت. میون حرفاش، جاهایی از "در جستجوی زمان از دست رفته" هم لو میده که اگه حساسین، اون قسمت‌ها رو رد کنین. حتی حرصش هم در نوشتن نشون میده. به ویژه وقتی که از نظر جسمانی داره مارسل و برادرش رو مقایسه میکنه و برادر رو گاو نر خطاب میکنه. یا زمانی هم خود پروست رو زیر سوال می‌بره و میگه اگه به تمارض به گفته‌ی عده‌ای می‌زد، چقدر این حرف ممکن بود صحت داشته باشه.
از پروست بتی نمیسازه که سراسر زیبایی و شکوهه. ناملایمات، شکست‌ها، نرسیدن‌ها، دورنگی و تفاوت ظاهر و باطنش رو نشون میده. اگه خواننده منصف نباشه، می‌کوبه ولی اگه وجه انسانی رو لحاظ کنه به خوبی میدونه که آدمی بی‌نقص نیست و این شامل برجسته‌ترین و بزرگان هر زمینه‌ای هم میشه. مثلا از ملاقات مسخره‌ی پروست و جویس میگه که چقدر بد پیش بردن و دیالوگ‌ها به نه ختم میشد. با اینکه هر دو شخصیت‌هایی رو خلق کرده بودن که مثل بلبل حرف میزدن. اما ت��اوت خالق و مخلوق همیشه وجود داره و قرار نیست تو زندگی روزمره هم صرفا دیده شه.

این کتاب برام خیلی عزیز بود چون تونستم بهتر نویسنده‌ی محبوبم رو بشناسم. به زندگیش نگاه کنم و ارزش کارش رو بیشتر بدونم. با این کتاب اشک ریختم. از دست قاطی کردن‌های پروست لبخند زدم. گرمای وجودش من رو به زندگی دلگرم کرد و از سرمایی که در نهایت باعث از دست رفتنش شد، شکستم. بدون شک میتونه دگرگون کنه اما این نسخه روی هر کسی جواب نمیده. باید دل به کلماتش بسپاری. اجازه بدی درت جریان داشته باشن. برای فهمیدنش تلاش کنی و همونطور که خودش تک‌بعدی نبود، به یه بعد اکتفا نکنی. اون وقت هست که میتونی بگی پروست چگونه زندگیم رو دگرگون کرد. وگرنه تا وقتی با خودش مواجه نشی، تغییری هم صورت نمیگیره.

[Mohamed Shady · Rating 3 out of 5]

الترجمة سيئة، لكن كتاب لطيف في كل الأحوال

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains no end of excellent Proust trivia. (My favourite: the prototype of Odette really did live on rue Lapérouse and was unhappy to find she had been doxxed). Some of the advice may possibly change your life, though it's rather more likely to be effective if you also read A la recherche du temps perdu. I don't think de Botton would disagree. The Monty Python "All-England Summarise Proust Competition" sketch makes an early appearance, you are given fair warning.
____________________

In fact, Proust does the best job of explaining to you what his novel is about and why you should read it. I just noticed this passage in the second volume; as far as I can remember, not one cited by de Botton.

Quand ce qui est le plus caché dans la Sonate de Vinteuil se découvrit à moi, déjà entraîné par l'habitude hors des prises de ma sensibilité, ce que j'avais distingué, préféré tout d'abord, commençait à m'échapper, à me fuir. Pour n'avoir pu aimer qu'en des temps successifs tout ce que m'apportait cette sonate, je ne la possédai jamais tout entière: elle ressemblait à la vie. Mais, moins décevants que la vie, ces grands chefs-d'oeuvre ne commencent pas par nous donner ce qu'ils ont de meilleur.

Scott Moncrieff's translation:

When the least obvious beauties of Vinteuil's sonata were revealed to me, already, borne by the force of habit beyond the reach of my sensibility, those that I had first distinguished and preferred in it were beginning to escape, to avoid me. Since I was able only in successive moments to enjoy all the pleasures that this sonata gave me, I never possessed it in its entirety: it was like life itself. But, less disappointing than life is, great works of art do not begin by giving us all their best.

[مروان البلوشي · Rating 3 out of 5]

تكمن جاذبية كتاب "كيف يستطيع مارسيل بروست ان يغير حياتك" في كونه يخلط الفكر العميق بأدق تفاصيل مشاعرنا مع تحرر الكاتب من أي رهبة أو زيف يجبره على التمثيل بأنه مثقف نخبوي يترفع عن النزول لمستوى الناس العاديين. أو ادعاء أنه مصلح تنويري أو اجتماعي او إداري يحمل في جعبته خير البشرية .. وهذه في الحقيقة، ميزة الكاتب آلان دي بوتون.

اشتهر آلان دو بوتون في أوروبا الغربية بكونه أحد نجوم الجيل الجديد من الكتاب الذين استطاعوا إرجاع الشباب هناك (جيل MTV والماكدونالدز.....الخ) إلى القراءة الجادة، مستلهمين في ذلك تقاليد قديمة في الثقافة الغربية بدأت مع الكاتب الفرنسي ميشيل دي مونتين في القرن السادس عشر الميلادي.

لكن من هو مارسيل بروست الذي يتمحور حوله هذا الكتاب؟ مارسيل بروست هو أحد أهم كتاب الرواية في القرن العشرين (وربما كل العصور). عالم الأدب يتذكر بروست نتيجة لرواية واحدة فقط، وهي بالطبع : البحث عن الزمن الضائع. نقول باختصار أن الرواية تتناول موضوع طبيعة الزمن والوقت وأثره على الناس والحياة وذاكرة من يعيش معهم. أما أسلوبها فهو صعب حقاً، فقد تمتد الجملة الواحدة لفقرات عديدة وربما بضعة صفحات داخل الكتاب ..تخيل؟؟! ولكن ما يغفر لهذا الكتاب هو جماله المطلق، قدرته على القبض على اللحظة الآنية بدون إفلاتها، (بالإضافة لأسباب أخرى) وهذا ما دفع العديدين من الروائيين في الأجيال اللاحقة لقراءة العمل مراراً وتكراراً، وإعلان امتنانهم لمارسيل بروست.

أما كتاب آلان دو بوتون، فيتميز بحجمه الصغير، وجمله السهلة والمباشرة. ولأن دو بوتون كاتب ذكي يعيش بيننا في هذا الزمن فهو يعلم تمام العلم بأن كتب التنمية الذاتية والإدارية تلاقي رواجاً كبيراً عند غالبية القراء في كل أنحاء العالم. لذا يقوم بإسقاط أبرز تعاليم (إن صح التعبير) كتب التنمية الذاتية على حياة الكاتب الكبير والصعب والنخبوي والذي لم يفهمه أحد في حياته مارسيل بروست.
يتكون الكتاب من تسعة فصول، يحمل كل منها عنواناً يذكرك بعناوين كتب د. صلاح الراشد، أو ستيفن كوفي، أو إبراهيم الفقي وغيرهم من مشاهير التنمية الذاتية. فالفصل الثاني يحمل عنوان "كيف تكون صديقاً جيداً" والفصل الثامن "كيف تكون سعيداً في الحب"، وكل منها يقوم بإثبات العكس من حياة مارسيل بروست بطريقة كوميدية وسلسة وعميقة فكرياً، في آن واحد.

هدف هذا الكتاب هو منحنا شيئاً من التهكم والضحك (ولو قليلاً) على عبارات وأفكار التنمية الذاتية .. هل يجب علينا أن نكون جيدين ورائعين وحلوين طول الوقت؟ ... الكاتب يقول لا .. ويجعلك تقتنع معه.

يحمل أحد الفصول هذا العنوان الغريب "كيف تتعذب بنجاح في حياتك؟" أما الفصل الأخير فهو أشد غرابة إذ يحمل هذا العنوان "كيف ترمي الكتب جانبا؟" .. أعتقد أن القارئ سوف يستمتع ويضحك ويفكر بعمق مع آلان دي بوتون حول معنى الحياة والنجاح والألم والحب والفشل....الخ .. بعيداً عن كل ما تعود أن يتم حشو رأسه به.
يختتم آلان دي بوتون كتابه بملاحظة سوف تسعد ولا شك كل عشاق الأدب الرفيع .. يقول دي بوتون أننا نستطيع في عصرنا هذا، عصر البساطة والسطحية وتسهيل كل شي، عصر النفور من العمق والذكاء .. نستطيع أن نستعين بالأدب لنحسن حياتنا ونكون بشراً أفضل.

[Zara Parsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

با این کتاب همینجا تو گود ریدز آشنا شدم، ریویو ها حاکی از پر بار بودنش بود و اینکه هر چند در رابطه با پروسته و اشاره به رمان معروفش یعنی "در جستجوی زمان از دست رفته" داره، ولی خوندن این رمان برای لذت بردن از این کتاب پیش نیاز نیست. همین باعث شد بخرمش و بخونمش.
ضمن کتاب خیلی جاها مزیت اصلی رمان معروف پروست رو ملموس کردن چیزهایی بیان کرده که برای خیلی ها، قبلا محسوس بوده ولی قابل بیان و ملموس نبوده.
به نظر من کتاب دو باتن هم از این قضیه مستثنی نیست، چیزهایی هست که تقریبا همه میدونیم ولی قدرت بیانش رو نداریم، یا به قول کتاب حسهایی در ما نهفته بوده که ازش بی اطلاع بودیم، مثلا در رابطه با فصل"چگونه برای خودمان بخوانیم" یادمه سالها پیش یه آدم پربار و اهل مطالعه نان فیکشن، کل قضیه رمان خوندن و ادبیات خوندن رو زیر سوال برد که "از خوندن رمان چیزی عاید آدم نمیشه" در دفاع از خودم واقعا نتونستم چیز مناسبی بگم! میدونستم کتاب خوندن ولو ادبیات و رمان ازم آدم بهتری (حتی اگه کمی بهتر) ساخته و حال بهتری دارم با کتابها و حس میکنم حتی سطحمو بالاتر از چیزی که هستم میبره ولی هیچ کدوم از اینها رو نتونستم با جملاتی که مورد پذیرش یه نان فیکشن خون باشه بیان کنم. فصلی از این کتاب که بهش اشاره کردم دقیقا برای پاسخ دادن رمان خون ها به این افراد نوشته شده یا حتی برای اینکه خودمون بفهمیم واقعا چرا رمان میخونیم؟!!!
الان دیگه میدونم فلسفه، روانشناسی، سیاست، کتابهای اجتماعی و همه موضوعات دیگه همه و همه برای دستیابی به زندگی بهتره، چیزی که هدف رمان خون ها هم هست قطعا، اگر که مطالعه فقط جنبه فان و سرگرمی نداشته باشه؛ برای داشتن زندگی بهتر، ساختنش یا حتی توسعه و ترویج و تبلیغش اول از همه باید خودمون رو خوبِ خوب بشناسیم، دنیا (و دنیاهای) اطراف، آدمها، حسها، ری اکشن ها، تجربه ها و... رو لمس کنیم، حس کنیم، بشناسیمش و بعد سعی بر اصلاح بدیهاش، بدیهامون داشته باشیم...

*در واقعیت، هر خواننده(کتاب)، در حین خواندن می تواند خواننده نفس خودش باشد. اثر نویسنده فقط نوعی ابزار بینایی است که به خواننده داده می شود تا بتواند چیزی را که بدون این کتاب احتمالا هرگز شخصا نمی توانست تجربه کند، ببیند...*
*کتاب با حساسیت های مشهودش ما را حساس تر میکند و گیرنده های خاموش مان را روشن میکند*

در کل این کتاب سبک خاصی از زندگی رو پیشنهاد میکنه و اونم اینکه از قالب های تعریف شده توسط بقیه که قطعا تو هیچ کدومش خوشحالی و رضایت فرد فردِ ما ملاک نبوده خارج شیم و در چارچوب های زندگی خودمون به دنبال رضایت و خوشبختی باشیم، که دست از پرستش بت وارانه این قالبها، کتابها، نویسنده ها و... برداریم و تنها در حدی به چیزها و اشخاص علاقه و تمایل نشون بدیم که نفس خودمون و چیزی که هستیم از بین نره و در قالب کس دیگه و چیز دیگه ای در نیاد.کتاب بهمون یاد میده چشممون رو باز کنیم و کورکورانه به دنبال تصویر قالبی ای که دیگران از خوشبختی، رضایت و زندگی و کمال نشون میدن نریم، که تصویر خودمون رو واقع گرایانه و با چشم باز بسازیم.

این کتاب برای من و از دید من حرف برای گفتن بسیار داشت.
از اون دسته ایه که میتونه با تغییر دیدمون فرد بهتری ازمون بسازه (حتی اگر که مقطعی و تحت تاثیر موقت باشه این تغییرات)؛ خلاصه اینکه به همه پیشنهاد میکنم بخونید.
و اگر تصمیم گرفتید بخونیدش حتما قلم همراهتون باشه چون اگه مثل من اهل خط کشیدن زیر جمله ها باشید، خیلی جاها لازمتون میشه..

[صان · Rating 5 out of 5]

قلم دوباتن همیشه خوب و گیرا و نکته‌سنجه. توی این کتاب با پروست آشنات می‌کنه و چیز یاد می‌ده بهت.
من شاید بیش از هر چیز از نوع نگاه کردن توی این کتاب خوشم اومد. راه درست نگاه کردن رو باید تمرین کرد و یاد گرفت. شاید تنها راه نجات از افسردگی همین باشه (+یکم سیتالوپرام)
علاوه بر همه اینها، میل زیادی برای خوندن جستجوی زمان از دست رفته بهم داد. یه روزی همین نزدیکیا می‌خونمش. امید داریم!

[Oguz Akturk · Rating 5 out of 5]

YouTube kanalımda Marcel Proust'un hayatı, bütün kitapları ve kronolojik okuma sırası hakkında bilgi edinebilirsiniz:
https://youtu.be/n5e0iz7fVms

"Ama daha ayrıntılı, sevgili dostum, çok hızlı gitmeyin."

Kitabı sadece Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisine başlamadan mı yoksa bitirdikten sonra mı okumalı ya da kitabı edinemeyenler açısından çok kısa bilgilerle Proust'a ve Kayıp Zamanın İzinde'ye ön hazırlık olması açısından sunacağım.

Bu kitap kendi görüşümce Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisine başlamadan önce okunması gereken bir kitaptır, eğer serinin yarısında olsanız dahi bir şey kaybetmiş değilsiniz. Zira Proust okumalarınızdan aldığınız payı ne kadar artırabilirseniz Proust'un sizin yaşamınıza etkidiği payı da o derece artırırsınız.

Misal olarak Swannların Tarafı romanında karşılaştığımız kuvvetli anne-çocuk ilişkisi çocuk Proust'un gerçekte anne Proust'a duyduğu şiddetli sevgiden kaynaklanmakta. Proust'un neden bu kadar uzun ve detay içeren cümleler yazdığını merak ediyor musunuz? Annesine yazdığı mektup ve yazılarda uyku düzeni ve günlük rutinleri hakkında çok yüzeysel yazılar yazmasının ardından annesinin çocuk Proust'tan daha çok detay istemesi sayesinde!

Babası Adrien Proust'un doktorluğundan gelen başarısını ve ezici otoritesini kıskanan Marcel Proust, kardeşiyle karşılaştırıldığında fiziksel ve ruhsal güç, yeteneklilik, sağlık konularında da çok terstir. Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisi sırf bu ailevi sebeplerden ötürü bile bir başkaldırı, Marcel'ın kendi Marcel ihtiyaçlar hiyerarşisi piramidinde en tepede bulunma güdüsü olarak görülebilir.

Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisi bir iyileştirme romanı olarak ve kendi gözlerimizle Proust'un dünyasına değil, Proust'un gözleriyle kendi dünyamıza bakmamızı gerektiren bir bakış açısıyla okunmalı. Yaşamdan keyif almaya başlamanın yollarını detaylarda ve izlenimlerde sunan Marcel Proust, aynı zamanda zamanı boşa harcamayı da bırakmamızı istiyor. Herkesin, okuduğu bir romanda kendini bulmak ve bir karakteri içselleştirmek istemesi gibi Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisindeki karakterlerin hayatlarının da bizim kimliklerimizden, duygularımızdan ve izlenimlerimizden o kadar da farklı olmadıkları anlatılıyor.

Aşırı ama aşırı kibarlığıyla "Proustmak" gibi bir eylemi yaşadığı dönemde insanların ağzına pelesenk eden, serisinde bahsettiği kasaba olan Combray'den esinlenmesiyle Proust keklerinin satıldığı kasaba pastanesine turistleri akın ettiren, klişeleri kabul etmeyip kalıpların dışında yazmayı icat etmek isteyen, Woolf'un yazma isteğine kendi yetenekliliği sebebiyle sekte vuran, kitaplarında bahsettiği kontlar ve dükler minvalinde pek çok arkadaşı bulunan Marcel Proust'tan başkası değil. Fakat Proust'u ve edebiyatını esas şekillendiren hiçbirimizin kıymetini bilemediği fiziksel ve ruhsal acılardır. Ne annesi ne babası ne de arkadaşlarından herhangi bir tanesi bile Kayıp Zamanın İzinde gibi bir başyapıtın onun tarafından yazılacağını tahmin edemezdi. Halil Cibran'ın dediği "Şayet kış; "Bahar kalbimdedir benim." deseydi, kim inanırdı kışa?" cümlesindeki kış Marcel Proust'un çocukluğu, bahar ise kalemi eline aldıktan sonraki çağlarıdır.

Gerçek aşkı bulamama sendromundan ve yüzyüze kaldığı derin saplıktan dolayı kendini durmadan mastürbasyona veren, erkeklere duyduğu eşcinsel eğilimlerin de pek karşılık bulamamasıyla beraber anne Proust'un "Bey, bu Marcel'a bir kız bulalım artık" demesiyle baş gösteren anlaşılmamak, rahatsızlık ve acı çekme tohumları ileride kendine astım, beslenme sorunu, sindirim sıkıntıları, cilt duyarlılığı, fare fobisi, sürekli soğuk olması ve üşümesi, yükseklik farkından rahatsızlık duyması ve sesli öksürmesi gibi fiziksel tezahürlerde yer bulur. Bizdeki gibi görücü usulü Fransa'ya o zamanlar uğramış değil tabii. Anne, baba çaresiz. Bu Marcel'ın hali ne olacak diye sorup duruyor. İşte bu yüzden de Kayıp Zamanın İzinde karakterlerindeki sosyetik figürler de özellikle bu sosyetik dış görünüşlerinin altında büyük vasatlıklar ve noksanlıklar taşıyan dümdüz insanlar oluyor.

Proust artık bazı şeylerden rahatsız olmanızı istiyor, bazı gerçeklerden acı çekmenizi istiyor. Nasıl ki sürdüğünüz araba bozulmadıkça sizin o arabayla ilgilenmemeniz gibi hayatlarınızda da çeşitli sorunlar oluşmadığında kendinizle ilgilenmediğinizi yüzünüze vuruyor. Bir adam düşünün, delicesine astım ve çiçeğin her türlüsünden alerji kapan biri. Yahu ben sırf alerjik bronşiti geçirebilmek için 4 yıl aşı oldum. Fakat Proust böyle yapmıyor. Acılarının hepsine karşı dimdik duruyor, onlarla başa çıkıyor ve doğayla, insan doğasıyla, detaylarla ve izlenimlerle dost oluyor. Hatta üstüne insanın bitkilerle ilişkisini belki de en detaylı anlatan etnobotanik yazarı oluyor! Kendimi bu kitaptan sonra Proust'un yanında çok zavallı hissettim diyebilirim.

Unutmayalım ki, her şey sanat için potansiyel bir konudur. Tuttuğunuz bilgisayar faresinin hareketlerinden, kafamızı sağa çevirdiğimizde uçan martıların havadaki eğrisel uçuşlarına; binaların toprak tarafından sert bir şekilde tutulmasından, pitoresk bir manzaraya karşı hissettiklerimizin manzaranın içerisinde bulunduğumuzda artık o kadar hisli olmamasına kadar. Kayıp Zamanın İzinde serisi de etrafımızda devinen bütün hareketler ve canlılar bütününün aslında bir kitapta ne kadar da gerçek hayatlarımızla benzeşik olabileceğinden yola çıkılarak okunmalı. Proust'u hayatımıza sadece okuyup kenara atmak için değil, aynı zamanda izlenimlerimizi detaylandırıp hayatın zaman skalasını yavaşlatabilmek adına uyarlamalıyız.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few years ago someone pointed out to me that the words "envy" and "jealousy" mean slightly different things; in the first case, the word implies only that you want something someone else has, whereas the second also includes the idea that you have a just claim to the desired object. Having said that, I would say that I am jealous of Alain de Botton rather than envying him; I mean, does this guy say anything deeper than what I spout off after a few glasses of wine? This little book contains such gems as the observation that the problem with cliches is not that they express falsehoods but that they express truths in ways that have been said too often already before. Might one even say hackneyed or overused? (Actually, I don't think I would bother to say this except after many glasses of wine.) Or another insight: often our desires are not nearly as pleasurable if we satisfy them immediately but bring anticipatory joy if we delay gratification. My friend David had a pool, and he used to love to get out and wait in the sun for a few minutes so that he would enjoy the water more when he got back in. Perhaps he should write a book? I have never read Marcel Proust, but I can only hope that his observations are more profound than what this distillation offers.

[Mevsim Yenice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okurken gülümseten, oldukça keyifli bir kitap. Proust okumadan önce okunursa Proust merakınızı, sempatinizi artıracağından eminim.

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not just because it’s taking my entire life to finish In Search of Lost Time.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Alain de Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life is something of a conundrum. The book is at once a piece of literary criticism and a self-help book, and at the same time neither of those. That is, it analyzes the literature and life of Marcel Proust and is structured in the regular "how to" fashion of self-help manuals (with chapter titles such as "How to Suffer Successfully" and "How to Be a Good Friend"), but unlike most contemporary literary criticism it is written for a public audience, and unlike most self-help books, How Proust Can Change Your Life carries only faint strains of didactic, shallow assuredness.

This rare genre—literary criticism for the public—is terrific. While de Botton's book may be a turn-off to those expecting rigorous scholarship and those expecting a Dr. Phil imitation, this genre is needed, and contemporary literary scholars should take de Botton's efforts seriously.

Literary criticism is currently a pinched genre. It is always rigorous, frequently pedantic, and seldom accessible to the public. It is a genre that, for better and worse, stays around mainly because literary critics are required to publish or perish. Literary criticism is in one sense not unlike cookbooks: necessary to have around, unnecessary to have so much of it around.

It follows, then, that literary critics who really want to change the world with their writing would offer to the public new ways of looking at the best literature, as de Botton does in his book. His insights are fresh, humorous and quite compelling. His book is beneficial for the public at large.

Such writing would admittedly not be a project for everyone, and I can see how too much attention to capitalistic markets could soften the expected rigor of literary scholarship, but a host of books in this vein—comic and colloquial and accurate—could collectively bring about a needed change in contemporary readership.

Expanded review/commentary here.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read that Oscar Wilde, when asked to provide a list of the “100 greatest books”, divided the list into three categories: books to be read, books to be reread, and books (overly praised) to be avoided at all costs. After 15 years I just REREAD de Botton’s book, and I can report that it’s definitely worth putting in the second category.

As expected, I had forgotten much of my first reading, and now I’m trying to decide if de Botton’s nine chapter headings, each beginning with “How to” is a sendup of self-help books, or if the author is trying to a take a genre, full of extravagant claims that usually fall short, and transcend it, writing a self-help book that REALLY WORKS.

With one caveat, I’d say that de Botton is successful, perhaps not in dramatically changing anyone’s life, if by that we mean health, wealth, or fame.. He guesses that Proust would probably say to anyone who spends too much time in praising his masterpiece, IN SEARCH OF TIME PAST , that his writing is a means to an end, not an end in itself. “Reading is on the threshold of the spiritual life; it can introduce us to it: it does not constitute it.” And by a “spiritual life” is meant a thoughtful contemplative state of mind. De Botton’s last words, warning of making too much of any book, are, “Even the finest books deserve to be thrown aside.”

The nine chapter headings speak for themselves: How To Love Life Today, How to Read for Yourself, How To Take Your Time, How To Suffer Successfully, How To Express Your Emotions, How To Be A Good Friend, How To Open Your Eyes, How To Be Happy In Love, How To Put Books Down. Interestingly, many of the details of what Proust thought on these matters, de Botton furnishes, not from his IN SEARCH OF TIME PAST, but from his life, much of it spent in ill health. Proust lived to be just fifty-one.

By far the longest chapter is the one on suffering. Proust’s life was one of appalling physical and psychological suffering, but in contrast his writing seems calm and serene. How to explain this apparent contradiction? De Bottom thinks that it’s a matter, in Proust’s view, of a form of compensation. We don’t really learn anything until there is a problem or a failure, and then we develop ways of overcoming the obstacle. For Proust, it was not any kind of personal or psychological success, but rather one of an aesthetic outlook, as successfully developed in his fiction. This is equally true of the other chapters, any one of the titles could be prefaced with its opposite practice. For example, HOW TO TAKE YOUR TIME, grows out of the concept of TOO MUCH RUSHING AROUND.

Two quotations from de Botton capture the essence of the book, “Every work of successful art has an ability to restore to our sight a distorted or neglected aspect of reality,” and “A genuine homage to Proust is to look at our world through his eyes, not look at his world through our eyes.” If we read Proust with these thoughts then he HAS changed our lives.

[Semjon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diese Anleitung zum Lesen und Verstehen von Marcel Prousts gewaltigem Werk darf man nicht so ernst nehmen. Es handelt sich nicht um klassische Sekundärliteratur zum besseren Textverständnis, sondern ist der Versuch, statt eines pseudowissenschaftlichen Ratgebers über Achtsamkeit lieber sich auf die Suche nach der verlorenen Zeit zu begeben und von Proust ein besseres Leben zu lernen. Was ja schon aberwitzig ist, denn Proust war ja nun wirklich kein Vorbild für eine bereichernde Lebensführung. Er war ein Sonderling, Einzelgänger, Muttersöhnchen, Versager, Hochsensensibler, Snob, Galant, Gönner, Intellektueller, Sprachvirtuose und Kunstliebhaber, der sein Leben vorwiegend im stets verdunkelten Zimmer und die Nächte mit dem Schreiben seines Romans im Bett verbrachte.

Kann man also von Proust lernen (so die einzelnen Kapitelüberschriften), wie man das Leben heute liebt, man richtig liest, sich Zeit nimmt, erfolgreich leidet, seinen Gefühlen Ausdruck verleiht, Freundschaften pflegt, sehen lernt und das Glück in der Liebe findet? Nein, das wäre wirklich zu viel verlangt. Warum liest man dann aber Proust? Er ist zweifellos einer, der die schönsten Metaphern kreiieren konnte. Jegliche Klischees waren ihm zuwider. Und wenn mir mal wieder bei Proust diese schier überbordende Phantasie in der Beschreibung von Dingen und Gefühlen auf den Wecker geht, dann werde ich mich zumindest gerne an diese Anleitung zurückerinnern, denn sie machte mir deutlich, dass Proust so ist wie die Maus Frederick in dem bekannten Bilderbuch. Er ist ein Nichtsnutz, der die Farben und die Bilder im Sommer sammelt, um in den kalten Wintermonaten davon erzählen zu können. Ja, ich bin auch metaphorisch positiv. Dafür vier Sterne.

Über das ganze Konzept des Buchs als Ratgeber, decke ich mal den Mantel des Vergessens. Denn was soll man von so einem Ende halten:

"Die Moral? Daß wir Proust keinen größeren Tribut zollen könnten, als wenn wir zum guten Schluß das [...] Urteil über ihn fällen, [...] dass auch seine Werke dem, der sich zu lange mit ihm beschäftigt, trotz ihrer unbestrittenen Qualität irgendwann dumm, eigenbrötlerisch, enervierend, falsch und lächerlich vorkommen müssen. [...] Selbst die besten Bücher haben es verdient, in die Ecke geworfen zu werden. ENDE"

Wie kann man eine Hommage an einen außergewöhnlichen Schriftsteller so beschissen enden lassen? Die Flugeigenschaften dieser Anleitung (Hardcover, 238 Seiten) sind übrigens hervorragend. Und die Ecke des Wohnzimmers habe ich auch getroffen.

[Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘'THE SAD THING IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO BE VERY ILL OR HAVE BROKEN A LEG IN ORDER TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME.’'
ROBERT PROUST



More about Proust himself than how reading Proust can change your life, Alain de Botton's book was interesting if slight. It would be a great read for someone unfamiliar with Proust prior to reading IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME. An interesting read overall.

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relished every page of de Botton’s short, witty book about Proust’s life and work, written with affection and a keen eye for the ridiculous, as when we first see Proust: ‘a reclusive, moustachioed novelist, not known for his interest in golf, tennis or bridge [though he had once tried draughts, and twice aided in the launching of a kite], a man who had spent the last fourteen years lying in a narrow bed under a pile of thinly woven woollen blankets writing an unusually long novel without an adequate bedside lamp’. (p4)

Like In Search of Lost Time itself, this book meanders around what de Botton sees as Proust’s main concerns. The first he notes is that In Search’… is not ‘ a memoir tracing the passage of a more lyrical lost age..[but] a practical, universally applicable story about how to stop wasting, and begin appreciating one’s life’.

My five star rating reflects my sheer enjoyment in reading this. It’s certainly not a self-help manual of the usual sort, but a brilliant, often very funny, musing on Proust’s life and writing
From here on I have just included my notes on chapters 2 onwards. Chapter 4, ‘How to Suffer Successfully’, is, I think, my favourite.

Ch. Two. How to Read for Yourself
Proust was a meticulous observer of people, of the faintest tremor of sensitivity. ‘It is difficult when reading the description of certain fictional characters not at the same time to imagine the real-life acquaintances who they most closely, if often unexpectedly, to resemble. …The value of a novel is not limited to its depictions of emotions and people akin to those in our own life, it stretches to an ability to describe these far better than we would have been able, to put a finger on perceptions that we recognize as our own yet could not have formulated on our own.’ Proust’s highly developed sensitivities sensitise us to tune our own antennae to, he suggests, the colours of the sky, changing facial expressions, the hypocrisy of a friend or a submerged sadness we might not otherwise have noticed. De Botton calls this The finger placing ability.

Ch. Three. How to Take Your time
You must have time to read Proust. His longest sentence, in the fifth volume, ‘would, if arranged in a single line in standard-sized text, run on for a little short of four metres and stretch around the base of a bottle of wine seventeen times’. (Who counted that?)
The question – how much should one write about falling asleep and dinner parties? Refers to the Monty Python competition – précis the contents of the seven volumes into 15 seconds or less and deliver the results in a swimsuit and evening dress (he doesn't report the winner).
Proust himself believed that ‘the greatness of works of art has nothing to do with the apparent quality of their subject matter and everything to do with the subsequent treatment of that matter’. A soap advertisement could be the starting point for a profound train of thought.

Ch. Four. How to suffer successfully
Proust’s life was full of physiological and psychological suffering, his life a trial. Then a brilliant tour of the psychological problems under these headings:
• the Problem of a Jewish Mother
• Awkward Desires
• Dating Difficulties
• Romantic Pessimism
• A Lack of a Career in the Theatre (as a playwright. Hilariously awful script outline).
• The Incomprehension of Friends
• At thirty, His own Assessment
“Without pleasures, objectives, activities or ambitions, with the life ahead of me finished and with an awareness of the grief I cause my parents, I have little happiness”. (p 62).
His physical afflictions:
• Asthma
• Diet
• Digestion
• Underpants. ‘Needs to have these circling tight around the stomach before he has any chance of getting to sleep. They have to be fastened by a special pin whose absence, when Proust accidentally loses it early one morning in the bathroom, keeps him awake all day’. (p 63)
• Sensitive skin
• Cold
• Sensitivity to Altitude (Claims altitude sickness after visit to Versailles which is 83 metres above Paris)
• Coughing
• Travel (homesickness)
• Beds. “Loves his, spends most of his time in it and turns it into his desk and office. Does the bed provide a defence against the cruel world outside?’
• Noise From Neighbours
• Other ailments
• Disbelief of Others.
• Death – always claims he is about to. Finally succeeds in dying.
Then follows a discussion of whether Proust truly did suffer all the things he claimed, comparing Marcel with his healthy, vigorous brother, Robert.
Then a return to Proust’s thinking. In P’s view, ‘we don’t really learn anything properly until there is a problem, until we are in pain, that we become properly inquisitive only when distressed. Jealousy, resentment.
P values thought prompted by pain, emotional or otherwise. Examples from his novels. Excruciating situations.

Ch. Five. How to Express Your Emotions
With precision, as they really are. The truth is often not what we think it is, - comparison with the colours and perspectives of impressionist painting. In every successful work of art there is ‘an ability to restore to our sight a distorted or neglected aspect of reality’. 112.

Ch. Six. How to be a Good Friend
Another list: this time of Proust’s virtues as a friend as given by his friends:
He was generous, munificent, liked to add a 200% service charge, he didn’t talk only about himself, he was curious, modest, a great talker, one was never bored at his house and he always put much of himself into his life.
Proust himself had some very caustic views about friendship; did not believe the exalted claims for the benefits of conversation with friends - that it gives us the chance to express our deepest selves. Conversation is full of gaps, side-tracks, inanities, missed opportunities. Books, on the other hand, provide for ‘a distillation of our sporadic minds, a concentration of inspired moments that might originally have risen across a multitude of years, and been separated by extended stretches of bovine gazing’. (p123) And writing can be revised, over and over, as Proust did.

Ch. Seven. How to Open Your eyes
Another meditation on seeing what is there, on creating and recreating beautiful memories in great detail – eg the scene of the madeleine.
Disillusionment too – eg fascination with aristocracy and then finding they are ordinary, dull people (Guermantes) brings this observation from De Botton on how we can better discriminate between people: ‘ The image of a refined aristocracy is not false, it is merely dangerously uncomplicated. There are of course superior people in the world, but it is optimistic to assume that they could be so conveniently located on the basis of their surname’. (p167)

Ch. Eight. How to Be Happy in Love
He wasn't good at this. I'll just leave it at that.

Ch. Nine. How to Put Books Down
Reflections on reading. It should awaken us to the personal life of the mind, not take its place. Truth is an ideal we can realise only through our own experience and thought. Because books are so good at helping to make us aware of some of the things we feel, it can be tempting to leave the work of interpreting our lives to books.
‘It obligates us to read with care, to welcome the insights books give us, but not to subjugate our independence, or smother the nuances of our own love life in the process. … Even the finest books deserve to be thrown aside ’, (199, 215)

And the illustrations are a delight.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

كل معلوماتي قبل هذا الكتاب أن هناك رواية ضخمة اسمها : البحث عن الزمن المفقود( ولربما راودني الشك بأن العنوان الصحيح هو : البحث عن الزمن الضائع ).. رواية أضخم من أن يكون لدي الصبر والوقت لقراءتها لكاتب بريطاني أو فرنسي ربما .

ثم يأتي كتاب صغير بعنوان يشبه كتب التمنية البشرية:كيف يمكن لبروست أن يغير حياتك. بداية اعتقدت أن بروست هو نفسه الكاتب ،وهو وقح بما يكفي ليضع اسمه في العنوان بصيغة الضمير الغائب، وهو يتجاوز حدود الوقاحة حين يعتقد أن بإمكانه تغير حياة قارئه. .لكن من هو هذا البروست؟

وبدأت اارحلة!

باسلوب ساخر بسيط ذكي رشيق مفعم بالحياة ، يكشف الكاتب عن سيرة مختصرة لحياة بروست ..وعن فلسفته في الألم والحب والصداقة والفن والكتب.وعن حقائق مضحكة في حياته ..يبعث الحياة في شخصيات روايته لإلقاء أضواء كاشفة على حياتك أنت بالذات . تحت عناوين متفرقة مثل : كيف تعاني بنجاح..او كيف تقرأ ذاتك.او كيف تقلل من أهمية الكتب..ستجد فصولا كاملة عن تمجيد متع الحياة البسيطة ،وعن المنح في قلب المعاناة، وعن البحث عن الجمال بعيدا عن الصور المرسومة والجاهزة عن الجمال. .ان ابتكار لغتنا الخاصة في التعبيرعن الأشياء وامتلاك الشجاعة لخوض طرق لم تطرق من قبل!

قد يبدو ما كتبته للتو كتعليق سخيف على أحد كتب التنمية الفارغة ..لكن لااااا. الكتاب أعمق من ذلك بكثير.

يمكنك اعتبار هذا الكتاب بمثابة مقدمة لطيفة قبل الشروع في قراءة بروست شخصيا وروايته الضخمة ذات الأجزاء السبعة.

وأخيرا قد لا يغير الكتاب حياتك..ولكنه بالتأكيد سيغرس أفكارا نابضة بالحياة في عقلك المتعب.


قلة تستطيع التحدث عن كتاب بهذا الشغف والإعجاب ..بطريقة تجعلك تقع في غرام كاتب وكتابه قبل حتى أن تقرأ له كلمة!
عمل أجاده الان دو بوتون

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 2 out of 5]

How can Proust change my life? Well, he probably can't.

I read this book with one purpose in mind: to determine whether to start reading Proust at all. You see, I find it difficult to abandon books, and if a book is famous, the problem is even greater: whenever someone mentions it, I'll remember I haven't finished it and maybe I should.

Luckily, Alain de Botton saved me: I vaguely remembered him as being a "famous philosopher" or something of the sort, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and have someone I might want to read explain an author whom I wasn't sure I wanted to pick up.

Alas, my life would have been so much better if I'd read the wikipedia entry on Botton first, to confirm my preconceptions of him, because he may have studied philosophy, but he became a "self-help guru" after abandoning his studies. It shows! The book is either spewing banalities or praising Proust as if he could do no wrong. If Proust had farted in the wind, I'm quite sure Botton would have explained how Proust's fart is a commentary on the effect small things have on our lives, encouraging us to appreciate the wonderfulness of clean air when we do have it.

I'm not sure whether to blame Botton or Proust, but as far as I could gather from this book, the latter seems to have been a genuinely unpleasant person. Meanwhile, Botton's ideas on life and humans are weird indeed.

For example, he says Proust constantly thought himself ill, and acted ill, although it all seemed to be in his head. Hypochondriac? No, Botton tells us - as in the end he caught a disease and died, he must have been right about being ill all along! (I wonder if hypochondria is supposed to make you immune to all diseases in this scenario)

Proust, Botton tells us, was modest. He was so modest that he praised the texts of his friends even if they didn't deserve praise. (I... rather hope my friends aren't 'modest' like that) He was also an amazing friend, buying expensive dinners for people and then listening to them talk. (I'm... not sure that's what a good friend is, Botton?)

All in all, Botton paints the picture of Proust as a momma's boy, a hypochondriac, a hypocrite in his personal relationships, but the conclusion he draws is that the writer could do no wrong, and write no wrong.

But the bulk of the book is about bland life advice - live life! learn to look at the beauty of everyday objects! the details are more interesting than the summary of the story! don't just suffer, learn something from your suffering! The rest of the book, on the other hand, is grating.

I think I ought to give it five stars for ridding me of any impulse to read either Proust or Botton, but I'll be honest: it's worth two stars at best.

[Kaelan Ratcliffe ▪ كايِلان راتكِليف · Rating 3 out of 5]

It Didn't Change My Life, Unfortunately

Forewarning, this is quite a biased review that simply speaks from my experience of reading this novel, it's content very well may not apply to you. I feel I may have gone off the deep end without meaning to (considering this was a book I read on the side of others).

Please still consider picking this book up.

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I have to admit, this is the first book I've actually struggled to complete this year due to a lack of interest; as opposed to the difficulty of the subject defeating me, or the fact I lack knowledge in a particular area. As such, I stopped reading it about six months ago, and just today caught myself skimming the last few pages having fully given up on achieving full completion.

I was given this novel by a friend when visiting their flat in London. We had had a positive conversation about Alain de Botton (I happened to have recently discovered him in an interview conducted by Chris Hedges, whereas she'd known about him for quite some time) and she picked this book out from a shelf for me to read. Unfortunately, I have a problem with starting brand new books immediately after attaining them, even when I have other older, more personal novels needing to be finished.

Unfortunately, this one never saw my full attention all the way to the end.

The real problem I have with this book isn't the way it's written. In fact, if it weren't written by this particular Author, then I may have stopped far earlier than I did in reality. Alain has a style that naturally evokes a welcoming nature, and speaks to the reader as if he/she is a friend receiving a casual lecture on the subject in person. I admit, my bias towards Mr De Botton might become clearer upon mentioning how much I enjoy his YouTube channel The School of Life (seriously scope it out, it's amazing) and his pretty calming accent / demeanour. You really can't not read this book in his voice, after listening to him ramble about famous philosophers for hours online.

Neither is the topic in question off putting. I knew nothing about Proust before reading this novel, and yet found no obstacle presented to me in the form of prior understanding being needed when opening the first page. Alain has simply taken many multifaceted topics about life and then laid out what Proust thought about them. He also raises topics that we may never have thought of before, but Proust had. Moreover, he balances each topic well by refusing to deify Proust (pretty hard to avoid with a title like this book has) and is quite critical of his shortcomings and slight hypocrisy on certain subjects.

Yet, the real issue at hand is how, on a personal level, so little of what has been picked from Prousts brain by De Botton actually appeals to me. Because of this fact, it's quite hard to give this book anymore than three stars (earning three in the first place because of the above qualities mentioned). I found myself struggling to connect with the opinions of a man who was born in the early 19th century, lived a fairly upper class life and spent much of his time in the small (no less beautiful and interesting) part of the world he was born into.

I must emphasise that I did not make these judgements before opening the book. I have found great pleasure and knowledge reading from people who have come from a plethora of different backgrounds. Neither am I criticising the work or Proust himself. I do not doubt for a moment that In Search of Lost Time is a masterpiece, and I look forward to reading it as soon as time permits.

It is only a symptom of a larger problem I feel we may posses when looking back on the past. We feel the ideas of some great Authors, Philosophers and Artists hold the keys to understanding life in some great unknown fashion. And in some ways they DO present wonderful, inspiring and great thoughts / advise for us to mull over. I only feel that if we were to look deeper at the people themselves (especially considering the more hardline thoughts about life some of them have presented) - the environment they grew up in, their surroundings and more - we would find that quite a few of them only represented a small part of the society they grew up in. Even if we were to apply the typical "they were a product of their time" to the equation, we would still have to hold their bolder claims under a microscope just as equally with the above suggested scrutiny. Avoiding interchangeable bias when using this phrase is incredibly important, something we tend to do when our favourite intellectuals come under attack. Shouting about their innocence due to them being born at a certain stage of history doesn't exempt their most strong opinions on life being compared to the social environment they were surrounded by.

I found this problem with Prousts opinions on love in this book. For me, some of it contained some very archaic views on the workings of a woman's mind and I found it to be completely bizarre. Again, we might apply the "but he's a product..." to this point, but it's an argument that falls short due to the fact we don't mind holding up Prousts other thoughts on life high in the air and applying them to our daily lives now in the 21st century. The fact that his thoughts on love DID make the book shows De Botton thinks they're worth the time of humans living in the 21st century. I could go on, but I feel I need only paste this problem onto other subjects in the book to get my point across.

As such, I think I can confirm to myself that reading books that suggest one persons thoughts on many different subjects on life can somehow change mine are useless. I adore biographies and peering into another's life throughout history, almost as much as I love reading the great novels written by individuals who may very well have fit the criteria I just mentioned Proust came from. Just because someone was born into a small sliver of society doesn't mean they have nothing to say of importance at all. I'm eternally grateful that ancient Greek philosophers were given the education available at the time to come up with some great thoughts on life (even though living as a farmer at the time I may [emphasises on may] have struggled to accept someone from a higher part of society giving me lectures on how I should consider existence).

However, it did hinder me from enjoying this book and I would actively encourage people to analyse where, when, which, and what society people we would assume to worship come from. At least before starting to read into their work. This way I feel you will be able to read critically, and take only what you feel applies to today, and not 200 years ago.

[W.D. Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most readers have a "guilty secret" kind of read that they secretly don't feel guilty about reading at all. After finishing a book that's more of a challenge, (say, v5 of ISOLT, which I just finished and loved, perhaps more than any other volume with the possible exception of Swann's Way) they may feel the need of a "palate cleanser", and gravitate to a mystery novel, for example: they may wish to be reading something, but also want to let the experience of the previous, more demanding book percolate in their minds, and so need to steer clear of anything that engages their imaginations too too deeply.

Well, I have two of these not-so-guilty secrets: "campus novels" (e.g. David Lodge, Malcolm Bradbury…) and the kind of book that de Botton has produced here: the undergraduate-level-introduction-to-blahblahblah book. I loved the competing "...For Beginners" and "Introducing..." series that were big in the 80s and 90s. I appreciate the "A Very Short Introduction" series very much, and have time for the "...in 90 minutes" series too. I have also learned a lot from The Teaching Company and The Modern Scholar. Cambridge Companions have provided congenial, if slightly more demanding company. Far from turning my nose up at any of these, I find that they allow me to keep my deeper attention on the book I have just read, and, when they specifically interface with that book they help me decide if I want to dive more deeply into literary biography or cultural milieu, for example.

I did initially turn my nose up at How Proust Can Change Your Life, though, at first because of the self-helpy title (that genre is definitely not among my own guilty pleasures!), the hyperbolic claims implied there, but you know what? Reading Proust does kind of change your life (your 'spiritual', inner life, Proust would say), cos at least for while you are reading it you are more aware of the kind of things that Proust so doggedly pursues in these volumes, the source of all our contradictory desires and behaviours, say, and the things that art compensates for, however incompletely, in a life never adequately lived or understood.

Proust will not help us become 'better' people (obviously), and de Botton is not claiming that in this volume. But if we follow Proust's example in ISOLT we will come away from reading (and hopefully re-reading) it, or in any event reading other authors in the spirit that Proust himself read Ruskin (with great care and exhaustive attention, but never as a slavish acolyte, lest our complete immersion in the universe of that author cover rather than reveal our own thought processes, our personal relationship to art and life, which great books can only spark in us, never fully replace)—De Botton is particularly deft on Proust's views on what reading great writers can and cannot do for us: while it can never substitute for experience, it makes us subtler, more careful and tentative thinkers, as well as (and most importantly) more fully awake to the brilliance of the small, humble details presented to us daily via our senses.

For example, de Botton tells the story of how Ruskin changed Proust's artistic life: reading the English critic's account of Rouen cathedral, he was astonished by the kind of care and attention lavished upon this little detail (Ruskin's "Little Man"), the kind of most of us distracted tourists (baedekering our way around the greatest hits of the art world, lusting after what Sartre would call Perfect Moments) would completely ignore, Proust realised not only that he needed to lavish the same kind of attention on Ruskin, but also that he had to find his own "little man" in his own writing. (here's an article on the aforementioned, BTW: https://whyruskin.wordpress.com/2017/...)

Yes, I gave this three stars, though, and that's because I liked it. I wanted more than it gave, but that's ok. It made me hungry to dive back into v6, but I'll wait a few weeks for that: I will follow another of Proust's rules, and not rush to make my psyche too too available to him. If he calls (and I imagine he is a bit of a persistent little stalker), I shall say "Oh, I should have adored your company, Marcel, but not tonight, I'm afraid. I am simply otherwise engaged."

[Antigone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcel Proust was not built for speed. His health was poor due in large part to a severe asthmatic condition he developed as a child and struggled with throughout his maturity. While this did not prevent him from serving a year in the French army and, later, pursuing an active social life among a wide circle of friends, his physical exertions were few and his constitution so fearfully unreliable that he judged himself unable to engage in the practice of a standard profession. A brilliant mind, however, does not rest. His magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time, was written from bed.

It is perhaps because so much of Proust's life was spent being still that he grew increasingly aware of the cost of haste. More than the external frenzy of existence disturbed him. Critical, and closer to the crux of the problem as he saw it, was the way so many people were racing through the experience of living. The quick thought, the short-handed perception, the abbreviated communication, the borrowed expectation; all the internal, incremental penalties that were unknowingly exacted and served to buffer an individual from the act of consciously being. How much meaning was missed? How much appreciation denied? Alain de Botton, in this slim and seductively astute piece of work, takes his stab at a remedy.

It is perspective that de Botton is addressing through the use of Proust; his work, his letters, anecdotes about him, his personal habits and vices. It is perspective that de Botton asserts is at the root of so many of our frustrations and dissatisfactions. Proust, in his estimation, has something to teach us with regard to our view of the world and our place within it. And de Botton is, on many levels, absolutely right.

Here is a dish for the artistic soul, and I'm not going to ruin it for you by listing the ingredients. I offer only the following: You do not need to have read Proust's masterpiece to follow de Botton's references. He's clear (and often amusing) in the points he makes. Also, and perhaps most surprising to me, this stands as the best book on the observational pocket that I've read in the last ten years. If you are an artist of any caliber in any medium, de Botton just might confirm enough of your current creative suspicions to reinitialize that frequently-flagging quest for Truth.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wryly humorous book, written with tongue firmly in cheek. The author uses a ‘Self-Help’ layout to unveil both a short biography of Proust himself and to incorporate the writer’s thoughts to show us how to appreciate his work and life in general. There are chapters on how to Love Life, Read for Yourself, Take Your Time, Suffer Successfully, Express Your Emotions, Be a Good Friend, Open Your Eyes, Be Happy in Love and Put Books Down.

Along the way we read of Proust’s meeting with James Joyce (sadly disappointing), his dislike of noise, his family, how to appreciate the ordinary things in life, his relationship with his mother, his ailments and the importance he placed on friendship. My knowledge of Proust is not great, but I look forward to reading his work and this was suggested to me as a good beginning. Indeed, if you are considering reading Proust’s work, this is a really good introduction to the man and his writing. Highly recommended and a wonderfully enjoyable read.