Against Sainte-Beuve: Facinating new translation and insights on Marcel Proust's Against Sainte-Beuve / Contre Sainte-Beuve

by Steve Bachmann

Against Sainte-Beuve was a “book” by Proust published 1954, over 30 years after his death. The interest in this “book” lies in the fact that what began as some writings which Proust was provisionally calling Contre Sainte-Beuve eventually grew into his massive masterwork, A la recherche du temps perdu (a.k.a. RECHERCHE, In Search of Lost Time, On Research into Lost Time, etc.) If Against Sainte-Beuve may not be seen as a trial run for RECHERCHE, the former might still be viewed as the latter’s launching pad. A reader of Against Sainte-Beuve will find much that enhances one’s insights into RECHERCHE; she may also find much in the former which happily was revised for or omitted from the latter.
Aside from providing a new translation of Against Sainte-Beuve, this edition includes not only explanatory notes, but also passages from RECHERCHE which can be compared to their versions in early, draft, initial, or original forms.

286 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2022

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as interesting as I had hoped, and I dare say I see no insights here at all from Bachmann. Proust's writing is sublime, as always, especially in the sections hinting at his magnus opus. When he strays to critique he comes across as petty and insouciant, and I enjoyed these parts significantly less. Intriguing for Proust completists, but it lacks any unique academic/scholarly depth.