The World According to Proust

by Joshua Landy

100 years after Proust's death, In Search of Lost Time remains one of the greatest works in World Literature. At 3,000 pages, it can be intimidating to some. This short volume invites first-time readers and veterans alike to view the novel in a new way.

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) was arguably France's best-known literary writer. He was the author of stories, essays, translations, and a 3,000-page novel, In Search of Lost Time (1913-27).

This book is a brief guide to Proust's magnum opus in which Joshua Landy invites the reader to view the novel as a single quest-a quest for purpose, enchantment, identity, connection, and belonging- through the novel's fascinating treatments of memory, society, art, same-sex desire, knowledge, self-understanding, self-fashioning, and the unconscious mind.

Landy also shows why the questions Proust raises are important and exciting for all of us: how we can feel at home in the world; how we can find genuine connection with other human beings; how we can find enchantment in a world without God; how art can transform our lives; whether an artist's life can shed light on their work; what we can know about the world, other people, and ourselves; when not knowing is better than knowing; how sexual orientation affects questions of connection and identity; who we are, deep down; what memory tells us about our inner world; why it might be good to think of our life as a story; how we can feel like a single, unified person when we are torn apart by change and competing desires.

Finally, Landy suggests why it's worthwhile to read the novel itself-how the long, difficult, but joyous experience of making it through 3,000 pages of prose can be transformative for our minds and souls.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Criticism, France, Literary Criticism

152 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Joshua Landy is the Andrew B. Hammond Chair of French and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University, where he teaches "Film and Philosophy," "Literature and the Brain," "Getting through Proust," and other hopefully fun classes. He also co-directs Stanford's Initiative in Philosophy and Literature. And since 2017, he's been one half of the nationally syndicated public radio program “Philosophy Talk.”

Reviews

[Travis Scher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m three years in and 50% of the way through In Search of Lost Time. Landy’s little book helped me appreciate much of what I’ve read, and prepared me for whats to come. It brought to light much of what makes the Search so incredible - the complexity of the characters, the humor, the way Proust plays with perception of time and space, his marvelous use of (very) long sentences, the metaphysical questions, the philosophical questions, and more. In fact I think this book provided some insights that will make me a better read of fiction in general.

My biggest takeaway about the Search is that what makes it so great is that it’s both a kailadoscope and a mirror - it is so rich in timeless perspectives, which can be interpreted in various ways, that a reader can learn much about himself or herself from experiencing it.

My one complaint is that it gave away a little too much in terms of plot - but I’m not sure it could be done without a few spoilers, and the plot isn’t really what matters with Proust, and perhaps knowing where its going will enhance my appreciation of some parts in any case.

[diario_de_um_leitor_pjv · Rating 4 out of 5]

[COMENTÁRIO] 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

"The World According To Proust" 

Joshua Landy


As 3000 páginas de "Em busca do tempo perdido" e o estilo de escrita de Marcel Proust assustam? Ou impedem o leitor de se aventurar na leitura desta que é uma das obras primas da literatura do século XX? 



Joshua Landy, a partir de uma experiência de leitura e e comentário à obra de Proust escreve um pequeno ensaio que numa escrita divertida e simples nos leva à reflexão sobre a importância de Proust e da sua obra literária. 


Este é um livro que pode ser lido como um introdução à leitura de Proust ou como uma leitura intermédia do processo longo de contacto com "Em busca do tempo perdido". 


Pessoalmente ajudou me a sedimentar algumas ideias centrais do processo e leitura que estou a realizar nos últimos meses.


(li de 14/09/2023 a 16/09/2023)


#livro #literatura #leitor #leitores #leitura #ensaio #lerProust #marcelproust


#book #bookstagram #bookclub #bookstagramportugal #bookworm #booknerd #booklover

[Emma Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So sorry to my professor but this book did not make excited to read In Search of Lost Time at all

[AnneMarie]

ig my professor was right, this did make me slightly more excited to read proust (not that that’s a very high bar)

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I prepare to read Swann’s Way, or at least consider reading it, I wanted something that would give me a bit of a background of the themes and concepts explored in the book. I figured it would be helpful to have a better picture of what to expect. I found this to be fairly helpful. It showed me that I had the wrong idea about some portions of the book and opened my eyes to the depth of philosophical exploration. However, the extent that the author emphasized the difficulty of reading this book filled me with trepidation. I’m not quite as motivated to give the book a try. The one long sentence the author quoted in the book showed me I cannot read Proust as an audiobook because I could not follow it at all. I’ll just have to see what happens.

[Mark Hartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting small book about Proust 7 book series that is to me bizarrely referred to as a single novel. It’s a 7 book series. Proust wrote 7 books. Imagine saying a 7 book series is a single novel. The 7 books span around 3000 pages. This author says that Proust was carefully organized and yet mentions Proust edited his novels after being printed but didn’t get to edit the later ones before dying. Not uncommon to change errors in typesetting. Proust saying his characters were not him as an author I agree. You can’t make any assumptions about an author based on their book.

[Aaron Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably no coincidence that the narrator first falls in love with hawthorns in a church, and it may not be a coincidence that madeleine and tea are so reminiscent of wine and wafer: what Proust's narrator ultimately receives is a secular version of everything promised by Christianity. The world now contains pockets of mystery and wonder, a dimension transcending the visible, and hidden depths beneath everyday surfaces; we're granted access to it in epiphanic moments of revelation; that access feels like a miracle, given how hard it is to know other people; and the form it takes is a new infinity, as the sum of all artists past, present, and future. "Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world only, our own, we see that world multiply itself and we have at our disposal as many worlds as there are original artists, worlds more different one from the other than those which revolve in infinite space." A desolate cosmos bursts back into life.

Love is an illusion—meaningless. Love is to be avoided.


DNF

[Leslie Levine Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my husband on a road trip. I believe there a few preconditions for enjoying this book: 1) reading the seven volumes of In Search of Lost Time, 2) having a sense of humor along with deep curiosity and 3) eschewing snobbery. It is an excellent companion to Proust’s work,providing wonderful insights. Though we have engaged in monthly discussions about Proust for a couple years, there were original and mind-boggling angles presented. Landy writes with humility and humor. I think Proust would have enjoyed this commentary.

[Bronwen L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about to take another stab at reading Proust and came across this book. It was interesting. I best parts were those about how the book impacts the reader, how you don't know and can't know what is going to be important to remember. But there are little clues and things that emerge. I also felt that I could now approach In Search of Lost Time with less expectations. I'll show up and see what happens.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect introduction to Proust—it's clear, super interesting, and even funny! I haven't read Proust, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this book and learning a lot from it. Wonderful stuff about memory, relationships, and finding your vocation in life.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I realized how long In Search of Lost Time would be, I decided to read this short book. The author has certainly studied Proust and his magnum opus. I know I will have to get started on it soon. I may not have enough life left to finish it.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise appreciation of Proust's way of looking at life, using "In Search of Lost Time" and his collected essays as a starting point. As with other subjects, what someone pays attention to in Proust tells you more about them than it does about him.

[Savannah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

[Suzanne Pender · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this breakdown of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time to be delightful. Landry connects the novel to Proust’s themes and how we can introduce them into our own lives.

[Zach Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books about other books instead of reading the original (it's 3000 pages, dont blame me)

[Franz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly, this book delivers on its title and more - not only does it provide penetrating insight into the world that Proust belonged to, but also our own era, as well as Proust, the man himself

[Mary Hendrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short exploration of some of In Search of Lost Time's themes makes for an accesible if inessential companion to the novel.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

School book. Read this before Proust