Psycho Proustians discussion

From Sunday Feb 6 to Sunday Feb 13, we will start to discuss SWANN IN LOVE .
Starting with:

To admit you to the “little nucleus,” the “little group,” the “little clan” at the Verdurins’, one condition sufficed, but that one was indispensable: you must give tacit adherence to a Creed one of whose articles was that the young pianist whom Mme Verdurin had taken under her patronage that year and of whom she said “Really, it oughtn’t to be allowed, to play Wagner as well as that!”

To about 120 pages on:

“His jealousy, like an octopus which throws out a first, then a second, and finally a third tentacle, fastened itself firmly to that particular moment, five o’clock in the afternoon, then to another, then to another again. .

(Page 392 in my copy)

Thanks Traveller.

I am starting to panic. I'm only up to page 364 (the Davis translation). I was hoping to finish the first two volumes before I went to Paris at the end of March. Or at least keep up with the group!

I'm finding Swann in Love very painful (while at the same time oddly funny). Poor Swann! But also: ridiculous Swann. Proust captures a certain kind of obsessional love beautifully, giving all the details that obsession thrives on.

I'm feeling more passionate about the book this time than I remember feeling the last time. I would have expected the opposite, since I was young the first time and old this time around but I remember being more preoccupied with technique, etc. and this time more caught up in the emotionsl

I love how Proust captures that obsession. The way the music "The Little Piece" weaves in and out of Swann's consciousness while he can't accept that he is in love. But the music like a neurological worm keeps at it telling us what's going.

Oops, sorry people, the last thread which goes to the end of Swann in Love, is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
... and then after that, we still need to do the "Place names" section.

Ellie wrote: "I am starting to panic. I'm only up to page 364 (the Davis translation). I was hoping to finish the first two volumes before I went to Paris at the end of March. Or at least keep up with the group!..."

I think we had a foreshadowing of that theme with the narrator's intense feelings around his mother. I wonder if this is Proust himself, of his own characteristics being projected onto his characters.

Yes, for some reason I also find that Proust tends to take me longer to read than most other books, academic ones included.

Looks at the Davis page numbers Oh, but you're almost done with the entirety of Swann in Love, Ellie! Ugh, I do apologize for being so slow in creating the threads. Will put up a few of them this week, if not today.

My personal thing is that I've really been wanting to read Proust in French, and I can, I mean I can understand most of it, but there are still words in all the fullness and subtleties of their meaning, as well as idiomatic expressions that escape me, and so I must choose to either read French with many, many interruptions, or just give up on that and read the whole shebang in English.

Ellie wrote: "I'm feeling more passionate about the book this time than I remember feeling the last time. I would have expected the opposite, since I was young the first time and old this time around but I remember being more preoccupied with technique, etc. and this time more caught up in the emotionsl!..."

Hm, may I also suggest, that perhaps at the time of your first reading, the Davis had not been out yet, and that it might therefore also be the specific translation that is influencing how you experience the book?

Nick wrote: "I love how Proust captures that obsession. The way the music "The Little Piece" weaves in and out of Swann's consciousness while he can't accept that he is in love. But the music like a neurologica..."

Indeed, like a leitmotif that's attached to Odette. I've seen a few authors do that, and of course, in ballet and opera that is very common. (A specific tune plays just before a certain character enters the scene, or is referred to by the other characters.)

Traveller wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I'm feeling more passionate about the book this time than I remember feeling the last time. I would have expected the opposite, since I was young the first time and old this time arou..."

I think that is absolutely the case. I love this edition. I'm not sure which translation to use for the next volume.

Ellie wrote: "I love this edition. I'm not sure which translation to use for the next volume. ..."

Ah yes, they used different translators for this newly published series of the novels, eh? Hmm. Ok, I'm going to do a bit of research on that, and come back here once I've managed to have a look at the actual texts and maybe some commentary on them.

Traveller wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I love this edition. I'm not sure which translation to use for the next volume. ..."

Ah yes, they used different translators for this newly published series of the novels, eh? Hmm. O..."

That would be great

Since nobody has posted on thread 6, I'll link to thread 7 from here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I do hope members will clock in for a ending discussion at the end of the month!
Ellie, I commented on the translations of In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower on the thread I linked to above. :)

I'm behind on posting but will catch up this weekend, I'm almost finished with volume 1 :)

Dianne wrote: "I'm behind on posting but will catch up this weekend, I'm almost finished with volume 1 :)"

I'm in the same boat, Dianne! Been very busy with other things and find myself slightly behind on the reading as well as posting.
....but there's still next week!