Proust''s A la recherche du temps perdu In Search of Lost
Time, 1913–27 changed the course of modern narrative fiction. This
Introduction provides an account of Proust''s life, the
socio-historical and cultural contexts of his work and an
assessment of his early works. At its core is a volume-by-volume
study of In Search of Lost Time, which attends to its remarkable
superstructure, as well as to individual images and the intricacies
of Proust''s finely-stitched prose. The book reaches beyond stale
commonplaces of madeleines and memory, alerting readers to Proust''s
verbal virtuosity, his preoccupations with the fleeting and the
unforeseeable, with desire, jealousy and the nature of reality.
Lively, informative chapters on Proust criticism and the work''s
afterlives in contemporary culture provide a multitude of paths to
follow. The book charges readers with the energy and confidence to
move beyond anecdote and hearsay and to read Proust''s novel for
themselves.
· Accessible and engaging overview of Proust''s life and work ·
Contains a volume-by-volume assessment of the seven volumes of
Proust''s novel · Offers the most up-to-date assessment of the
critical reception and ''afterlives'' of Proust''s work
目錄:
Texts and abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Life 5
Chapter 2 Contexts 17
Politics and society 18
Science, technology and medicine 22
Literature, philosophy and the arts 25
Chapter 3 Early works and late essays
32
Pleasures and Days 32
Jean Santeuil 36
Against Sainte-Beuve 39
Late essays 42
Chapter 4 In Search of Lost Time 44
Swann’s Way 44
Within a Budding Grove 53
The Guermantes Way 61
Sodom and Gomorrah 70
The Captive 78
The Fugitive 86
Time Regained 95
Chapter 5 Proust criticism 104
Getting started 104
Early studies 106
Philosophy and fiction 109
Style and narrative technique 110
Proust and the arts 111
Self, sex and society 113
Essay collections 114
Genetic criticism 114
Epilogue: Proustian afterlives 116
Notes 123
Further reading 129
Index